What should we do about Kevin?

[HelpKevin333]

Yesterday morning a fox attacked our coop. One hen was killed, and Kevin, also a hen, was injured. She was bit at the base of her neck, and also her head. The vet said the bite on her neck would be fine, but her skull might be fractured from the bite to the head.
When she sits still, her head drifts to the right. Every couple of minutes, she shudders, fluffing all her feathers up. Her left eye is intact and open, but she is seemingly blind in it. She does not react when I move my hand near her face when she normally would, and has no reaction to light. Her right eye is swollen shut. We have been feeding her and letting her drink by holding bowls up to her. She doesn’t know they are there until we dip her beak in. Once we do that, she eats and drinks, but often misses the bowl, even if it is stationary.
She can walk fine, and balance. She chirps when I pick her up.
The vet gave us antibiotics, and painkillers. We’ve been giving her 1ml of antibiotics once daily, and 0.5ml of painkillers twice daily. I can get the names of the two if needed.
Are her symptoms signs of brain damage, and is it possible for her to recover? If she does recover, will she have a good quality of life, being blind and possibly deaf?
Thank you for reading, and please help me help Kevin.

 

[Kiki]

Names of the two meds will be good to know.
It is very important that she get enough proper nutrition now so that she can heal. Did the vet mention tube feeding her?

Can you post a few clear pictures of her wounds?

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

She could be in shock. They seem out of it when they are in shock. The only way to keep them from wasting away is to feed every few hours (not at night) and keep them warm.

 

[HelpKevin333]

Names of the two meds will be good to know.
It is very important that she get enough proper nutrition now so that she can heal. Did the vet mention tube feeding her?

Can you post a few clear pictures of her wounds?

 

[HelpKevin333]

Posted separately because I am new to this site and struggling. Here is her head wounds. The two medications and Trimethoprim sulfa (antibiotic) and Metacam (painkiller.) Both are delivered orally.

 

[Eggcessive]

Shock is very common at first. Having a swollen shut right eye and and not seeming to see out of the left one, will require you to feed her several times a day. Cannyou open the right eye when the swelling goes down to see if that eye is intact? It is good that she is walking. Wounds can be sprayed with saline or Vetericyn twice a day, and you will want to keep her wounds covered with antibiotic ointment until they start healing. The wound should regrow some skin and feathers.
It will take several weeks, but hopefully, she will recover from any head injury and wounds. Let us know how she gets along.

 

[Eggcessive]

I just saw the pictures. There is no guarantee that she will recover, but most chickens do pretty well with those types of wounds.

 

[HelpKevin333]

Shock is very common at first. Having a swollen shut right eye and and not seeming to see out of the left one, will require you to feed her several times a day. Cannyou open the right eye when the swelling goes down to see if that eye is intact? It is good that she is walking. Wounds can be sprayed with saline or Vetericyn twice a day, and you will want to keep her wounds covered with antibiotic ointment until they start healing. The wound should regrow some skin and feathers.
It will take several weeks, but hopefully, she will recover from any head injury and wounds. Let us know how she gets along.

Thank you for the advice. So do her oddities seem more akin to shock rather than brain damage?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Thank you for the advice. So do her oddities seem more akin to shock rather than brain damage?

Could be both, honestly. I have a hen that was bitten on the head by a racoon. She wasn't as bad in the beginning as yours, but she did suffer some brain damage that shows now in her inability to brood and raise chicks properly

 

[Kiki]

Thank you for the advice. So do her oddities seem more akin to shock rather than brain damage?

Maybe. There is no way to know. If she gets good nutrition and enough over the next few days she should start behaving normally.
Nutrition is very important.