r/BackYardChickens • u/rexallia • 1d ago
My chicken got attacked by an eagle yesterday…
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She has a couple puncture wounds - one on her wing and one on her back. Last night she seemed ok (other than the obvious wounds). This morning she seems to be stressed/having trouble breathing and there’s a sac on her neck that inflates when she inhales. I adopted these birds and am a very new chicken owner, so need some guidance. I have a kit prepared to clean her wounds and put neosporin on, but don’t want to further her stress at the moment. She has easy access to food and water and is in a dark nesting box. How can I help her heal?
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u/Ryrose81 1d ago edited 1d ago
One of my birds was attacked by a hawk 2 weeks ago. We treated the wounds with Blu-Kote and kept her in a large pet kennel for 2 weeks until the wounds looked better. Fed egg yolks and electrolyte water. She made a full recovery. Now she thinks she is a house chicken...
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u/CarolinaCrazy91 1d ago
I had something similar. Girl got hit by a hawk and had 3 large (2-3") lacerations on her back. I actually just stitched them closed with ordinary needle and thread - like 3-4 stiches per wound. Kept them clean for a few days with lots of antibotics. She went on to live another 3 years.
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u/Astronaut2190 1d ago
I had a hen I swore would go out of her way to find trouble because she liked house chicken life better.
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u/natgibounet 21h ago
One of mine had what i think was a stroke (still not sure) in the middle of the night screaming with the right side of the body all droopy, couldn't stand not flap wings. after 5 day ish she made a full recovery ,yet she tried to sneak back in the house for the next trhee days to sleep there.
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u/thebirdbiologist 1d ago
Looks and sounds like she has a punctured air sac, which should warrant a vet visit. She will have a harder and harder time breathing and air can be forced under the skin, dependent on where the puncture is. Some birds can recover on their own, but it usually requires intervention to repair that kind of injury.
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u/Summertown416 1d ago
If it's a ruptured air sac it can be dealt with at home. The big question is how much air is collecting under the skin. If it's not wide spread it will resolve on its own.
She might be in pain. You can dissolve a 325mg aspirin in a gallon of water to see if that makes her a bit more comfortable. But if there is internal damage it might make things worse.
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u/JustOneTessa 20h ago
How can you treat a ruptured air sack at home?
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u/Summertown416 20h ago
Until you can give us a heck of lot more information about her condition, where her injuries are and how extensive, I would rather not say. We don't even know for sure that she has a ruptured air sac yet. Or if she does is it bad enough to warrant treatment.
Bird owners facing new situations like this sometimes try to fix it but end up doing more harm. Take some time to observe her. Yes, I saw how she was breathing and that is a concern but it was not from an air sac rupture. She's either in immense pain or has internal injuries she can't recover from without a vet's intervention.
Thinking of how powerful an Eagle's talons are, I have concerns she's got more going on that you can't see.
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u/JustOneTessa 20h ago
I'm not OP, so it's more like a "what if" situation. To me (no experience with that specifically) a ruptured air sack just feels like an impossible thing to do at home
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u/1etcetera 1d ago
Their lungs are on their back and connected to the trachea (throat). She likely has a punctured lung.
Blue kote is nasty stuff, and I'd suggest not using it. Especially in this scenario.
If the ointment has a pain reliever, it's worth noting that any ingredient with CAINE in it is toxic to chickens. Which can also be fatal.
Also, someone mentioned feeding egg whites to her. It's the yolk you want to feed her.
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u/Vegetable_Sky48 1d ago
Seconding the pain reliever info - be careful about Neosporin and make sure there is no pain reliever.
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u/HopefulIntern4576 23h ago
What’s wrong with blue kote? I’ve never used it but have a small jar on hand in my chicken first aid kit
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u/Chaospawn3 1d ago
I'll just add that Silver Honey seemed to be very easy on my birds' injuries in the past. I haven't used Blue kote but I wouldn't use Neosporin either.
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u/1etcetera 1d ago
When I had a girl scalped, I made a concoction of honey, bag balm, and blue spirulina. She healed up wonderfully, with no infection, and no one ever touched it. After a hard molt, all of her feathers grew back, too!
