Wobbly hen after raccoon attack

[meganmarie]

On Friday night (four days ago) one of our hens was attacked by a raccoon. We heard the commotion and were able to scare off the raccoon. The hen, Laser, was laying motionless in the grass. My husband scooped her up, and she immediately perked up. She was limping slightly when we put her in the coop, but there was no blood and she otherwise seemed fine. There were feathers all over the yard, so we were surprised that she seemed to come out relatively unharmed. For the past few days she has seemed totally fine; Eating, drinking, and laying. But, when we let her out this morning, she was very unsteady on her feet and seems totally off balance and wobbly. Other than that she is ok... eating, drinking, and roaming around her fenced yard. It is so strange though, because she is staggering around and keeps tipping over and falling on her bottom. Does anyone have any ideas as to what is going on? Could she have internal injuries from the raccoon attack that took a few days to manifest? Or maybe some sort of illness? We really have no idea what is going on, so any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you so much!!!

 

[Matt A NC]

I would look very closely through her feathers again and see if she has a wound that has gotten infected. Also look for any discolorations that may be hidden.

I would put her on an antibiotic in case she has developed an infection. Amoxicillin is a good one that comes in capsules. 1 capsule per day right down the throat. Amoxicillin is sold in pet stores and online as FishMox.

Matt