Chicken attacked by hawk. Lethargic and twitching head.

[Zombimigz]

This morning a hawk attacked our chickens while they were playing in the front yard. I didn't see what happened but I heard them screaming and saw the hawk flying away. The other two seem fine but one of them refuses to open her left eye and she seems really tired. Her entire body keeps sinking to the floor and she's making a weird twitching motion every few seconds where her entire head moved really quickly just a few millimeters go the right. I can't tell if she's sleeping since her right eye is still open and I read somewhere that chickens can sleep with only one eye closed. We put a little eyedrop in her left eye and we when we moved her eyelids I didn't notice any problems. But then again it was only open for a second and I couldn't carefully inspect it. I'm worried she might have been infected or seriously injured. Hopefully she just needs rest.

 

[coach723]

Since you didn't see it happen it's hard to say. I would check that bird all over, part the feathers and check everywhere, for any punctures or other wounds. They can hide in feathers and you really have to look. If you find any wounds then flush them out well with sterile saline, diluted betadine, chlorhexidine (hibiclens) or plain mild soapy water. You can use plain neosporin or plain triple antibiotic ointment on any you find. Her lethargy could also be shock, which can happen with any traumatic event. Keep her in a warm, quite area and monitor her drinking, hydration is more important than food at first.

 

[azygous]

After such an attack, a hen will suffer from shock. This is a life threatening issue you need to treat.

Bring the injured hen inside where it's warm, but not hot. Give her warmed sugar water and electrolytes. Or simply warm some Gatoraid to a tepid temp. If she cannot drink on her own, you need to dip her beak in the liquid to get her started. If that doesn't get her drinking, then syringe the fluids into the right side of her beak.

 

[Eggcessive]

She may have suffered a head injury since the movement of her head to the right seems a bit neurological. You can give some vitamin E daily 400 IU to see if that helps, plus the electrolytes and fluids recommended earlier. I hope that she gets better. If you see more of the head twitch you can post a short video to YouTube with a link here.