*OWL* 2 injuries

[JANAE]

Im so sorry but I just dont have time to go thur any more posts....I have a screech owl attacking my flock of 7 and I now have 2 injured....1 is the alpha hen and the other is a low end hen on the pecking order....I went to close the coop tonight and it was too late...we had another attack.

So, I now have a chicken hospital in my garage...and the coops are closed. Now what do I do. I have a large dog kennel with paper down and pedilyte in the waterer...plus giving pedilyte with a dropper with childrens tylenol and treating by flushing the wounds with peroxide and treating with neosporin...

my question is when can I put the 2 injured birds together...will they be better off in the smaller coop I have outside (and can close off from the other girls with there own water and food)...or should I keep them in the garage and separate....

these ladies are "my girls" and I dont want anything bad to happen to them but I am so frantic right now I just need some advise.


Also, let me add that my husband is now on crutches after hitting a deer on his motorcycle and we have two young children and 2 large dogs.

 

[CMV]

First- no tylenol because it is toxic to birds. Baby aspirin only. One baby aspirin per cup of water.

I'd put them together as long as they get along alright. They will probably feel comforted by each others' presence. I'd also watch them to make sure they aren't picking on each others' wounds.

Sounds like you are doing as best you can under the circumstances. I hope things start to improve for you and your family soon.

Good luck.

 

[JANAE]

PLEASE dont tell me tylenol is toxic to birds....Ive been giving it all day to the first one that was attacked.....

HOW toxic is it......do you think she will be ok as long as I stop.......(i've given it to her every 4 hrs since 12 pm and it is now 9pm.......OH NO!!!

 

[CMV]

I can't tell you how poisonous it actually is to birds because there is not much info out there related to chickens and tylenol toxicity. I hope that your birds will be OK from the small amount you have given them, but be sure not to give them anymore. Any pain relief needs to be aspirin. If you don't have baby aspirin you can give 5 325mg tablets per gallon of water.

 

[peep this]

How bad are the injuries? Can you post pictures? do you have access to an antibiotic for chickens? We had a rescue chicken with a large abrasion and had to keep her on antibiotics for about 2 weeks. She's since grown all her feathers in and is part of the flock.
Good luck!

 

[saladin]

Do you know for certain it is an owl attack?

I've never seen an owl attack that wasn't successful (from the owl's point of view).

The owl cuts off the head and takes it away. That is what they do. Never seen them do more. I've had them take the heads off full grown ducks and geese. Chickens are not a problem for owls.

 

[JANAE]

yes I can post pics.....but I dont think it is bad enough for antibiotice....and if it is where would I get them and what would I get....

and yes, I am positive it was an owl......I saw it....both times....and I dont know of any other bird that hunts at night....and screetches like that..

the first attack happened at 3:00 am on monday.....we had another attack last night right after sunset we were eating dinner and my daughter sd that she heard something outside.....I flew up from the dinner table where we were eating dinner (obviously) and then I saw the attacker fly off....went into the chick yard and there was another one down.....Pecka is not NEARLY as damaged as Fred....(and yes they are both females) but Pecka is missing most all of her feathers between her wings all the way down to her tail feathers and around her sides.....and a few puncture wounds.....

we live in a very old neighborhood with HUGE trees...and we have several famlies of screech owls here and several familes of barn owls....

I think the reason the owl didnt get them is because it is a juvenille....and like I sd I have seen them around here in the trees and on the fence.....and doesnt quite know what it is doing....so I have been VERY LUCKY....but I have thought for a while now that something was getting into the coop b/c there have been days when there were an abnormally large amount of fethers on the ground....and my girls have stopped laying.....we went from 6-8 eggs a day to none or MAYBE one....

I will see about posting pics.....but for now I am flushing with 50/50 peroxide and water...and packing the wounds with neosporin......however I just read that I am NOT supposed to use the one with the pain releif and that is all I have.....does anyone know why Im not supposed to use the pain releif one...?

Fred is finally eating.....and she has been totally spoiled.....I bathed her today with warm water and fluched her wounds...wrapped her in a towel and kept her inside this morning while I cleaned the house.....she wont drink so I have been dropping pedilyte down her beak every hour or so to keep her hydrated....but they are both in the garage....with really droopy eyes and I know they are in pain....I have been giving them bread...carrots and lettuce....as well as scratch and laying pellets but they wont eat the pellets.....is there anything else I can do....I was told not to give them childrens tylenol on here so I stopped that but have not been able to make it to the stor to get baby asprin......

does anyone know if I can give them buffered asprin in there water.....we dont have any regular asprin.....

also Pecka seems fine other then the droopy sad eyes and loss of feathers....she is eating and pooping like a champ.....Fred on the other hand has only pooped 2 times today but I think that is from not eating at all yesterday....would I be right?

 

[JANAE]

also....should I put a light on them at night as it is rather cold in my garage??!?!?

 

[boogiedog]

If it not colder than 50, I wouldn't worry too much about heat. Feathered birds do ok with cold - it is the young peeps that need the heat. You may also want to try cottage cheese, or plain yogurt with cooked egg yolk for food. They love it and it has good protein for them. (Healthy or sick, my birds love it!) Good luck. These guys have a marvelous way of healing themselves. Some quiet and time and hopefully they will be back to themselves.

If the wounds are more than flesh wounds, you may want to put antibiotic in their water. The local feed store may have some on hand.

 

[CMV]

As long as your Neosporin doesn't have any -caine (examples- lidocaine, benzocaine) ingredients in it then it should be fine. You can switch over to using something like weak salt water for cleansing, now. Peroxide actually impedes healing, so you want to use it the first day, but switch over to something more mild after that (unless you have obvious signs of infection). You can used buffered aspirin in their water. Just crush them up to make sure they dissolve properly. Same doses I posted before. A heat lamp may be too much for them unless it is set away from them. They are used to being outside, so are acclimated to cooler temps. I'd put the heat lamp off to one side where they can sit near it if they need to, but can move well away from it if it is too hot for them. I'd give them fewer carb-rich foods and lean more towards protein-rich foods to help aid in healing- yogurt, BOSS, little bits of meat, cat food in small amounts. Scratch (corn) will help to keep them warm.

Hope this answered your questions. I think I got them all. Good luck with them.