Found a random rooster on the side of the road on my way to school with torn up feet and it was getting hot so I brought him home, what now?

[Hennifer_Lopez0508]

Good news and bad news.
my dad thinks he might know where the roo is from, a property not too far from where we found him.
bad news is that we might not have enough time to help him before returning him and I have a feeling that they don't really care much about his current condition and might not do anything to help. If they cared, they would pay attention and trim those spurs and try to get rid of the mites or at least be concerned about why his legs are so messed up

 

[Hennifer_Lopez0508]

I did tell my mom about the tips you've given me and I think she's willing to try it out to help him
we might just be able to help him get rid of these problems

 

[Hennifer_Lopez0508]

Welcome to BYC. I hope that the experts will be here soon.
In the meantime:
1. began by soaking his legs and feet in warm water daily, and applying Vaseline or bag balm to them. That's to get rid of the leg mites.
2. Put him on a good diet. A starter grower feed with 20% protein will work.
3. If you can find some Rooster Booster Poultry Cell at your local Tractor Supply, you can give him a little each day. That will help, as he is most likely anemic from the mites.
4. When you trim his spurs, wrap him in a towel, for your protection and his. Just trim a little each day or use a file on the end closest to where they are growing into the skin. I would just file all the way around, each spur, a little at a time. They should break away from the skin, after a few times of this. ( If they bleed, you can put corn starch on them to stop bleeding.) Once you get the area where they are grown in loose, you may be able to gently wiggle it out of his skin. 5. You'll probably need to begin using antibiotic salve (without painkiller) at that point. You can use it in place of the Vaseline, on his entire feet and legs.
6. He may need to be treated for lice also, it won't hurt to apply "Garden and Poultry Dust" all over.
This is a permethrin based powder. Don't use it around cats.
Poor guy, he is so lucky that you found him! Again, welcome to BYC, and keep us updated.

thank you so much! I hope that I can do these things for him before bringing him back to his owner and that his owner will try to help him as well once we return him

 

[janiedoe]

thank you so much! I hope that I can do these things for him before bringing him back to his owner and that his owner will try to help him as well once we return him

You may have found your future career ; ) a patient advocate or a social welfare worker!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a chilling sense he may have been fighting bait.

Not with spurs like that. They would cut them off so he can't cut up the other rooster.

Also if he was a bait bird then he would be really scared up.

Funniest thing I've seen all day. Thanks for the laugh.

 

[Bigtom Turkey]

Funniest thing I've seen all day. Thanks for the laugh.

How is this funny? I have no experience with this sort of thing, I was just trying to use a little common sense.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

In little ole Idaho "it's pretty common in my parts" so it alarms me a bit. I'm not laughing one bit.

How is this funny? I have no experience with this sort of thing, I was just trying to use a little common sense.

Well, that's interesting. Sounds like you have some knowledge about this type of thing.

See, I find it highly unlikely that a keeper would spend hundreds/thousands of $$ on ornamental birds (lines, pens/housing/upkeep, feed, health, etc. etc.) only to go find some random or free rooster to bring onto their property. Why risk bringing in disease/parasites (from that random or free bird) that could potentially infect their lines/valuable birds. Doesn't make any kind of sense to me, common or otherwise, but if that's what they do in Idaho, that's good to know. I'll make sure steer clear of any breeders from there! A lot of keepers are very concerned about biosecurity, so they are very careful about bringing in birds from unknown sources. Besides, what would be the point of bringing in a layer rooster to be with ornamental fowl?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Good news and bad news.
my dad thinks he might know where the roo is from, a property not too far from where we found him.
bad news is that we might not have enough time to help him before returning him and I have a feeling that they don't really care much about his current condition and might not do anything to help. If they cared, they would pay attention and trim those spurs and try to get rid of the mites or at least be concerned about why his legs are so messed up

That's good news!
I hope you get him home quickly and safely, sounds like he may have just wondered a little too far! His owners may be looking for him.

Good luck!

 

[Anime2lover]

I got a text from my mom who was on her way to work that she spotted a rooster wandering around on the side of the road and she said I could go make sure he wasn't hurt on anything and bring him home(there are a lot of coyotes where we live plus it was a busy road and we live in California so it was getting really hot). I found him as I was biking to school(I heard him crowing nearby) and noticed his feet were torn up and bleeding and his spurs were really long and curling back into his feet. That plus the fact that he was really skittish suggests that he's from a farm of some sort or feral. I don't know how to help him other than cleaning his feet once I got home and giving him food and water. He's really a handsome rooster and I've had chickens before but I've only ever had hens(I used to have about 5 barred rock hens, they were so sweet!) and I don't know how to handle him without getting spurred or pecked(he pecked me as I was bringing him home and it hurt quite a bit). I don't know what to do with him and though I want to keep him I don't know if I can mellow him out because of my lack of experience. My neighbors have a flock of hens so I might ask if they want him but I don't think they would be okay with a rooster waking them up every morning. I don't know how to remove the tip of the spur from his foot without cutting the quick and hurting him. I also have a large Bouvier de Flanders dog and he's really curious, I'm worrying he'll get spurred or try to eat the poor rooster. Does anyone have any tips on A) how to keep his feet from getting infected and getting worse and B) how far can I cut the spur without hurting him and remove the tip from his foot? Also wondering what breed he is, I've been looking it up for the past hour and can't find much plus I'm on a computer that can't take pics or I would add one of him. His feathers around his neck are a pale yellow/blond and a darker multicolored body, he was rather heavy and seems fairly large. Please help, I have absolutely no experience when it comes to roosters!
P.s. sorry about the long paragraph, I desperately need help(and if you have any ideas for a name that would be great, too )

You may want help. When holding a rooster with established spurs, that's skittish, for your safety, it's best to hold his feet during the cleaning process and with struggling roosters it is difficult to hold the feet the rooster, and clean him at the same time. You don't know this rooster, he could be skittish because he's scared and actually be a mellow fellow, He could be scared but actually really mean, or he could simply just be naturally skittish. For trimming the spurs, take little bits at a time. I find it easier to use a rotary tool of some sort and gently shave it off.

For medical care, you might want to start by thoroughly flushing out the wounds before applying disinfectant sprays like vetrycin.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Yeah, I think Tank/Chance here was dumped. Poor guy. You've gotten good advice here. Those legs are awful. It'll take a lot of time/care to get those legs set to right again. I might try Ivermectin for the leg mites, but it'll take weeks of soaking and scrubbing to get those gnarly scales off. And those spurs have got to go! I feel bad for this fella. I'm so glad you are doing what you can for him while you've got him.