Any thoughts on this post traumatic physical injury?

[littleandlewis]

I came home two days ago to find two very large dogs circling our coop and run. The good news is they were not able to get in....the bad news it was the first taste of the "real" world for our 6 hens and one rooster ( 4 months old). They are all a bit traumatized and slowly becoming themselves again..... except the roo.

He seemed fine physically for the first 12 hours after the "attack" but the next morning he could barely move. If I make him stand he can walk a few feet then lays down. He is eating and drinking but in a down position ( off his feet) and I need to place the sustenance in front of him. Once he is down off his feet he will not move from that spot unless I move him. I wonder if he didn't injure himself trying to "escape" the potential attack. ( Again the dogs only scared them and never made contact physically). or could it just be a serious case of stress?

 

[easttxchick]

How are your temperatures? It could also be heat related/stress combined.

 

[littleandlewis]

Cool NW....72 degrees.....non of the other chickens show any similar signs.

 

[easttxchick]

Maybe he has a leg injury like you said from flying around, slamming into the fence, something like that when the dog was there.

 

[seminolewind]

Praise the Lord that the dogs couldn't get in!!!!!!

He could have hurt himself, he would have defended his girls. The roo next door defended his girl and ended up with a leg caught and hanging upside down on a fence. It took a day before he was normal again.

Those dogs may have been there for a long time torturing your poor roo. Maybe he's exhausted and his muscles hurt. I personally would be making him some mushy french toast, and some nice tasty things. Poor baby.

 

[NASIR]

Give Painkiller
CAUTION: Do NOT give Ibuprofin (Advil, etc.) or Acetaminophen (Tylenol, etc.) to birds! Those are harmful to them.

Buffered aspirin (such as Bayer, etc.) can be used for a chicken to help reduce:

Stress, listlessness, discomfort, pain
Fever
Swelling / inflammation that is not caused by bleeding (Aspirin thins blod and keeps it from clotting as quickly as normal.)
Birds bruise more easily when on aspirin.

You should wait until internal and external injuries have begun to heal before using aspirin.
Note: A standard baby Aspirin is 80 mg, and a standard adult Aspirin pill is 325 mg.

Dose for chickens: Approx. 25 mg per pound of chicken's body weight each day.
Examples: For a 6-lb. Large Fowl Leghorn rooster, 2 times per day give 1/2 of a regular aspirin ( = ~300 mg total per day).
For a Bantam 1.6-lb. Bantam Leghorn rooster, 2 times per day give 1/2 of a baby aspirin (= ~75 mg total per day).

To administer:

To give immediately or in individual administrations: Crush up and split dose up into 2 or 3 administrations per day. Sprinkle the powder on a small tasty treat such as fruit or yogurt and give to the chicken.

To have the chicken self-administer throughout the day: Crush up the total daily dose and dissolve in the approximate amount of water that the chicken drinks each day. Pour into chicken's drinking container.
Never give a chicken any kind of painkiller with **caine** in the name. These are EXTREMELY toxic to chickens.
Do NOT use a Triple Antibiotic Ointment with Painkiller because almost all include '-caine' ingredients.
Exception: Neosporin with Painkiller products usually only use Pramoxine HCl as the painkiller ingredient, and that is alright for chickens.


I hope your rooster feel good in a day or two with this treatment if use properly.

 

[littleandlewis]

Thank you Nasir......

This morning our rooster had not moved from the spot he was in last night at 8PM.....I followed your advice with the aspirin..... this afternoon by 4PM I was able to reintroduce him to the flock he had made such a great improvement. Still a bit sore and stiff.... he is up walking flapping and reclaiming his spot as king of the roost

Thank you. Your advice helped save our rooster.

 

[NASIR]

Hi littleandlewis
I am glad that your rooster is feeling better.

 

[heatherkh]

I love a story in this thread with a happy ending - do glad your roo is on the mend!