Injured Rooster/Lemon Cuckoo Orpington

[chichichickapea]

On Friday, my dog (large German Shorthair Pointer) grabbed my large 24 week old Lemon Cuckoo Orpington Rooster (Sam).....Sam lost a lot of tail feathers, there was absolutely no blood, no puncture wounds....he started staggering around immediately after the incident. I thought he was just in shock. Separated him from everyone else, held him and petted him a long time....he seemed calm...left him in this separate pen approx. 6x6 overnight....he was still staggering badly the next morning and when he would stand still very long would lose his balance and fall over. I have checked and rechecked him....there is no obvious fracture or injury other than his left thigh was swollen over the weekend, no swelling in the lower part of his leg....he is eating, drinking, pooping....but no change in his ability to walk and stand or maintain his balance. Bryce suggested that I put him in a small pen to limit his activity and "rest" the leg. I rigged up a sling aparatus and put him in it in the late afternoon...he likes being "up""....he really eats and drinks good while in it...but after about 30 minutes wants out of it. It will be a week tomorrow. I have put chick electrolytes in his water. Somebody give me some ideas....I don't want to put him down, he is gorgeous and very docile......

 

[kellysmall87]

Wow, sorry about this. I would say he has an injury somewhere. broken bones maybe? You have done the right thing segregating him and feeding him electrolytes etc. keep him segregated. As long as he is eating and drinking and pooping then he is not in pain , as pain brings shock and shock brings the inability to eat and drink. So, as long as he keep on keeping on, he should be ok in time! Something is probably broken or chipped somewhere...

I have also read that inner ear damage causes falling over... check ears for damage from your dog?

 

[chichichickapea]

Thank you for responding....he was grabbed from behind, not even close to his ears...hope I dont have to invent a chicken wheelchair!!! He is one of my favorites...

 

[chichichickapea]

Update, he looks like he has lost a little weight, still eating, drinking, pooping and loves to be up in that sling for about 30 minutes.....guess I will give him one more week.....

 

[kellysmall87]

Yeah, give him some time to recover. I wonder if there's some internal bleeding or injury? i would give him more time to heal , if he shows signs of suffering then you do what's right.

 

[chichichickapea]

He is lying on his side a lot with his legs sticking straight out....kind of like he is trying to keep his weight off them. Still has an excellent appetite and is drinking good....still pooping. I have 2 chicks that are 3 weeks old that keep running in the cage with him, he seems to like the interaction but does have to peck at them every once in a while.

 

[kellysmall87]

Sounds like he is holding up fine

 

[chichichickapea]

still cannot stand

 

[stargirl]

Could it be worth giving him a course of anti-inflammatories/pain relief to see if that helps? Sometimes when an animal has hurt a limb they become afraid to weight bear on it again.
He sounds like such a fighter, I don't want you to lose him!

 

[chichichickapea]

Can I do that????? How much do I give him?? He is approx. 24 weeks old. How do I give it??? Etc.????