Chicken attacked by Dog - HELP!!

[Mathew544]

Today my neighbor brought her dog over while we had a picnic. One of my roosters was teasing the dog and he broke free and slammed it into the ground with his mouth and just held it there until we ran over. He let go right away and was not trying to eat the chicken. The rooster had one bite mark on its back right under its wing near the mid back. It looks like two tiny holes made by the teeth. No major bleeding. The rooster try's to walk but the one leg doesn't appear to be working. I cleaned his wounds and put him in a safe building with food and water. He is eating and drinking. Everyone is saying I should kill him but from what I read on here they can recover. Thoughts?

 

[sourland]

Welcome to BYC - sorry for the circumstances. Right now the rooster is probably in shock. I would give it a couple of days to see if he starts to recover.

 

[centrarchid]

If he is eating that is a very good sign. Nerve damage is frequent with such damage but chickens seem able to recover from that better than we do. In all likelihood damage is more severe than you think, especially with respect to bruising. Watch closely for development of infection and be prepared to act aggressively to control it. If bird valuable, then start immediately with an antibiotic and apply blue kote to punctures.

 

[Mattemma]

I had a hen survive her hawk injuries.Give the roo a chance.You can always kill him.Roo was doing what a roo does just like the dog,but ofcourse the neighbor should never have brought the dog.It was invading the roo's territory.Best wishes!

 

[Mathew544]

Thank you everyone! I just went to check on him and he is laying on his side and trying to move his one leg. I am going to try to give a few days and see if he recovers. I don't want him to suffer but I've read post on here where the hen or rooster didn't walk for awhile after an attack but then recovered.. Hopefully he is just in shock.