Saved hen from hawk attack, please help

[ackie]

wow still laying! shes a champ

 

[lizmc319]

The lump may just be bruising but keep watch on it.
If it's painful to apply the triple antibiotic ointment, try the Vetericyn spray that you have.
Watch for signs of infection like pus or odor.

As for foods, nothing special really...normal food, but you can give a little scrambled egg or something like that as a nice treat.
Vitamins/Electrolytes I would make available along with plain fresh water.
I prefer not to give pain meds, bird will self limit activity for healing.

She may be really sore. My understanding is Hawks come down and hit forcefully as well as use their talons, so she likely too a hard hit too.
Give her time. If she's alert and eating/drinking that's good. Just work with her slowly.

Thank you so much! My first thought was that it was just a bruise, but then I started overthinking because it looked so awful. It happened in a pretty wooded area, so the hawk must have come down right on top of her, so that makes sense. She doesn't seem to be self limiting as much as I thought she would, so I'm hoping that means she feels ok at least. Until we try treating her, anyway, which of course she doesn't love. But hopefully we'll keep going uphill from here. Thank you again for your help!

 

[lizmc319]

wow still laying! shes a champ

Right!? I thought for sure it would be awhile before she started laying again. The last injury we had inside was just a pecked comb a couple years ago and I'm pretty sure she stopped laying for at least a week!

 

[Ebony Rose]

Poo worse while she's under the weather, I'd treat for cocci; those opportunistic bowel suckers take every opportunity to kick a bird while it's down. EVEN IF she's not suffering cocci, it will NOT hurt her to treat for it prophylactically. It's what I'd do if she were my girl. Yes, spritz the blu-kote, allow it to dry, then apply the other afterward. Blu-kote absorbs quickly, duration of discoloration varies based on her bathing habits, type of tissue it's sprayed on, thickness of skin etc, but a week or two is not unheard of. You may want to glove up before spritzing her, or you can remove any that you get onto yourself by following the instructions outlined on the following website https://www.hobbyfarms.com/stain-removal-hands-purple-blu-kote-spray/

Her laying eggs is a good sign, it signals that SHE thinks (her body thinks) that she's gonna recover.

 

[ackie]

But laying eggs will take a toll on her since shes already down, so keep an eye on her eating. Or, yknow, give her a stern talking to about how now is the time to rest!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you so much. I forgot about blu-kote, we bought some a couple years ago after a comb pecking incident, I'll have to find that. Should I use both that and the vetiricyn? And how long will it stain for? I just want to make sure we can still tell when or if the wounds need more cleaning. She's still in good spirits and still eating and drinking fine. She even laid an egg Sunday and Monday. Her poo has gotten worse, but that seems to be the only regression so far. Thank you again for all your input and for checking back in!

Thank you so much! My first thought was that it was just a bruise, but then I started overthinking because it looked so awful. It happened in a pretty wooded area, so the hawk must have come down right on top of her, so that makes sense. She doesn't seem to be self limiting as much as I thought she would, so I'm hoping that means she feels ok at least. Until we try treating her, anyway, which of course she doesn't love. But hopefully we'll keep going uphill from here. Thank you again for your help!

Photos of the poop?
It may just be change in environment, stress or even food if you are giving her extra treats that's she's not used to consuming.

Hopefully she will heal just fine. It's not uncommon for a hen to continue to lay eggs when they have suffered injury.

 

[lizmc319]

Photos of the poop?
It may just be change in environment, stress or even food if you are giving her extra treats that's she's not used to consuming.

Hopefully she will heal just fine. It's not uncommon for a hen to continue to lay eggs when they have suffered injury.

Sorry for the delay. Yes, she is laying pretty consistently still. Her poo was normal again on Saturday (first pic), but then runny looking again yesterday (second). Still normal color, just very loose. Last week it was more concerning because it was also almost black and loose and one was green and loose before it went back to normal coloring.

I've also never seen such a dramatic feather regrowth, is it normal for the skin to get so dark when this happens? (third pic)

Also, my only wound concern now is the biggest one. That's the last couple pictures. There are some tiny fluffy feathers stuck to it, still a small dried blood area we couldn't quite clean completely, and I think there's the end of a bone in the middle of it, but can't quite tell and I'm worried what to do if it is. And the bump hasn't really changed, besides maybe getting a bit darker. I'm nervous to handle her too much now tho because I read that the refeathering can be painful for them and I don't want to stress her more.

 

[ackie]

That's some beastly feather regrowth! You go girl.

 

[lizmc319]

That's some beastly feather regrowth! You go girl.

I know! Not even a full 2 weeks out. She's a little warrior, that's for sure

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Sorry for the delay. Yes, she is laying pretty consistently still. Her poo was normal again on Saturday (first pic), but then runny looking again yesterday (second). Still normal color, just very loose. Last week it was more concerning because it was also almost black and loose and one was green and loose before it went back to normal coloring.

I've also never seen such a dramatic feather regrowth, is it normal for the skin to get so dark when this happens? (third pic)

Also, my only wound concern now is the biggest one. That's the last couple pictures. There are some tiny fluffy feathers stuck to it, still a small dried blood area we couldn't quite clean completely, and I think there's the end of a bone in the middle of it, but can't quite tell and I'm worried what to do if it is. And the bump hasn't really changed, besides maybe getting a bit darker. I'm nervous to handle her too much now tho because I read that the refeathering can be painful for them and I don't want to stress her more.

Poop looks o.k. to me, it can change color and consistency depending on what's eaten, how much fluids, etc.
Feather regrowth looks great!
As for the area you are concerned about, I would just keep tending to it like you are, to me it looks like it's healing fine. I have no idea what the little bump is though. If there's no odors or signs of infection, she's eating/drinking, alert and laying eggs, then I would just stay the course like you are doing now.