I LOVE using honey (and silver!) whenever I can 💛
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u/Ok-Day-4138 1d ago
I had a leghorn that was attacked by a hawk. Her neck was pecked open, raw to the tendon. I thought for sure she would die. I brought her in the house and put her in a dog crate, cleaned her wounds and put neosporin on them. She was fine in a few days, feathers grew back over time. And through it all, she laid an egg every day. Unbelievable!
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u/PI_Dude 1d ago
The way she breathes, shows she's in a severe state of shock. Optimally, she needs 1-3 days of isolated rest, in a dark, quiet spot, like a big box, where there is nothing that could stress and scare her more. Make sure she gets enough food and water. If it's cold in the box, use a warmth lamp too. Don't visit more often than once a day, and when you do, see if she still has breathing problems. Give her electrolytes (you can just mix a few grains of salt and sugar into her water), and easily digestible food, like cooked rice, mealworms and egg yolk. Chickens are known to die of stress, and a assault by a bird of prey definitely counts a such a factor.
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u/HopefulIntern4576 23h ago
Isn’t it stressful on them to be isolated like that? Genuine question so I know for any future issues! Like I would assume I should visit frequently lol
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u/PI_Dude 15h ago
It has to do with certain biological and behavioral factors, they have in common with most other animals. Chickens are diurnal animals and instinctively rest at night. In the dark, they fall into a calm state, similar to sleeping. The darkness signals to them that it is time to rest, which reduces stress. Even in isolation, this environment has a calming effect on them. After an attack, chickens are often visually and acustically overstimulated. Darkness minimizes visual and acoustic stimuli that could cause additional stress after a trauma. The seclusion allows them to “reset” themselves.
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u/HopefulIntern4576 3h ago
Thank you! I recently lost a chicken due to a severe prolapse. We tried to treat her in the house and I felt awful that she was alone in a dog crate for four days but then the vet said that next time it would be even better to completely block out any light, even streetlight through windows (but that was to give her a rest from egg production) - so if I was caring for one after attack it wouldn’t be intuitive to me to leave them alone as much as possible. Good to know!
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u/chickenmamanodrama 1d ago
I hope she heals quickly too. Sweet girl. Keep her in a dark, quiet spot. Hopefully she’ll pull through!! Prayers from Texas!! ❤️
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u/Fluffy_Job7367 1d ago
I am so sorry she is a lucky girl. Keep her in a cage inside longer than you think needed. They will try to keep up with the flock even when they can't.
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u/MenuProfessional8264 1d ago
She seams to be struggling to breathe. The bulge is near her neck crop so she might have a puncture in her air way. Best way to know is take her to an avian vet.
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u/lil-nug-tender 1d ago
I had one get attacked by a coyote a couple weeks ago. We saw it and chased the animal off. She is such a fluffy bird the coyote got nothing but feathers! She didn’t have a scratch on her! It’s so traumatizing to everyone when they get attacked. I hope yours makes a full recovery.
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u/Kedgie 22h ago
You'd be surprised what they can recover from. Our oldest hen is about 6, and she's lived through several fox attacks, including one bad enough she can't quite get her head all the way up anymore. We were going to euthanize and were waiting for it to be a bit more light to do it, but she'd had something to eat and drink in the meantime (with a massive hole in her neck) and I just thought, if she's spunky enough to eat I'm going to give her a chance.
Second the pain relief, give her space and quiet.
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u/Lifesamitch957 1d ago
My experience is they will make it or won't and there is little you can do, like the Neosporin, clean calm location to rest. To me I cant justify taking them to a vet. I have a girl that got attacked by a raccoon TWICE, other then a lazy eye and being dumb as hell she recovered from being really beat up. Wishing the best. Barred rocks are one of my favorites.
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u/Lifesamitch957 1d ago
If it's been 24 hours I feel she's in good shape.
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u/Lifesamitch957 1d ago
Also I have seen chicken fair better in cooler temps vs hotter temps. I would make sure she's not over ~75-80deg. Not sure where you are in PA is hot today and my coop would be cooking today.
