6month old rooster survived a bobcat attack but won’t eat or drink

[Anon112]

Ok we will cut it down tomorrow. We bought an anti microbial spray and sprayed the area but not actually cleaned with soap and water .

Getting the wound clean is very important. After one of my hens survived a fox attack, my vet told me that the good news is that chickens can't get rabies, but that with bite wounds you have to really be on guard against infection because either a claw or a tooth can penetrate pretty deeply.

With deep injuries, you can even use a syringe to really spray a hard stream so that it pushes the liquid into the wound and not just on the surface. (Don't put the syringe into the wound, just use the syringe to generate a stream of water with some force).

If you have any access to a vet, you might be able to get some antibiotics or at the very least something anti-inflammatory.

 

[akitafriendakita]

This bird should be inside in a plastic tub with bedding or something, it's way too stressful for a bird that injured to just be walking around outside trying to manage. They need to be isolated, very close to food and water, possibly handfed for a while depending on how bad the situation is.

Mine survived a hawk attack recently, and the first three days she hardly moved, mostly because they'll be very sore after an attack like that. I had to smear all her wounds with neosporin and flush them with saline water a couple times a day until they closed up. Also had to hand feed her for a while because she was too sore to move on her own.

Keep in mind that most cat salivas will melt down meats and bird tissues - if you do not wash it away, it may keep eating away at the wound and harming the bird more. Cat saliva is essentially like poison to a bird. Cat bites are also very dirty and that wound is likely very infected without any treatment.

Him being outside this whole time and trying to manage alone probably means that he hasn't really been able to do anything for himself and the wounds may be very infected by now. Given that you haven't really been helping him much, he's likely very weakened and it's hard to say if he'll make it at this point. It doesn't look like the wound has been cleaned at all given that he's still covered in dried blood.

You have to be pretty on top of taking care of a bird that is that injured if you want it to survive.

 

[laritaxi93]

When you use the antimicrobial spray, do you part the feathers so you can actually clean the wound itself?

Yes we part the feathers and spray. We have not made a saline solution just been using the antimicrobial spray. But we will cut the feathers and do that today and put neosporin

 

[laritaxi93]

Getting the wound clean is very important. After one of my hens survived a fox attack, my vet told me that the good news is that chickens can't get rabies, but that with bite wounds you have to really be on guard against infection because either a claw or a tooth can penetrate pretty deeply.

With deep injuries, you can even use a syringe to really spray a hard stream so that it pushes the liquid into the wound and not just on the surface. (Don't put the syringe into the wound, just use the syringe to generate a stream of water with some force).

If you have any access to a vet, you might be able to get some antibiotics or at the very least something anti-inflammatory.

Ok we will try the syringe spray. After cutting down the feathers . Thanks for the advice

 

[laritaxi93]

This bird should be inside in a plastic tub with bedding or something, it's way too stressful for a bird that injured to just be walking around outside trying to manage. They need to be isolated, very close to food and water, possibly handfed for a while depending on how bad the situation is.

Mine survived a hawk attack recently, and the first three days she hardly moved, mostly because they'll be very sore after an attack like that. I had to smear all her wounds with neosporin and flush them with saline water a couple times a day until they closed up. Also had to hand feed her for a while because she was too sore to move on her own.

Keep in mind that most cat salivas will melt down meats and bird tissues - if you do not wash it away, it may keep eating away at the wound and harming the bird more. Cat saliva is essentially like poison to a bird. Cat bites are also very dirty and that wound is likely very infected without any treatment.

Him being outside this whole time and trying to manage alone probably means that he hasn't really been able to do anything for himself and the wounds may be very infected by now. Given that you haven't really been helping him much, he's likely very weakened and it's hard to say if he'll make it at this point. It doesn't look like the wound has been cleaned at all given that he's still covered in dried blood.

You have to be pretty on top of taking care of a bird that is that injured if you want it to survive.

Thanks for telling your experience with your chicken. It is helpful. But with all areas of life, sometimes you should get the full picture before making assumptions. it seems you have responded based off of the photos and not fully reading the thread . I’ve stated that we have put him inside in a dog crate and have been hand feeding him with a syringe. This our first time dealing with an injured chicken and didn’t know that he needed to be isolated until we started reading chicken forums.
He has improved. He’s eating and pooping more than before and can actually hold his head up.

 

[Anon112]

He has improved. He’s eating and pooping more than before and can actually hold his head up.

It's great that he's improving.

At some point, you might want to search up some of the threads about how to put together a chicken first aid kit. I really like the brand Vetricyn, and they have a saline mix that comes in a bottle that is easy to spray as a stream.

 

[laritaxi93]

Hello,
Update on my rooster.
It’s been a full week since the attack. We have given him nutridench, hand feeding him gruel and electrolytes water and spraying his wound. He now can hold his head up and is awake more often and stands. But still hasn’t eaten on his own. We’ve isolated him in a dog crate in the house. I was wondering at what stage can he be with his flock again? You cannot see his wound and the girls have generally left him alone when we brought him out with them for an hour.

 

[Mari Nyssen]

Hello,

Our young rooster was attacked by a bobcat 3 days ago. Luckily he survived, but barely moves, eats or drinks. He’s has an injury under his wing close to the front of his breast but it has scabbed over. I’ve tried to force electrolyte water in his month but he barely drank anything. He hunches in the corner of his coop and can barely hold his head up What should I do? I worry he won’t survive . I can’t afford to go to a vet.

Abcess at wound . Very painful. Lance it and squirt and rub with iodine or peroxide for only 3 days. Hand water and feed. Penicillin if you have it.