Hen injured in fox(?) attack - can't move properly

indominusjones

Hatching
Jul 9, 2025
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We have had chickens for about 5 years now, mostly rescue chickens from battery farms.
Yesterday morning, I went outside to find that something had broken into the coop, and 2 of our 5 chickens were killed, another 2 escaped with minor gouging and scratching, but one was barely breathing, eyes closed, laying mostly motionless on the ground.
We moved her into the shade, made sure she had food and water close by, and left to giver her time to try moving.
When we checked back in, we found her trying to drink but she isn't able to move her neck enough to actually swallow the water. She's eaten a little bit, and we've gently given her water from a syringe, but she's still basically motionless. When she does try to stand up, she almost immediately loses balance.
Her condition is the same this morning, she seems a bit stronger but she still can't stand up, she doesn't seem to be able to move her neck or tuck in her wings properly, and she's having weird spasms in her neck and back. She also has trouble staying awake, falling asleep in her food bowl this morning.
When physically inspecting her, there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with her legs or wings, and there is no external bleeding, but I'm not sure how to check her neck and back in case of any other damage.
Any advice on how to physically check her over, or whether it's more likely to be psychological or physically undetectable, plus any advice you may have on how to take care of her would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you!
 
Sorry for your loss. I would treat her for shock first with offering electrolyte or sugar water up to her beak. Keep her separated in a dim quite spot, such as a basket or crate. Look under feathers for any wounds or punctures. Is vet care possible? Are the chickens normally locked up in a secure coop at night? She may have suffered a neck or head injury. Read my post 3 in this thread about how to care for a chicken with wry neck:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/need-help.1670531/
 
Im going through literally the exact same thing only my chickens were killed by my neighbors dogs. Im doing vitamin b complex and egg yolk. Im keeping food n water out of her bin to prevent her from falling in them n just hand feeding with a syringe. Good luck. I hope ur baby recovers
 

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