BadChicknMath02

Chirping
Apr 28, 2021
26
46
59
Missouri
My Coop
My Coop
(scroll to bottom if you dont want to read)

So, I was with my mom and sister in our backyard taking care of our horse's hoof while my dad mowed the tall grass. All of our chickens were out running around and keeping from the mower.. (We have three coops and more than one rooster in each coop with double the amount of hens.)

One of our smaller roosters, Dimitri, had gone into one of the other coops where our two roosters we hatched as chicks a few months ago were. Their names are Kitkat and Snickers..

Dimitri and Kitkat began to fight while we were tending to our horse. My sister pointed it out, and we just kinda shrugged it off because usually our roosters "fight"(which is just frilling of the neck feathers, maybe a few hops, no actual attacks or wounds. Never had to step in until today..) and then walk away and go on about their business.

Kitkat had his attention on Dimitri, and it seemed to be going as our usual "fights" we see. We continued to doctor our horse's hoof, thinking they would stop eventually. They didn't.

Both Kitkat and Snickers chased Dimitri out of the coop. Dimitri had stopped at the front of the coop and turned to go back to attacking. Kitkat and him began to fight again. My sister, again, pointed it out, and everyone looked. My dad was watching as he mowed, but my mom and I were trying to clean the hoof still. My sister wanted to go break them up, but we needed her to hold the horse still.

They continued to fight and jump onto each other, which I now became worried and watched for signs of it stopping. At this point, I knew I should have acted sooner (so, do NOT bash me, please). We turned for a second and then all of a sudden my sister told us they were still fighting and my mom looked up and seen Kitkat standing over Dimitri, who was on the ground. My dad seen this and threw a stick at them, which broke them up, but my mom was already running over and smacked Dimitri with a stick (not too hard, she doesnt like to hurt animals) and she smacked Kitkat (which she said, not too hard either).

Kitkat flopped onto the ground right after she smacked him and began to flail wildly. I rushed over in pure panic of my chicken- my mom assumed she broke his neck and began to freak out aswell. I picked him up and his body was still in full panic, but his neck was limp and he was unable to hold it up. His eyes were closed. I was frantic, afraid of losing my beloved rooster.

He thankfully did NOT die within seconds, as feared he would if his neck was broke. He laid on the ground and I stroked his feathers. He was still breathing, his comb and wattles bleeding which covered the palm of my hand. After a few minutes of stroking, Snickers came over and began to talk to him. Kitkat's eyes opened and his pupils were large- I knew he was in shock. He still couldnt move his head like normal, so I was holding it up for him. Snickers was concerned and was chirping and clucking, which caused Kitkat to perk up a bit, but he was still in major shock.

We brought him inside and laid him on a really fluffy dog bed we own. He is currently on it aswell as a towel. We have syringe-fed him water and sugar water. He is still breathing and will twitch his head every now and then, but just wants to rest. I assume he is just badly in shock, and I'm worried if he will make it through the night or not.

Does anyone know what could possibly have happened? Was he so full of adrenaline from fighting Dimitri that when my mom smacked him with the stick, he freaked out too much? Could she possibly have knocked him out accidentally, and his body still been moving? Did she paralyze him?

We would really like to know if my roo will be okay. We love him dearly, and since we hatched him from an egg and raised him, he is one that is very dear to our hearts.

Please note that our roosters dont fight all the time. They have grown up with most of them and together, and have not gotten any true desire to fight full on. Kitkat and Snickers definitely would not have full-blown fought anyone unless they felt their flock was endangered or felt another rooster was a true threat. Dimitri is one of our problem roos, and lives up to his name. He is always the sh*tstarter, as we call him, and we WILL be rehoming him.
 
I'm sorry to hear about that and hope that he gets better with some rest. No one's at fault. This is what roosters can do which is why I've never had roosters in my flock....until now. I do have two Wyandotte bantam roosters and so far, they not attacked each other and seem to get along. You're probably making the right decision on Dimitri. Just keep us posted as to how things develop. Wish I could tell you more to help but in my experience, Chickens are a pretty tough bunch and I have a hen who survived an aerial attack, although it did get one of my other hens.
 
Its very likely your mother smacking him may have just stunned him or she actually fractured his neck or spine. Bird bones are extremely fragile as they are hollow.

The best thing you can do for him right now is keep him in a dark, warm place and away from the other birds. You can also take him to an Avian or farm vet.

In the future definitely avoid hitting your birds with anything. They can easily be split up by just picking one up or placing something (a shovel, rake/etc) in between them.

@Eggcessive
@HeatherKellyB
 
Its very likely your mother smacking him may have just stunned him or she actually fractured his neck or spine. Bird bones are extremely fragile as they are hollow.

The best thing you can do for him right now is keep him in a dark, warm place and away from the other birds. You can also take him to an Avian or farm vet.

In the future definitely avoid hitting your birds with anything. They can easily be split up by just picking one up or placing something (a shovel, rake/etc) in between them.

@Eggcessive
@HeatherKellyB
Yes, I've never hit any of my birds with anything, and my mom is extremely apologetic about it. She feels horrible, as she didnt mean to. She just didn't want Kitkat to kill Dimitri, as he was going to..
 
I'm sorry to hear about that and hope that he gets better with some rest. No one's at fault. This is what roosters can do which is why I've never had roosters in my flock....until now. I do have two Wyandotte bantam roosters and so far, they not attacked each other and seem to get along. You're probably making the right decision on Dimitri. Just keep us posted as to how things develop. Wish I could tell you more to help but in my experience, Chickens are a pretty tough bunch and I have a hen who survived an aerial attack, although it did get one of my other hens.
Thank you, and we hope he pulls through this with just the injuries to his comb and wattles.
 
