Pullet attacked by a hawk, resulting wing injury....

[Abriana]

It’s great that you were able to save her! Hopefully she will recover. Keep her wounds clean and disinfected!

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh, I am really concerned now that she may have a punctured air sac. That can cause crackling and gurgling, since air is pulled into the body through the 9 air sacs in the body. I would try to get her seen by a vet to suture the wound. The problem with the open air sac wound, would cause labored breathing and the possibility of infection. So sorry, I am not a vet, but I would try to see one if possible. If not, with the holiday approaching, I would try to keep her comfortable. Guaze pads with a big glob of plain Neosporin ointment might be good to secrure to her wound to stop the flow of air. You can use a section of panty hose or strtchy gauze to hold it in place.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is some info on the air sacs:
https://www.petcoach.co/article/respiratory-system-of-birds-anatomy-and-function/

 

[Alexandra33]

Poor thing.
Hopefully the hawk didn't puncture any organs.

Awww. Sounds as though Eggcessive is on to something.

It’s great that you were able to save her! Hopefully she will recover. Keep her wounds clean and disinfected!

It was all God. Hopefully so...we're doing what we can for her. Copy that!

Oh, I am really concerned now that she may have a punctured air sac. That can cause crackling and gurgling, since air is pulled into the body through the 9 air sacs in the body. I would try to get her seen by a vet to suture the wound. The problem with the open air sac wound, would cause labored breathing and the possibility of infection. So sorry, I am not a vet, but I would try to see one if possible. If not, with the holiday approaching, I would try to keep her comfortable. Guaze pads with a big glob of plain Neosporin ointment might be good to secrure to her wound to stop the flow of air. You can use a section of panty hose or strtchy gauze to hold it in place.

That makes sense. Everything is explained now. No wonder when I pressed on her skin earlier, I felt crackling air bubbles just below the skin. Thank you for educating me on avian air sacs, of which I had no idea!

Sadly, there don't seem to be any reputable poultry vets around here. Are her chances of survival slimmer without professional attention? We took your advice, and wrapped Mouse in vet tape, along with gauze and Neosporin. I picked her up for a second to see how things sounded, and the gurgling has minimized for the moment. She's sleeping peacefully now next to me. Thankfully, breathing doesn't appear to be labored.

~Alex

 

[1goose2ducks]

Yes Bluekote is a life saver. So sorry about your chicken. She is beautiful. My rooster got attacked when he was a baby and got a wond in the exact same place as yours.(and on his head) Hawks are devils. I will keep her in my thoughts. Here is my rooster now

 

[1goose2ducks]

You can also put 4 to 5 aspirin in a gallon of water if she seems in pain

 

[RodNTN]

How is she today?

 

[Shadrach]

As @Eggcessive points out the wing is connected to the lungs through a pneumatic bone system. It sound as if there may be a break in a bone.

 

[Alexandra33]

Yes Bluekote is a life saver. So sorry about your chicken. She is beautiful. My rooster got attacked when he was a baby and got a wond in the exact same place as yours.(and on his head) Hawks are devils. I will keep her in my thoughts. Here is my rooster now View attachment 1595682

May have to use it....only good thing about the wounds is their location. Thankfully, I don't think the others will notice unless she's bleeding profusely.

Thank you so much, I shall tell her. And, my goodness....your man's a STUNNER! What a blessing it is that he made it as far as adulthood to grace the world with his beauty.

You can also put 4 to 5 aspirin in a gallon of water if she seems in pain

Will keep that in consideration. It's difficult to tell when a bird is in pain, since they bear it so silently.

How is she today?

I'm going to make a separate update post! Thank you for checking in, dear friend.

As @Eggcessive points out the wing is connected to the lungs through a pneumatic bone system. It sound as if there may be a break in a bone.

It's highly likely, since she doesn't appear to have any control over her wing. Woke up this morning to Mouse standing on it. Will continue feeling around as she allows.

~Alex

 

[Alexandra33]

Well, little Mouse made it through the night! She's quite alert today, in spite of refusing to move because of the wrapping, which she seems to despise. Only imagine how she'll feel when her wing needs to be secured! Probably best to restrict movement at this stage, anyway. Breakfast was devoured ravenously as soon as offered....there's certainly no lack of appetite for this girl! Besides that, but she downed molasses water to the point of excess - which I'm guessing is due to blood/bodily fluid loss. Droppings are normal, gurgling from air in her system has reduced, and she's made preening attempts.

Here you can view both the gauze and miserable wing. Bless her little pea pickin' heart. It's been a hard couple days for Mouse. She looks so rough after all that feather loss.

~Alex