Hawk attack, now off-balance

[Susanruthm]

One of our hens was attacked by a hawk on Wednesday. My son managed to rescue her fairly quickly. One of her eyes was swollen shut, but now is much improved and seems healthy. She was bleeding from the side of her head, but it stopped pretty quickly. We think she may have had a puncture wound there. We've been keeping it clean, and we have her inside the house, in a crate. She's very alert, and taking water and food. She looks excellent, but she can't stand without tipping over. She can even tip over when she's lying down if she leans too far in one direction. She falls forward onto her head with her rear up in the air. There seems to be nothing wrong with her legs. We've checked all over and nothing seems to hurt her. I'm wondering if she might have had the balance center in her ear damaged. There may have been a slight improvement in standing, but it's hard to say. She was falling immediately before and now stands for maybe 2 or 3 seconds. Any thoughts on what, if anything, we can do for her? If she doesn't get back to being able to stand and walk, I don't see her making it in the flock, or even being able to get food. We are giving her water and food, and she's eating pretty well, but not up to full speed. Thank you for your help.
p.s. She is almost two years old.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

She may just need more time, especially it she received a head injury. I don't think there's anything more you can do but supportive care unfortunately. Generally as long as you are seeing improvements then they just need more time.

You may want to make a sling to keep her legs in shape. I believe @Wyorp Rock has a picture of one.

 

[Susanruthm]

She may just need more time, especially it she received a head injury. I don't think there's anything more you can do but supportive care unfortunately. Generally as long as you are seeing improvements then they just need more time.

You may want to make a sling to keep her legs in shape. I believe @Wyorp Rock has a picture of one.

Thank you for your reply! That's a good idea.

 

[Eggcessive]

Since she was hit in the head and cut, maybe her ear or brain was injured. Is her eye still swollen? If her eye is swollen or she has an eye or ear injury, there could be a problem with her balance. I have seen where some people have used a scarf or strap under a chicken and walked them around. The chicken slings that @oldhenlikesdogs mentioned would be good, and if you have an old scarf that you could make 2 leg holes in, the scarf would be secure under the legs. Otherwise you could place it under her chest. Here is a good thread with many pictures of home made slings and chick chairs:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

 

[Susanruthm]

Since she was hit in the head and cut, maybe her ear or brain was injured. Is her eye still swollen? If her eye is swollen or she has an eye or ear injury, there could be a problem with her balance. I have seen where some people have used a scarf or strap under a chicken and walked them around. The chicken slings that @oldhenlikesdogs mentioned would be good, and if you have an old scarf that you could make 2 leg holes in, the scarf would be secure under the legs. Otherwise you could place it under her chest. Here is a good thread with many pictures of home made slings and chick chairs:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/versions-of-chick-chairs-please.1166308/

Oh, it would be so wonderful if it is just because her eye lid is swollen! I'll keep nursing her and try the sling.

 

[Molpet]

I had a pullet survive a hawk attack oct 2017. It took her until late spring 2018 to recover enough to go back with the flock. She still has a squinty eye and a little balance issue. But she lays, her eggs hatch and she went broody last year

 

[Susanruthm]

I had a pullet survive a hawk attack oct 2017. It took her until late spring 2018 to recover enough to go back with the flock. She still has a squinty eye and a little balance issue. But she lays, her eggs hatch and she went broody last year

Thank you, Molpet. That's very hopeful. It sounds like such a similar story. Do you know why she had the balance problem? It's amazing for a little pullet to survive a hawk attack. Where did you keep her during her long recovery? Our chicken is in a plastic tub with straw in our bathroom. I think we need a different solution if her recovery turns out to be long.

Do you free range your chickens? We've so wanted to, and we've tried off and on, but we lost one chicken each of our first two years. We started with 8, and now we just almost lost our third. Is this just the way it is, or are we to keep them locked up in their run all the time? They LOVE free ranging. For now, at the least, they have to stay in their run, because the hawk knows where they are.

By the way, I love your Scripture. Which version is that? I've had the attached photo in my Bible for 20 years. I found it in National Geographic one day when I was also reading Psalm 91. That's a black-necked crane.

Susan

 

[Eggcessive]

What breeds are your birds? We have hawks around for much of the year, but the few I lost over 8 years were bantams. We have evergreen trees which they rest under, and a rooster who has always done the alarm call. Unfortunately he died over the winter of old age.

 

[Susanruthm]

What breeds are your birds? We have hawks around for much of the year, but the few I lost over 8 years were bantams. We have evergreen trees which they rest under, and a rooster who has always done the alarm call. Unfortunately he died over the winter of old age.

We have Austra Whites. They are a cross between the Black Australorp and the White Leghorn, so they are white with some black spots. I'm sure that from a distance they look all white. They don't have a lot of spots. We don't have a rooster, unfortunately. They look just like this photo...

 

[Susanruthm]

She actually seems to be sitting up tonight without tipping over!