Sick or injured Rooster ! failing again :( please help

[FarmerDenise]

If he is eating and drinking well, he should be fine. Wash the wound with a saline solution once a day or so. Watch for maggots as was stated. If you think he is in pain, you can give him some aspirin. 1 1/4 adult aspirin in 1 quart water. Let him drink as much of it as he wants. Electrolite water is always good at times of stress.

I have had chickens with some really nasty injuries recover just fine.
I had a wonderfull vet who loved chickens and specialized in them. He tought me a lot.
Do not use hydrogen peroxide after the initial cleaning, it prevents healing. You can put neosporin (without aspirin) on his wound.

Here is a pic of Sunny after our puppy finished playing with him.

Here is a pic of Sunny 5 months later

He was one pampered roo for a while and he became super friendly. He was pretty nice before, though

He had had a nasty puncture wound in his wing, that I did not discover right away. I just kept rinsing with saline solution and putting on neosporin and feeding him electrolites and aspirin scraped onto little bits of grapes.
He lived to father a whole lot of our current chickens

 

[Rebecka]

FarmerDenise, Thanks so much for the hope! Yours looks way worse than mine and to see that he recovered well.... well I might sleep tonight!

I went out and checked on Bob, ( yes I named him) and I woke him and 113 other chickens up for no reason at all. Bob has figured out he and squat walk without falling over and was glad to see me and my apple skins. My sweet husband might be second guessing taking a computer geek out to 'farmville" now though, since I made him go with me just incase Bob was not doing well. I can't tell you all enough how much I appreciate the support. It never occurred to me that I might get attached to all the fuzzy baby chicks when we got them.

 

[FarmerDenise]

It never occurred to me that I might get attached to all the fuzzy baby chicks when we got them.

Hehehe, I could have told you so

It sure is hard to turn them into dinner sometimes

 

[FarmerDenise]

I wanted to add thi about maggots. If you should happen to find some on your roo, do not try to pick them off!!!! Instead rinse them off with saline solution. If you try to pick them off, they release a harmfull substance, I forgot what it does, but then who wants to pick maggot up anyway, rinsing them off is so much easier (I ought to know, I've done it, rinsing that is )

 

[bibliophile birds]

bibliophile birds, you've brought tears to my eyes. I swear I feel like a total fool here. I just cant stand suffering

So, is it obvious I dont have children ?

i think not being able to stand suffering is a good and necessary requirement in a great farmer. even when i'm processing chickens, i want it to be stress free and as painless as possible for them. i mean, that's really why i got back into the family business after all- i can control how my food lives, and it's going to be a very good life for them up until the end.

i have a GL Wyandotte hen that dislocated her knee when she was 3 months old and it just wouldn't heal correctly. her left foot is twisted out so that it's basically worthless for anything other than a bit of balance. i kept her in the house with me for 2 months.... ok 2.5! i named her Madeline since she was in "hospital."

the leg never got better. so she now lives in the isolation coop, mostly by herself (she can't get away from the big boys and they try to eat her alive). she is still a happy little chicken who's learned to hobble around using her wing tips as crutches. she lays an egg every now an then (but nothing for 3 weeks) but mostly spends her days sitting on her hay bale sofa and singing songs. right now she has company in the splash Wyandotte i bought a few weeks back and she's doing a nice job looking out for the little girl.

i don't know if it's obvious about the kids things- but i don't have kids and i'm the same way.... uh oh!

 

[Rebecka]

FarmerDenise, thanks so much for the additional info about the maggots. I would have instinctively picked.

bibliophile birds, How funny. I have a bird with the exact same injury. We call her Peggy and hope we can get her to sit.

Bob Update : It wasnt looking good first thing this morning. He couldnt get himself upright at all. He is now in a pet carrier on my dinning room table, happily pecking away at some feed and apple peel. Its still not looking good for his legs, but I am hoping this is just a case of " they day after is always the worst" type thing.

 

[FarmerDenise]

Hope he's doing better.

 

[Rebecka]

Bob is improving. Its looking like there is soft tissue damage. He wants very much to stay in the coop and yard with the other birds. I take him out frequently for PT and social time. He is not quite ready to be left on his own in the yard. The other chickens trampled him when a tractor drove by on the road. However, I was thinking... We have a wire cage thats big enough he can move around in and stretch and stuff, but can't get trampled. Its also quite clear he is missing the company of the other birds. So, we have Peggy.. she has a dislocated hip and gets around okay but I really want to make life easier on her by providing closer flood and water. Do you think it would be okay to put the two of them in the cage together? They could snuggle and be social and still get up and move around okay as well.

ETA: I forgot to mention... Bobs wounds are clearly not the source of his leg issues. They have started to heal up nicely. Nothing open or seeping.

 

[bibliophile birds]

i would definitely put Peggy in with him and see how they went. they may be quite happy together!

Bob may have nerve damage that isn't clear or he may have had a stroke. i'd just keep a good eye on him to see if he improves. so long as he seems content and is eating/drinking fine, i'd say he's all good.

 

[FarmerDenise]

I can't remember how old you said Bob is. If he is under 1 year old, limping can indicate Marek's. They can get it even if they were immunized. Just and FYI. There is nothing you can do for Marek's and hopefully it isn't Marek's.