We had an unfortunate raccoon attack while traveling when our friends were keeping eye on the coop. We lost four chickens and one was badly injured when we found her. We have been trying to nurse her back to health for the last 3 weeks. Syringe feeding her water and moistened food. Ibuprofen crushed in her water with electrolytes. She seemed like she was getting (slowly) better after her wounds had healed (we used a chicken wound care product from our local Tractor and Supply for chickens), we think she was blinded during the attack and potentially suffered a head trauma? The other chickens were pecking at her wounds so we’ve had her separated from the flock for the last two weeks to let her heal and rest. This morning we went out and noticed she could not keep her head up and was moving her beak repetitively in the dirt. She is not moving and seems so lethargic you would think she is dead although she is still breathing and alive. We were not able to get her to drink or eat anything today. She also seems to be losing feathers which may be normal for this time of year. She seems to have worsened greatly in the past 24 hours. Our biggest concern is that she might be in pain and suffering. We’re not sure if we should assist her in ending her life because it seems the quality of her life has deteriorated drastically in the last 24 hours - or continue to try to nurture her back to health. She hasn’t laid an egg since the raccoon attack 3 weeks ago. We would love help and suggestions.
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