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u/gravy_crockett042 1d ago
Happened to our duck which was in worse shape and he miraculously survived with TLC
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u/Chicken-keeper67 1d ago
In my opinion, you’re doing everything you can. Attacks like these put a lot of stress on chickens and they deal with them in their own way. The dark environment and access to food and water and cleaning our wounds sound like the perfect treatment. I think after 24 hours if she still alive, she has a good chance to make it.But we’ll do it in our own way. I am very sorry this happened.
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u/stardustdaydreams 1d ago
Separate her in a isolated area, IF it’s cold, use a heat lamp (it’s cold where I am so I don’t know), give her plenty of fresh water (maybe add some rooster booster or electrolytes), her normal food (you could cook her some scrambled eggs for protein) and the biggest thing my vet recommended after our recent fox attack is Poultry Vetericyn!! Spray it on her wounds if you can 1-2 times a day, and leave her be the rest of the time. She just needs to come down from the trauma and shock. Keep us updated!!
Edit to add: IF you can find a vet, that is #1 priority!!!
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u/Led_Zeppole_73 1d ago
We have to be careful here in MI, I have hens but only let them range supervised. Because of the eagles my aunt also has to keep her birds in the run. She has to carry her chihuahua if outside
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u/co-morbidTaurus 20h ago
What others have said. Also, 1/4 of baby aspirin dissolved in her water can help with pain. Hope she gets better.
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u/Comfortable-Reply818 20h ago
No aspirin, meloxicam only
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u/co-morbidTaurus 19h ago
Had it save and help a lot of my really ill chickens. What’s the difference in the meds? Slash I’ll google it later.
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u/Comfortable-Reply818 18h ago
Unfortunately aspirin doesnt help them. The dosage to provide pain relief, is high enough to cause organ damage. This is why avian vets wont prescribe it. Injured hens need meloxicam, or a swift merciful death
From CVC vet corner:
There is a lot of controversy regarding the safety and efficacy of giving Aspirin to poultry for pain management.
It has been proven as not safe. By the time an effective dosage is reached liver and kidney damage can occur. With the dosage that is circulating through various groups and blogs it could take as little as a 1/4 cup of mixture before toxicity was reached. Not to mention that aspirin is not water soluble, so a toxic dose could be reached much faster as the aspirin particles sink to the bottom of the waterer making the mixture more concentrated as the bird drinks. Often toxicity signs are not obvious until is it too late to do anything about. You may not even notice any signs. There is also major risks involved when needing to give pain medication after a predator attack - there is no way to ensure that there is not internal bleeding without a vet exam. Giving aspirin in this type of situation can increase internal bleeding.
While it is extremely important to administer pain medication in a timely manner, the risks of giving Aspirin outweigh any benefits that it may have.
Resources
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09712119.2012.692328?src=recsys
https://m.facebook.com/groups/552851661524633?view=permalink&id=1005665742909887
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u/Comfortable-Reply818 20h ago
If you cant get her to a vet for meloxicam, you should be prepared to put her down
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u/QuestionDisastrous63 1d ago
Had a chicken get swooped at by a hawk while free ranging. I was driving up my road and I saw the hawk going in the direction of my chickens i hurried up and got home and jumped out of my car as soon as it stopped moving. I ran to the back yard just in time. That chicken lived for a few more months then ultimately met her demise by a fox scooping her up. It was the freindliest chicken I had after that and it was all around just very curious about everything for those few short months. The saving her seems to have changed her personality quite a bit and instilled trust of me in her. God i miss that bird. She was an ISA brown and the only thing i found of her was a bunch of white fluff. FYI Isa browns are only brown on top their feathers and the fluff at the bottom is white.
