Young Australorp attacked, how to help her?

sweetlittlehens

Hatching
Aug 21, 2016
7
0
9
Walnut Creek, CA
We have a flock of 5 young hens (born in Feb) that free range on .25 acre. They are only in the coop at night when they put themselves to bed and we open it at day break in the morning so they shouldn't be stressed. We keep the coop clean and they have fresh water and layer crumbles as well as regular treats from the kitchen.
A couple days ago, our Black Australorp (Tiny) was not on the roosting bar when we went to close the coop at night and was standing on the floor facing the door. Odd, we thought. After 2 nights of this, there was a horrible commotion in the back yard. I came out and the lowest bird went running across the yard and Tiny was 6 feet away making loud vocalizations. The other 3 higher ranking birds ran towards them. I didn't think much of it until my son found Tiny hiding next to the waterer and her eyes were swollen shut with a little blood around them.
We live near the open space and there are lots of predators, could a hawk have done this? Her sister hens? She doesn't have any other bodily harm that I can tell and has still laid eggs since the attack.
We have her on antibiotics and she got a little pain medication from the vet. She isn't really eating though, so I'm worried :( she is drinking water and I made another mix of soupy crumbles. I've managed a few blueberries in her gullet but she fights me on it.
I've separated her and she stays with me in the kitchen, in case she's sick and to prevent the others from attacking.
I took her outside yesterday to feel the sun on her body and get fresh air and she is standing and walking some, but she mostly sleeps all day.
I don't know what else I can do for her, please help! My son is distraught because he saved for almost 4 years for his flock and we took her to the vet on Saturday, his 7th birthday, and he was in tears "I can't lose my chicken on my birthday!" So far, she's hanging in there, but I want to do everything I can to help her get better and be able to rejoin her sisters.
Thanks in advance!
 
Hello? Did anyone see my post? She isn't eating unless I open her beak and slide something in and she fights me to open her mouth. How long can a chicken go without eating? She is drinking some, but is losing weight :( please please please advise.
 
Hello there, I just finished reading your post. Heres some questions I'd like to ask. Does she rub or play with her eyes? Is her poop normal? Does she try to "talk" at all?

You are doing the right about separating her and giving meds.
 
Thank you so much for any advice you can provide! She is not rubbing her eyes at all, thankfully. She is only drinking water and sometimes a little bit of watery laying crumble soup. Her poop is mostly water with a little bit of white / green. She's popping maybe 2-3 times a day. I've tried crumble, blueberries, watermelon, but wondering if maybe I should try some protein to get calories packed on her.

I've taken her outside for fresh air and sun and she walks slowly in circles but her balance isn't great and she starts to fall over and puts a wing down to steady herself.
She's not talking very much, just a little murmur when I talk to her. I keep the back screen door so she can still hear the flock.im not sure if she's not eating because she's in pain and I should get her more pain medicine, or if I give her pain medicine that she would sleep more and not eat?
Hello there, I just finished reading your post. Heres some questions I'd like to ask.  Does she rub or play with her eyes? Is her poop normal? Does she try to "talk" at all? 

You are doing the right about separating her and giving meds.
 
I wouldn't give her more meds cuz too much is bad,and it might make her too drowsy. Trying to give her protein would be AWSOME!
 
That was what I was thinking, because she's already sleeping a lot and while she needs rest she also needs water and food. She responds to my voice and is enjoying being held and with the family. It must be so scary to not see anything so I'm trying to keep her on her regular wake / sleep schedule and have familiar smells and voices. I'm hoping there isn't an underlying issue and this is just chicken politics and once she's healthy, she can rejoin the flock. She might be in with us for a while though, she hasn't been able to open her eyes since Friday Aug 19th :(
 
Well this was not the work of a hawk, if a hawk attacked her she would be dead. My bantam Cochin was attacked by a cat a few years ago. She was absolutely terrified. She would not eat for days and had quite a bit of blood and bruising on her face and comb. We gave her antibiotics and rubbed Vaseline on her comb and she recovered fully. I would spend some time working on predator proofing their enclosure to prevent this from happening in the future. Run the chicken wire at least six inches under the ground surrounding the pen and run fishing line over the pen in a crisscrossing pattern. I am sorry to hear about your bird. Gillamyicin is a great antibiotic in powder form, just mix it with the water and change daily.
 
I agree, and she didn't have any other bodily injuries. She is stretching and walking some, but still hasn't opened her eyes since it happen last Friday. The vet gave us Clavamox and I've cut the pills in half and put them in blueberries but I have to open her mouth to put them in. I'll check out the Gillamyicin, that sounds like a better option! I just hope the other chickens didn't do this to her for some reason. She wasn't the top bird and not the bottom, but was acting a little funny the 2 night prior and wouldn't roost with the other girls. We do need to do more predator proofing though. A neighbor lost all her hens to a family of raccoons recently :(
Well this was not the work of a hawk, if a hawk attacked her she would be dead. My bantam Cochin was attacked by a cat a few years ago. She was absolutely terrified. She would not eat for days and had quite a bit of blood and bruising on her face and comb. We gave her antibiotics and rubbed Vaseline on her comb and she recovered fully. I would spend some time working on predator proofing their enclosure to prevent this from happening in the future. Run the chicken wire at least six inches under the ground surrounding the pen and run fishing line over the pen in a crisscrossing pattern. I am sorry to hear about your bird. Gillamyicin is a great antibiotic in powder form, just mix it with the water and change daily.
 
That sounds about right. It took my girl a little over a month to reopen her eye. If you were given clavamox i would try to continue that. It might be sightly more potent. however if you cant get her to eat that, i would try the gillamyicin, as that's a little easier to get in them.
 

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