Redrabbt13
Hatching
- Apr 10, 2020
- 2
- 2
- 3
TRIGGER WARNING** (description of mutilated/hurt chicken ahead)
Our rooster's specs:
A week ago my family's sassy little silkie rooster attacked me when I got too close to his hens and his toe got snagged on a nearby wire cage. His toe looked TERRIBLE, all horribly bent and bleeding. I feel so awful and mad at myself because looking back I realize that we really should have just isolated him and gave the poor guy a splint then and there. We've never dealt with a hurt/sick chicken before and assumed that, like small birds, overstimulation and external stress (from quarantining and/or frequent splint cleanings/changes) on top of the stress from his injury would kill him. So we disinfected his foot with alcohol and made sure that he stopped bleeding before putting him back. We hoped that the wound would heal over and he would just have a weird foot but otherwise, he be would be okay. We watched him closely for the next few days, and he did seem to be doing alright (his toe did not swell up from infection, and was not bleeding).
Today he attacked me again when I was feeding the hens some mealworms and HIS TOE BROKE EVEN MORE (it was BARELY hanging on). Not long after that, while I was trying to catch our rooster to treat the poor guy he started THROWING UP whitish chunky liquid--something he has NEVER done before. None of our local vet offices treat birds and the nearest poultry vet is many hours away. My brother is a med student so with his help we did our best to safely and cleanly remove the almost severed toe as well as cauterize the wound as fast and painlessly as we could.
He's now resting in a warm dark bin with fresh bedding, electrolyte water, treats, and food -- something that I regret not doing from the start. Though his foot seems to be in a much better state, I am now really really worried about why he throwing up earlier. I have not witnessed him throw up again yet. Could he have thrown up due to getting sick from walking around with a broken toe or the pain from his toe? Should I be worried/what should I do?
P.S. I am really sorry for how long this post is-- I feel really horrible for the pain and suffering my family unintentionally put our silkie through and we're all terribly worried about his condition right now.
Our rooster's specs:
- age: 1-year-old
- type: silkie
- weight: not sure, however, we have always felt like our little rooster is skinnier compared to our hens
- eating/drinking: for the past week since he first broke his toe he seems to be drinking and eating normally--however he's resting now after we treated his foot, so I don't know yet whether or not he will be eating and drinking normally after today
- similar symptoms in other birds?: None of the other chickens have broken toes and I am pretty certain he is the only one throwing up.
- poop: I am not sure whether he is pooping normally (he's a backyard bird)--I don't want to freak him out as he's resting right now after a really traumatic day, I will check tomorrow, though.
- housing/bedding: We house our small flock in an Eglu Cube, their bedding consists of cedar shavings. They have a meter long run where we regularly spread the ground with leaves. Our rooster is being kept temporarily in a Rubbermaid tub with fresh bedding (cedar shavings), a heating pad set on low to keep him warm, electrolyte water, treats, and food.
- treatment intent: If possible, we would like to treat our silkie ourselves, as the nearest poultry vet is very far away.
- what happened/other information: (see below)
A week ago my family's sassy little silkie rooster attacked me when I got too close to his hens and his toe got snagged on a nearby wire cage. His toe looked TERRIBLE, all horribly bent and bleeding. I feel so awful and mad at myself because looking back I realize that we really should have just isolated him and gave the poor guy a splint then and there. We've never dealt with a hurt/sick chicken before and assumed that, like small birds, overstimulation and external stress (from quarantining and/or frequent splint cleanings/changes) on top of the stress from his injury would kill him. So we disinfected his foot with alcohol and made sure that he stopped bleeding before putting him back. We hoped that the wound would heal over and he would just have a weird foot but otherwise, he be would be okay. We watched him closely for the next few days, and he did seem to be doing alright (his toe did not swell up from infection, and was not bleeding).
Today he attacked me again when I was feeding the hens some mealworms and HIS TOE BROKE EVEN MORE (it was BARELY hanging on). Not long after that, while I was trying to catch our rooster to treat the poor guy he started THROWING UP whitish chunky liquid--something he has NEVER done before. None of our local vet offices treat birds and the nearest poultry vet is many hours away. My brother is a med student so with his help we did our best to safely and cleanly remove the almost severed toe as well as cauterize the wound as fast and painlessly as we could.
He's now resting in a warm dark bin with fresh bedding, electrolyte water, treats, and food -- something that I regret not doing from the start. Though his foot seems to be in a much better state, I am now really really worried about why he throwing up earlier. I have not witnessed him throw up again yet. Could he have thrown up due to getting sick from walking around with a broken toe or the pain from his toe? Should I be worried/what should I do?
P.S. I am really sorry for how long this post is-- I feel really horrible for the pain and suffering my family unintentionally put our silkie through and we're all terribly worried about his condition right now.
