# Bird of prey attack



## Ella (Nov 12, 2012)

One of our chickens was just attacked by some birds of prey. She has a head injury in that it has some blood. She is unconscious at the moment but is breathing well. Does anyone know what we can do to help her?


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## HomeSkillet (Mar 1, 2013)

Hi Ella, any updates on how your bird is doing?


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## Ella (Nov 12, 2012)

Her breathing is faster and her eyes are closed. She moved her neck in a stretched out position but other than that hasn't moved. My daughter is holding her. It doesn't look good. She is one of our sweetest hens. I'm not sure what else to do.


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## realsis (Jan 13, 2013)

oh I'm so sorry to hear that! maybe take her inside to a dimly lit quiet room that's stress free. let her know she is safe. how much damage did the bird do to her that you can see? is her neck ok? does anything look broken? how badly is the head injured? has she opened her eyes yet? i pray she gets better! she is likely in shock right now
keep her warm. I'm praying she comes out fine! please please keep us updated on her condition! i wish i new of more to do for her. i do know she is in shock so if you can get her out of shock than you can access the damage. please post back on her condition and I'm so sorry this has happened! i wish you the best. again I'm very sorry


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## soccerchicken12 (Feb 8, 2013)

Could I see some picks? I might be able to help you better. Hope she gets better soon


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## Ella (Nov 12, 2012)

I called a bird rescue volunteer that helps injured wild birds. She said to give our hen a heat source like a warm water bottle or heating pad. This is the most important thing for injured birds. They have a difficult time keeping their body temperature up when sick or injured. Then clean the wounds and give some sort of protein to eat and pedilite. 

I asked my daughter to lift Stomper (our hen) up so I could put the heating pad under her. When my daughter lifted her up she perked up, opened her eyes and stood up! I think she must have been in shock like realsis mentioned. Now we have her in a kennel with food, water and the heating pad. 

Some eagles have been hanging around our neighborhood lately. It has been kinda fun for people to take pictures and see them. My father-in-law came out just as we were screaming at them to get away. He thinks one he got a good look at was a female eagle. I'm not sure how long they'll hang around but we aren't letting the rest of our flock out. It is sad because they love to roam around the property.


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## Ella (Nov 12, 2012)

I forgot to mention that Stomper has two puncture wounds at the base of her scull and a scrape on her comb. Now that all the blood is cleaned up it looks like that is the extent of the injuries. We must have gotten outside at the beginning of the attack. The birds were huge.


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## 7chicks (Jun 29, 2012)

Good call Ella! Glad the bird rescue was able to let you know what to do. Glad you're little sweetheart woke up. Sending lots of good thoughts her way that she continues to perk up and heals swiftly. Keep us posted.


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## realsis (Jan 13, 2013)

ooh I'm so happy! yes keep shock victims warm as i mentioned to you. i was thinking about her since you posted this! I'm more than happy she came out of shock! sometimes they don't I'm so Glad yours did! thank God you got her in time! now she should recover just fine with those minor injuries! that's such great news!! where i live we have a lot of birds of pray. no eagles but hawks and owls and ravens . sadly i have to keep mine in the run but I've made a roomy run for them with chicken pasture inside. if i let them free range like i did today i stay right close and keep checking the sky. those birds are so fast though they can get them in one swoop. its my biggest fear! well I'm so happy your girl is better! thank God!


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## HomeSkillet (Mar 1, 2013)

I'm glad to hear she's come back around. Lucky for her she's got such a good family! Give her chirps of support from us.


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