VanZane
In the Brooder
- Mar 10, 2015
- 12
- 5
- 26
This is a somewhat sad but uplifting story of experience, as well as treatment info I used on my free range Rooster after he was mangled by a fox.
As you know, the fox is sligh and loves to hunt chickens... If you have a chicken lot it's probably safe to say some predator is lurking and keeping an eye on your beloved birds. In this case, mine was a fox. I have a Rooster by the name of "Train" named this in honor of his abnormal size, an independent insanely huge rooster. Since I have a small handful of roosters I keep for breeding, I let them free range instead of living with the hens. My roosters have done exceptional in getting along, it's become a rare event to hace to break up a fight... my dog "Markey" breaks up fights so they actually somehow listen to her lol. Anyway, Train being so huge had a twin brother named "Diesel" Also in honor of his size and strength. They loved grazing together early in the morning before any of the others were let out, one morning turned out to go horribly wrong. Out the window was a fow slingling Diesel like a wrag from the neck, I of corse ran outside and by the time i got to Diesel he was dead. I look across the field and there laid Train in the same streatched out manor. Yes, I was completely ticked off and heart broken because these two boys were ones only I messed with... pretty much everyone else saw them as dangerous because of their size and spurs. Markey being the chicken dog she is kept barking and came out of the woods from chasing the Fox... she was tore up, and lead me to Trains body. I stood and said "Man! Poor old Train" he opened his eyes and stood up, I seriously freaked out... it was like Zombie Rooster! because had you seen the level of rips, missing flesh & skin, as well as feathers all over the ground... he was basically 1 3rd plucked and looked like death. He was playing dead, but I knew if i didn't move fast, shock would set in... and he'd likely ecept death. When a bird is hurt to this degree, you will now be feeding them by hand with a baby bottle. Apple sauce, maybe a little yogurt as well as a antibiotic mixed in to help the body recover. Even if you're against antibiotics, leaving this out can easily mean death in this case! He had a total of around 8 holes in his body, some deeper than others... some were just surface skin ripped away when the fox yanked out the feathers and the skin went with it. How you know your bird wants to live, pick them up... place hands under the feet... press their feet up lightly and if they press back into into your hand... I declare this to be the will to live. If they don't, still treat them, but view this as a not so good sign. Train of course is a rock and wanted to live, I filled the holes with Vaseline and placed him in my dog carrier in the room with my dogs in our home. He lived there free of flys blowing him, which would make for a completely different problem. Everyday for two weeks he would not eat, so out came the bottle and i sat him in my lap. Make sure you use some Vaseline based product to fill the wounds, this keeps bacteria out and the antibiotics in the bottle fights off anything that Mr Fox bit into him. Train lived in my house a total of 4 weeks in a cage, he's 95% now... he limps some, and his neck is no longer straight, but he is happy and has taken up with me more than all the other birds. It was a job keeping his cage clean, and feeding him... but I kept wipes on top of his box and no shavings in the cage so i could wipe out faster with little to no mess. Besides, he wasn't eating more than one baby bottle 2 3rds full per day... so not a lot to pass. I hope this story gave a look inside rooster care, it's not always easy but he was such a special boy... losing his brother was bad enough.
As you know, the fox is sligh and loves to hunt chickens... If you have a chicken lot it's probably safe to say some predator is lurking and keeping an eye on your beloved birds. In this case, mine was a fox. I have a Rooster by the name of "Train" named this in honor of his abnormal size, an independent insanely huge rooster. Since I have a small handful of roosters I keep for breeding, I let them free range instead of living with the hens. My roosters have done exceptional in getting along, it's become a rare event to hace to break up a fight... my dog "Markey" breaks up fights so they actually somehow listen to her lol. Anyway, Train being so huge had a twin brother named "Diesel" Also in honor of his size and strength. They loved grazing together early in the morning before any of the others were let out, one morning turned out to go horribly wrong. Out the window was a fow slingling Diesel like a wrag from the neck, I of corse ran outside and by the time i got to Diesel he was dead. I look across the field and there laid Train in the same streatched out manor. Yes, I was completely ticked off and heart broken because these two boys were ones only I messed with... pretty much everyone else saw them as dangerous because of their size and spurs. Markey being the chicken dog she is kept barking and came out of the woods from chasing the Fox... she was tore up, and lead me to Trains body. I stood and said "Man! Poor old Train" he opened his eyes and stood up, I seriously freaked out... it was like Zombie Rooster! because had you seen the level of rips, missing flesh & skin, as well as feathers all over the ground... he was basically 1 3rd plucked and looked like death. He was playing dead, but I knew if i didn't move fast, shock would set in... and he'd likely ecept death. When a bird is hurt to this degree, you will now be feeding them by hand with a baby bottle. Apple sauce, maybe a little yogurt as well as a antibiotic mixed in to help the body recover. Even if you're against antibiotics, leaving this out can easily mean death in this case! He had a total of around 8 holes in his body, some deeper than others... some were just surface skin ripped away when the fox yanked out the feathers and the skin went with it. How you know your bird wants to live, pick them up... place hands under the feet... press their feet up lightly and if they press back into into your hand... I declare this to be the will to live. If they don't, still treat them, but view this as a not so good sign. Train of course is a rock and wanted to live, I filled the holes with Vaseline and placed him in my dog carrier in the room with my dogs in our home. He lived there free of flys blowing him, which would make for a completely different problem. Everyday for two weeks he would not eat, so out came the bottle and i sat him in my lap. Make sure you use some Vaseline based product to fill the wounds, this keeps bacteria out and the antibiotics in the bottle fights off anything that Mr Fox bit into him. Train lived in my house a total of 4 weeks in a cage, he's 95% now... he limps some, and his neck is no longer straight, but he is happy and has taken up with me more than all the other birds. It was a job keeping his cage clean, and feeding him... but I kept wipes on top of his box and no shavings in the cage so i could wipe out faster with little to no mess. Besides, he wasn't eating more than one baby bottle 2 3rds full per day... so not a lot to pass. I hope this story gave a look inside rooster care, it's not always easy but he was such a special boy... losing his brother was bad enough.
I would recommend posting in the "Predators & Pests" section.
