Recovering from hawk, hen tips forward immediately- please help!

[jenningsdm]

Less than 48 hours ago one of our Silkies (9 months old) was attacked by a hawk, and as the hawk was about to fly away with her, my son ran out and scared it, causing it to drop our Silkie on concrete. She had a very rough first few hours, but she is doing much better now (and has even laid an egg), but when she tries to get up, she falls forward IMMEDIATELY. I am not sure if the fall rattled her brains and her balance is off or if there is a muscle issue or what. She is separated from the other hens and in our garage in a large cardboard box with a few inches of pine shaving under her. She has a feeder and chick waterer in the box, but I am unsure of how well she can get herself to the food and water so several time a day we have made her drink and laid food right in from of her. What can I do to help her not fall? She does not make any noises as if she is in pain if that is significant. Please help me figure out what to do to make her better (and sadly, a vet is not an option) . My 6 year old daughter would be so sad if she couldn't recover. It is her bird. Thanks!

 

[tmfineg]

I am sorry to hear about your hen. I am not sure what advise ot give you. It might take her a couple of days to get over the shock. I think she will either improve quickly or decline quickly. I would just keep her comfortable and not encourage her not to stand for a little while. Her eating is a good sign. Best of luck.

 

[BaGAWK!!]

Can anyone give more info on using aspirin? I heard you can use it chickens, wondering if it would help w/inflammation to the head, if so I would definitely dose her. Sorry I don't have more info than that but hopefully someone more knowledgable will jump in. I hope your girl improves.

 

[galanie]

I've been told that you can take a regular aspirin and divide it into quarters. Dissolve one quarter of that aspirin in the chickens water. I'd think it would help her.

 

[jenningsdm]

I just saw a website where you can "ask an avian vet." Is this for real? I am hesitant to give my credit card number. Thanks!

 

[Olivesmom1]

Hi ... just wondering how your silkie is doing. I had a hawk attack Sunday. We came down to find the hawk on top of our little silkie. She has been in a box in the house with food and water ever since. She seems happy is eating and drinking but just as you posted she is falling forward immediately when trying to stand. Any improvement for your silkie?

 

[Agnella]

I had a girl attacked by a possum and it sounds like yours is behaving very similar to the way mine did.
I ended up having to get a dropper and dropping water (sometimes with a little gatorade mixed in) onto her beak. It would run down her beak and she lick it with her tongue.
I also bought some baby bird food (a powder found at PetSmart, mix it with warm water to make a paste) and fed that to her via dropper. I think her crop was hurt and regular food was not feeling good to her. I think that baby bird food saved her life. She also enjoyed plain greek yogurt...now they all love it

One thing that made a difference was letting her out in the sunshine in the grass after a few days. It seemed she was depressed being all alone and finally being outside perked her up a ton.

You have to keep her hydrated....otherwise she won't last long.

Sarah

 

[jenningsdm]

I'm so sorry to hear you are having the same problem! Our Silkie does seem to be getting a bit better, but she is far from totally recovered. We still have her in a box in the garage with pine shavings. We found that she was not effectively getting to her feed/water, so we just took it out and have been offering her food (taking regular feed) and water very frequently. If she goes for long without this, her balance is notably worse. She can now keep herself standing upright for long stretches of time, though she sways, and she usually will settle down in a normal position most of the time. She still is not walking, though, and will fall over at times. We have had a lot of rain, so we have not tried to bring her out yet, but we have brought the other chickens in to see her a few times so they hopefully will not feel like they have to pick on her when she does return. I am very hopeful that she will go back out, but we will keep her in until she can fend for herself. Good luck! Let me know if you have any big changes in your Silkie. Thanks!

 

[jenningsdm]

A little over a week after the attack, our girl keeps getting better! I have taken our Silkie out for some exercise for a few days now. She can walk now, though she does so cautiously and with some falls on occasion. It is hard for her to get back up at times. Our other chickens are pecking quite a bit, so when we do put her out full time, we plan to put her in a separate area where they can see her, but not get her. I think in a few days, she will be ready. How is your girl doing?

 

[Olivesmom1]

She is certainly getting stronger ... drinking and eating normally. However, now that her legs feel stronger she is pushing herself forward an doing flips all day long. She cant stand up. At least she cant get her chest up off the ground. Her legs seem to be strong and stand but her chest is just not strong enough to lift. Now that she is feeling better she is anxious to get up and walk so the flips keep happening! If I put my fingers with just a tiny bit of pressure to help push her bum down she stands just fine but otherwise seems top heavy and falls forward. Her mood is good! I'm glad to hear you are improving ... Reading about how many people had close calls but recovered gives us a lot of hope. We've lost chickens before but have never had to decide on ones fate so nursing her back to health has been rewarding.