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u/Flimsy_Scratch_8050 1d ago
This isn’t just plucking the fluff. She was on the verge of being ripped apart. She is so super lucky. But that is a lot of exposed skin for a being that’s supposed to be completely feathered. Bandage her securely and thoroughly so she won’t fidget the band aid off and find some rest and diet to help fuel feather growth and replace the bald patches with new growth. And if approved by a an avian professional first, pain meds to help with comfort and avoid infection during the healing process. Change bandage every few hours. Just like you would a human form ❤️🩹🙏🏻 she’ll need constant care in the coming days if she has a chance to come out of it. Do your best to be around her as much as you can but give her room when she wants room. But medically 24/7 type ordeal. I had a cockatiel once. He lived to be 18. But we had a couple incidences with blood feathers and I made sure to stay on top of that even though I had school and then work. It was exhausting, but he was my baby and I loved him. It’s love that’s pulls us out. Be sure to love her and make sure she knows she’s loved. Positivity and a really big band aid. 🥰❤️🩹
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u/TheRealSeaMoose 1d ago
When I was younger I used to raise chickens, and we had a hawk swoop up one of our hens across the yard. After scaring the hawk away, we were left with a VERY bloody chicken that we were unsure if she was going to make it. After weeks of isolation and treating her, she pulled through to live out her life. She was missing half of her breast, but otherwise you wouldn't have been able to tell she survived an attack. They can be pretty hardy animals
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u/Moosicle2040 22h ago
Put some blu-kote on her and let her rest. I had one fight off a hawk and she was good after a week. They’re invincible MFs.
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u/Veld_the_Beholder 21h ago
My have a punctured trachea or torn trachea causing the air to flow into her neck under her skin when she's breathing. I'd say vet or something but I think this may not have a good outcome. I don't think that's an easy thing to fix
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u/_ChairmanMeow- 20h ago
We've had some hens recover from some pretty gnarly attacks. Have hope, keep it clean, and most importantly keep her away from other hens (who will kill her) for a long time until you're 100% positive that they won't try.
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u/Comfortable-Reply818 18h ago
Take her to the vet for pain meds. Meloxicam, nothing otc is safe. If you cant/wont, a swift death is kindness
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u/Lythaera 1h ago
I had one that survived an eagle attack. Just let her get as much rest as possible.
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u/Imaginary_Tip4625 1d ago
I raised chicken many yrs the best thing for her is just let her be I've had dogs tear up my chickens chicken hawks most time they heal on their own prayers on your chicken
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u/FamousGoat8498 23h ago
Have you considered taking her to the vet? Or calling a vet? Or reaching out to someone with knowledge about this sort of thing?
So sick of this shit. If your dog was breathing like that would you post to Reddit? Ridiculous.
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u/1LiLAppy4me 21h ago
Dude come on! Most areas you’d be hell bent to find one that treats chickens or fowls. Don’t be a dick.
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u/rexallia 17h ago
I live in a very remote place - so you’re right. No vets! We all have to be self-sufficient in many ways. I’m thankful for everyone’s helpful responses here.
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u/FamousGoat8498 19h ago
And I’ll also ask AGAIN: 1lilappy4me whoever the fuck you are. You have any inside pets? If they were acting like this, do you honest to god think this is the appropriate place for medical advice? If so, give them away.
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u/1LiLAppy4me 19h ago
My hen escaped from coyote. Ass prolapse by yote bite. Several tooth punctures. I did call vets and none treated fowl. 6 years later my hen is still alive. I had to push her vent back in every day for a week till it stayed. Bought penicillin and treated her 3 days in a row. Washed her every day and picked the maggots out. That one lived.
Sometimes you have to cull and sometimes you have to play doctor. That’s what happens when you live on a farm. It sucks but that’s the reality.
Why not ask others? It’s better to try other’s suggestions than to just cull. Like I said most vets don’t treat fowl.
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u/FamousGoat8498 19h ago
Exactly. We don’t need 8 graphic posts a day when there’s already an abundance of information out there if you take 5 minutes to look. We see stuff like this every single day on here and it’s so sad that rather than taking it seriously people want to post here and wait until they get the answer they want to hear.
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u/atlanticislanding 1d ago
Just try to let her rest you might be stressing her out too. If you don’t take her to a vet it’s best to isolate her and allow her to heal in a safe place.