@hyzenthlay
You have done well so far...I suggest you keep her inside for 24 hours or so, make sure she has eaten, drank and pooped normally. The wound you show doesn't appear serious and should heal quite well but bird bones are fragile and she undoubtedly was struck hard by the hawk so bruising and internal injuries can happen and don't show on external exams. Keeping her calm and quiet will allow her to spend her energy on recovery rather than keeping warm and trying to hide her weakness or soreness from other flockmembers.
Clean the area around the wound (I think you already did this) but look closely to see if any small feathers around the edges lay into it, these can stick to scabbing and cause more pull on the edges when the bird moves, so we trim them with a small pair of scissors. Triple antibiotic (without painkiller) can be used on the wound. I do suggest picking up some BluKote for use when she is ready to reintegrate, but no rush since it will be a couple of days.
I am glad you were able to intervene so quickly and hope her recovery is quick and uneventful!
Thank you!! Based on this, I put in an Amazon order for BluKote, so it should be here in a couple days, in time for me to spray her before she goes back out with the flock. It looks like she's pooped once since she's been in the cat carrier, but I'll watch for another one at least, since that's surely what she was digesting before the attack. I will also watch her for any signs of internal injury or broken bones--thanks for the heads up on that, it hadn't occurred to me. I will also check for small feathers around the wound. I didn't notice that in my first inspection, but I wasn't looking for it, either, so I will check to be sure. I will also check to see if I have antibiotic ointment without painkiller--if not, I can pick some up at the drug store. Thanks again for the great advice!
HYZ:
For my two cents....neosporin (without pain med)...if you really need it 'closed up', use surgical glue.(need a friend who's a vet)....or in a pinch...super glue....my experience is that given a bit of TLC and nothing vital was compromised, they will bounce back....there are many tales of folks on here fixing all sorts of problems that would kill a human.....
Given the pics, I think your girl made out pretty well....and your flock got a lesson....hope things work out well!!! (my two cents)
Thanks, stake! I was just talking with my husband, who is a doctor (but no avian vet!) and he said he could do the stitches, but suggested it might be better to leave it open so that it heals from the inside out and we don't trap infection inside. He hasn't seen Buttercup's wound in person yet, though, just the same pic I posted here. I was worried about the stitches causing her more pain and trauma, anyway, so if we did do something we'd probably do glue like you said. I hadn't thought of that, but I like that idea a lot better than stitches for her. I guess we will watch over the next 24 hours and see how the wound seems to be healing and if it looks like it will close up on its own or if she keeps pulling it apart when she moves. One good thing is that it didn't seem to be bleeding almost at all.
@hyzenthlay I'm so glad that she's ok! I would definitely stick with what everyone else said. Make sure it's cleaned really well. You can use peroxide but only for the initial cleaning then stick with neosporin (without pain relief). I think that the location it's in, stitches wouldn't help since they would pull everytime she moved her head. You should keep her in for at least the first couple days to watch her and make sure she's eating (she may go in to shock for a few days). Before you put her back out, give her a good spray with some bluekote and she should be just fine![]()
Thanks, Auroradream!


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