(scroll to bottom if you dont want to read)

So, I was with my mom and sister in our backyard taking care of our horse's hoof while my dad mowed the tall grass. All of our chickens were out running around and keeping from the mower.. (We have three coops and more than one rooster in each coop with double the amount of hens.)

One of our smaller roosters, Dimitri, had gone into one of the other coops where our two roosters we hatched as chicks a few months ago were. Their names are Kitkat and Snickers..

Dimitri and Kitkat began to fight while we were tending to our horse. My sister pointed it out, and we just kinda shrugged it off because usually our roosters "fight"(which is just frilling of the neck feathers, maybe a few hops, no actual attacks or wounds. Never had to step in until today..) and then walk away and go on about their business.

Kitkat had his attention on Dimitri, and it seemed to be going as our usual "fights" we see. We continued to doctor our horse's hoof, thinking they would stop eventually. They didn't.

Both Kitkat and Snickers chased Dimitri out of the coop. Dimitri had stopped at the front of the coop and turned to go back to attacking. Kitkat and him began to fight again. My sister, again, pointed it out, and everyone looked. My dad was watching as he mowed, but my mom and I were trying to clean the hoof still. My sister wanted to go break them up, but we needed her to hold the horse still.

They continued to fight and jump onto each other, which I now became worried and watched for signs of it stopping. At this point, I knew I should have acted sooner (so, do NOT bash me, please). We turned for a second and then all of a sudden my sister told us they were still fighting and my mom looked up and seen Kitkat standing over Dimitri, who was on the ground. My dad seen this and threw a stick at them, which broke them up, but my mom was already running over and smacked Dimitri with a stick (not too hard, she doesnt like to hurt animals) and she smacked Kitkat (which she said, not too hard either).

Kitkat flopped onto the ground right after she smacked him and began to flail wildly. I rushed over in pure panic of my chicken- my mom assumed she broke his neck and began to freak out aswell. I picked him up and his body was still in full panic, but his neck was limp and he was unable to hold it up. His eyes were closed. I was frantic, afraid of losing my beloved rooster.

He thankfully did NOT die within seconds, as feared he would if his neck was broke. He laid on the ground and I stroked his feathers. He was still breathing, his comb and wattles bleeding which covered the palm of my hand. After a few minutes of stroking, Snickers came over and began to talk to him. Kitkat's eyes opened and his pupils were large- I knew he was in shock. He still couldnt move his head like normal, so I was holding it up for him. Snickers was concerned and was chirping and clucking, which caused Kitkat to perk up a bit, but he was still in major shock.

We brought him inside and laid him on a really fluffy dog bed we own. He is currently on it aswell as a towel. We have syringe-fed him water and sugar water. He is still breathing and will twitch his head every now and then, but just wants to rest. I assume he is just badly in shock, and I'm worried if he will make it through the night or not.

Does anyone know what could possibly have happened? Was he so full of adrenaline from fighting Dimitri that when my mom smacked him with the stick, he freaked out too much? Could she possibly have knocked him out accidentally, and his body still been moving? Did she paralyze him?

We would really like to know if my roo will be okay. We love him dearly, and since we hatched him from an egg and raised him, he is one that is very dear to our hearts.

Please note that our roosters dont fight all the time. They have grown up with most of them and together, and have not gotten any true desire to fight full on. Kitkat and Snickers definitely would not have full-blown fought anyone unless they felt their flock was endangered or felt another rooster was a true threat. Dimitri is one of our problem roos, and lives up to his name. He is always the sh*tstarter, as we call him, and we WILL be rehoming him.
UPDATE: I managed to take care of him throughout the night and morning (aka 2am). I made sure he had plenty of fluids and was still breathing, etc. Got up early this morning (7:30a) to check up on him. He's a lot more lively, but still acts a bit in shock. Pupils are still large and go in and out. He did use the bathroom, so I'm glad about that. Got him to stand after being a bit wobbly for a few minutes. He stood on his own for a bit, looked around, and then turned his head back as if he was preening. He fell back asleep and is currently laying on the floor resting.
 

Attachments

  • 20210812_081517.jpg
    20210812_081517.jpg
    515.1 KB · Views: 22
UPDATE: I managed to take care of him throughout the night and morning (aka 2am). I made sure he had plenty of fluids and was still breathing, etc. Got up early this morning (7:30a) to check up on him. He's a lot more lively, but still acts a bit in shock. Pupils are still large and go in and out. He did use the bathroom, so I'm glad about that. Got him to stand after being a bit wobbly for a few minutes. He stood on his own for a bit, looked around, and then turned his head back as if he was preening. He fell back asleep and is currently laying on the floor resting.
Update no.2: he is now looking around, and eating! he stood up on his own to eat. Still very wobbly and lethargic so we helped him if he needed it. Also offering him some wet food to see if it goes down better.
 
Update no.2: he is now looking around, and eating! he stood up on his own to eat. Still very wobbly and lethargic so we helped him if he needed it. Also offering him some wet food to see if it goes down better.
Update No.3: He's becoming more responsive each day. We brought in one of his hens and he actually made a noise at her. He also pecked two of the new chicks we own, which means he can see and hear..and still be a bootyhole (LOL). He is still very droopy with his neck, but will look around and see what everyone is doing. He was able to drink and eat by himself aswell, but again, still droopy and not wanting to do much.
 

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom