Help making a decision - Cockrel was attacked by Hens & vent sphincter is damaged.

[rnchick74]

Hello all -

I need the collective wisdom of BYC to decide what to do for my lavender orpington. He's a younger cockrel & the introduction to the flock didn't go so well. He was attacked by the older ladies & suffered a horrific injury to his backside.

All of his feathers and most of his skin was ripped off from his tail past his vent. This has been about 6 weeks ago. The wounds have mostly healed; he remains infection free; but I fear that the sphincter is damaged.

He has a constant dribble of poo which is irritating his skin. This has caused problems with the healing of the wounds - we finally found something that helps though. I made a thick ointment of "butt paste" (like you would use for a baby's diaper rash), raw honey, coconut oil, and turmeric and keep the area thickly smeared with that. 2 times a week he gets a spray down in that area to assess the skin.

He can have a normal poo - one that he squats & it comes out on his command, but there is still the constant dribble.

Otherwise he is healthy. I have him in my hospital crate area indoors right now.

I keep going back & forth - do I put him down? Do I start transitioning him outside & hope it goes better this time? I am going to do things a little different in that regard.

My fear is that the sphincter will never fully heal & he will be the victim of constant fly strike & other issues. Then again, I don't know for sure & I hate to put down such a sweet boy like him.

See why I need help!!

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give!

 

[Eggcessive]

That is a hard decision to make. I would slowly reintroduce him to your flock with a cage parked near the other hens for a week or two. Then when you have time to sit with them while they free range, you could let them out together for an hour or two late each afternoon before they go in to roost. Hopefully they will accept him. Flies won't be a problem now for the next 5 months, so you could see if he heals and keep any feathers trimmed where the droppings collect. Clean him up as needed. Then next spring be vigilant about keeping his vent area clean. After that time, I think that you will know whether or not to put him down. Let us know what happens.

 

[rnchick74]

That is a hard decision to make. I would slowly reintroduce him to your flock with a cage parked near the other hens for a week or two. Then when you have time to sit with them while they free range, you could let them out together for an hour or two late each afternoon before they go in to roost. Hopefully they will accept him. Flies won't be a problem now for the next 5 months, so you could see if he heals and keep any feathers trimmed where the droppings collect. Clean him up as needed. Then next spring be vigilant about keeping his vent area clean. After that time, I think that you will know whether or not to put him down. Let us know what happens.

Thanks! I was leaning this way, as he is a very sweet boy & will be a great rooster. I will give it a try & report back. He's such a trooper with everything we've gone through so far!