Gifted injured Roo trying to get weight back on, suggestions Please

[New Hatcher]

Hi all I was just gifted a Black copper Marans Roo because of his injury. I was told that he was trying to get away from some overly aggressive hens and ended up wedging himself between the ground and the bottom of a wall.He was stuck there for a whole day and when the owner came out to do chores he found the roo stuck. When he took him out he found he could not stand or walk from being stuck for so long. The owner nursed him for a week and the roo was getting better up on his feet a little and still had some weight to him. The owner could not keep the schedule of getting out there 3 times a day so the bird ended up taking a turn for the worst. The owner said he just needed someone to give him the time and care and he would get better. So keeping with my "have to help them all" attitude I took him home.
Now I will follow the guidelines for posting because until I get some meat on his bones I don't think it's worth it to try and fix the injury. Feeding him up is what I need help with.... he's so weak looking I really think thats half the problem.

1) He is a black copper marans roo, he is maybe a year old, and weighs diddlie squat.
2) He tends to lay on his side but eats and drinks eagerly. He really wants to drink lots. the water tends to run out his beak but I'm not sure if it's because he can't seem to get his head up more.
3) I'm not 100% but I think about 1 week and a few days. He really looks like he's on his last leg
4)Because the trauma took place so long ago and I didn't see it I don't know. Nothing looks odd or out of place now( just that his bones are sticking out everywhere)
5)As I said above
6)I have been giving him chick starter ( is that ok) and water with electrolytes in it I did manage to get some boiled egg in him too.
7)Normal but a lot less than other birds also a little green in color.
8)As I said in 6
9) I would like to handle this myself if I have to put him down to be far I will but if I can get him back on his feet I will have myself a roo with good lines.
10) I will get pics up asap!!
11) he is in a large wire dog create with an open bottom he has a very thick bed of shavings with heat lamps near him.

 

[dawg53]

I applaud you for taking on a daunting task. I recommend you keep him seperated from others. You can get him poultry nutri drench at a feed store and give a couple drops orally and/or add it to his water.It's loaded with vitamins and minerals. Stop giving it to him after 4 days, it can cause diarrhea. Give him plain yogurt and boiled egg mixed in his feed. I like to boil white rice and mix in buttermilk and give it to my chickens, they scoff it up just like the yogurt and boiled eggs. I recommend you go to a pharmacy and buy vitamin B complex tablets, crush a few of them into powder and sprinkle it into his feed or in the above mixtures...do that for 7 days and hopefully you'll see improvement. Dont give him any cracked or whole corn, not much nutrition there. I wouldnt give him any foods that would easily cause him to excrete it out, like greens or fruits. The idea is to fatten him up to get his weight back on like you said.

 

[DaniLovesChickens]

Do you feel any injury to his legs or hips? Does he always lay on the same side?

Try carelfully feeling his legs. If he pulls away when you touch one certain spot, there might be a break. Try to do the same with the hip, although much harder, of course.

Othewise, I agree with Dawg. Feed him those type of things and hopefully he will begin to feel better.

Good luck and God Bless You for trying to help him!!!

 

[sheila3935]

My daughter is feeding her rat Ensure to fatten him up after being sick it seems like its workinh. She gives him about 2 tablespoons a day on top of food. Maybe that wou;d help too along with what everyone else has said.

 

[Surehatch]

Quote:
This sounds like a good plan

 

[New Hatcher]

Dawg53- I will be sure to pick up/ and cook up all the food you suggested as for the vit B or any others are my Electrolytes good enough? they have 2560 mcg of b12 as well as everything else??

DaniLovesChickens- It's hard to tell what is wrong with his legs it just feels like all bones to me. He does lay on the same side most the time though.

Sheila- I like the idea of Ensure but I'm not sure what the iron levels are like in that stuff ( I will look today) from what I found when reading other things it seems that iron is not good for chickens I maybe wrong though any body know for sure????

I have also had an UPDATE with poor "Jack" it now seems that his comb is turning blue on the tips!!!! What does this mean? Blue things usually mean low oxygen if this is true here is it from him laying on his side all the time ( as with horses they can't breath well laying down). Should I build him a hammock to get him up right more? Or is this a fatal sign? He doesn't sound wet when he breaths. I also have a super booster( water soluble antibiotic with penicillin) should I alternate this with his electrolytes plus.

 

[emys]

It's a bad sign. He may have been born with bad heart, thus weaker and picked on by hens. So sorry he has taken this turn.

 

[New Hatcher]

So should I just end it

I don't want to give up on him but don't want to drag out the suffering?

 

[dawg53]

New Hatcher. I recommend you give him some time to heal, these things take time. If he's eating and drinking normally, that's would be a good sign. Continue w/ electrolytes, you can get gamebird feed rather than feeding chick starter. The gamebird feed has higher protein content. If anything kills him, it'll be the shock to his system from being stuck all day on top of any incurred injuries. I wish you the best.

 

[New Hatcher]

Sorry to say that jack died this after noon I came home from getting all his stuff to find him cold and barley breathing I couldn't stand seeing him like that and put him down. Thank you to all those who helped me I will know what to do if I have a bird that goes off it's feed or is too skinny.


I just love having BYC to help me with this kind of stuff and anything else that comes up being so new to chickens!!!!!