Fox attack. Injured Rooster

[Goldlabel]

Hello everyone. Last Saturday my flock was attacked by a fox in the middle of the day. 1 dead, 1missing and one injured. We found one of my roosters in the yard laying on his back. He couldn’t move and appeared to be almost dead. We carried him inside the house and put him in a quiet room. He wouldn’t move at all the first 24 hours. One puncture wound under his wing and his neck was very red. Gradually he has started eating and drinking when he put the bowls under his beak. He can’t stand and just lays on one side. When we pick him up his head droops to one side and his body seems twisted. He will flap one wing. When he is on his side he uses his feet to move across the floor. We don’t have a vet nearby that knows anything about chickens. Any thoughts on his chance of recovery??

 

[cheekychick3]

Hi, so sorry that you have gone through all this, like so many of us have on here.
Your poor rooster is is still in shock, bless him. Have you cleaned his wounds, ???
Have you got Nutri-drench as that will help him, either place a few drops in his water,
or better still feed a few drops from the dropper. Then see if he will eat some plain yogurt
with a little chopped up fresh parsley in it. As that will help, or better still scramble an egg, and if you have fresh liver, place a little through blender, and mix with the egg.
I have used this a lot, and builds their strength up. You say he can flap one wing,
then drags his feet across the floor. If i were you i would clean his wounds and make sure any flies cannot get near wounds. Then try him with Nutri-drench as it will help him,
no end. Then try him with some food make sure he has plenty to drink as well. Then
let him rest, but keep monitoring him, especially his breathing. Chickens can suprise us
as they are great little fighters. I am sure others will reply soon and help you. It is a downfall with us all, when we need a vet, some are lucky and some are not. But i would not give up on him yet, as he has proven already, he has fight left in him. Good luck and i
hope things will get better for him, and of course you.

 

[Goldlabel]

Thank you for the tips. Yes I have cleaned his wounds. He had a puncture under the injured wing and his neck was very red at first, now the skin is greenish colored. I will try your suggestions.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Last Saturday

We found one of my roosters in the yard laying on his back. He couldn’t move and appeared to be almost dead. We carried him inside the house and put him in a quiet room. He wouldn’t move at all the first 24 hours

puncture wound under his wing and his neck was very red. Gradually he has started eating and drinking when he put the bowls under his beak. He can’t stand and just lays on one side.

When we pick him up his head droops to one side and his body seems twisted. He will flap one wing. When he is on his side he uses his feet to move across the floor.

This happened almost a week ago?
Do you have any photos of the wounds?

Since he's not improved that much and it sounds like he doesn't have much control over his head/neck, he may have suffered some nerve/spinal damage. Often there are internal injuries - foxes squeeze.

You can try placing him in a sling to see if that makes him more comfortable, leave him in for short periods of time. Work his legs and see if you can rehabilitate him.
I would direct dose him with poultry vitamins a couple of times a week, keep him eating his normal feed and add extra protein like meat, fish or eggs.

Hopefully he will improve soon. It's not a popular thing - quality of life does need to be considered, if you think he is suffering and is not markedly improved soon, then it may be kinder to put him down.

 

[coach723]

Greenish is probably bruising. Make sure the puncture is flushed out well. You can use plain neosporin on it or plain triple antibiotic ointment. Time will tell, I would look for any improvement day to day, watch for signs of infection. Sometimes they bounce back amazingly well, sometimes injuries that are not obvious make it less likely. Time is the hardest thing, but if he gets worse, or just isn't making any progress, then I wouldn't let him suffer. It's a hard judgement call sometimes. I usually give them every chance I can, but consider what is best for him. Best of luck.

 

[Goldlabel]

The wounds themselves are healing good. The first several days he was making improvements, eating more each day and moving his legs good while laying on his side. Now he seems to have plateaued. I certainly don’t want him to suffer unnecessarily. I keep hoping that he’s just in shock with soft tissue damage. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced something similar. Thank you all for your replies

 

[cmom]

I had a cockerel that was badly beaten up by some other males he was with. I took him out of his pen and he couldn't walk and acted very similar to your fellow. Originally I put him in a cage with some hay and put some cage cups in with some feed and water with vitamins and electrolytes that he could reach. After a few days he was trying to move around so I did put him in a coop with another special bird (my Gladys). He couldn't move well so I put him in a giant bowl with hay in it at night but always had some food and water easily accessible for him. It took quite awhile but he did improve and got stronger every day. At first Gladys was not very happy with him but she eventually adjusted and he would try to follow her but would fall over but every day he did improve a little. Gladys got to where she would wait for him when he would try to follow her. He did get better and eventually did start walking. I did eventually give him to someone that wanted a male for his flock.
Buster and Gladys.

 

[Goldlabel]

Thank you that does give me encouragement. While my wife was holding him today he did flap both wings
He also had a very good appetite. Moves both legs without trouble. He just can’t hold his head up or stand. He is just 4 months old and we are very attached to him. Thank you again

 

[Goldlabel]

Great news. It’s taken 2 weeks but my rooster is starting to stand. He is still weak on his feet but I’m so excited......

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Great news. It’s taken 2 weeks but my rooster is starting to stand. He is still weak on his feet but I’m so excited......

I'm glad to hear he is starting improve! Thank you for the update.