Weasel attack

[Twilliams3658]

My fiance and I have a 10ft x30ft chicken coop. We have 9 hens in the coop and we have 5 that are just now big enough to introduce to the others in the flock so they are still seperate currently.
About 2 weeks ago I was inside my house sitting at my desk. It was around 630 or 7pm CST. My fiance had left to run to grab dinner. Suddenly I hear my few of my hens squawking and going on. As you know, chickens squawk but when something is wrong, its a different kind of squawk. I jumped up and ran to put shoes on, grab a flash light and go check on my girls. As I approach the coop I can see 2 of my older hens on the ground in the corner of pen squawking and raising hell so I knew something was up because they usually always stay perched up in another part of the coop. As I get to the door to pen I hear a commotion and then I see something has a hold of one of my hens and is slinging her around like a rag doll and shes crying out. I charge at the door and bang my flashlight on the door to scare whatever away and thankfully it let go of her and took off. I run inside and find my hen still alive hunkered down in the corner in a puddle of blood. i pick her up and run her inside our garage where I can check her over and discover she has a deep puncture wound on the back of her neck so Im assuming weasel. I never saw it but after we discovered how it got in, its only thing small enough to fit. I cleaned her up and have kept her in the garage since the attack. Its been almost 2 weeks and shes still not eating or drinking normally. We fed her baby food for a few days and she acted like she was doing better but she appears to have some permanent neuro damage because she doesnt seem to either know how to drink and eat or isnt able to. She has had a few good days where shes eaten some feed off the floor but still having hard time. I dont know what to do. I was so happy I had saved her and now I feel guilty for it at times. I dont want to give up on her but I also dont want her to live a miserable life either. Any advice much appreciated

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

@azygous @Eggcessive

 

[azygous]

Tell us what you've done so far to clean and treat the wounds and have you started her on an antibiotic for the puncture wound? Have you treated for shock? She could be suffering both from shock and from infection.

Treat shock with one cup of warm water to one teaspoon sugar with a pinch of salt and baking soda.

 

[Twilliams3658]

Her wound on her neck has healed nicely. She can walk without any difficulty or balance issues but she has difficulty eating and drinking. When she tries to drink its as if she cant aim for right spot and her neck appears to jerk/twitch but I cant tell if its her trying to aim or if its uncontrollable. She does manage to drink quite a bit but barely eats so thats my main concern.

 

[azygous]

Likely nerve damage. As has already been mentioned, vitamins E and B-complex can help heal damaged nerve connections. Get the vitamins at Walmart if you're in the US. Pry open the beak and slip the pills into the hen's mouth.

If you haven't treated for shock, you should do so.
Clinical shock is very poorly understood by most chicken keepers since it can occur without any noticeable injuries. It's an invisible killer and should be considered a medical emergency. It's even less understood by most people that shock in poultry can last well beyond the initial traumatic event, weeks and even months.

Shock is not merely an emotional reaction. Shock upsets the body chemistry of the chicken, and this results in decreased blood flow to the vital organs. This is why I stress to people with an injured or traumatized chicken they must treat for shock as the number one priority. By giving a solution with sugar in it, it treats the drop in blood glucose, and adding salt and baking soda to this solution, it provides the necessary minerals to reset the chemistry needed for proper nerve connection functioning, preventing heart failure among other things.