Our year-old Black Copper Maran rooster, Apollo, was attacked by a fox and left for dead last Tuesday morning. Four of his hens died. I found him at least an hour after the attack, limp but breathing in the pasture. It has now been a week. He stands occasionally for food/water but has a very hard time balancing. Very occasionally he will cluck. I thought I had checked him over for wounds that first day and didn't see any, but a few days ago I found them under his wings on on his back. Feathers and dried blood had obscured them. While he is definitely better than he was the first two days, he has not really improved since then. It is a sad sight! We kept him under a heat lamp that first day. He has electrolytes in his water and has been eating scrambled eggs and his pellets. I'm just not sure how long we should give him. I would hate to have to put him down, but I also don't want him suffering. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Is it too late to wash his wounds? Should I try some antibiotics? He's such a beauty -- we'd all be so sad to see him go.
