My husband ran our Rooster over on accident

[shannon71980]

My husband and I were pulling out of our driveway this afternoon, when I felt him run something over. I thought, we have had these chickens, who we free range during the day, for 2 years and they always move. This time, our favorite rooster didn't move fast enough Rosie Roo (my 5 year old daughter named him that when we bought him as a Pullet, so when he started crowing, we just added Roo to the end). As soon as I noticed him laying in the driveway my husband got out to check him. (I didn't want to see him hurt). He is a 2 year old Barred Rock and he was just laying there. By the time my husband got to him, he was standing up. I couldn't beleive he was actually standing up....but that is all he did. He just stood there. My husband picked him up and he didn't fight(he is normally very aggressive with my husband). One eye was really swollen and he was bleeding around his comb. Our vet said that him standing up was a good sign, but he would probably be blind in at least one eye. He said since our driveway is dirt and gravel and it had been raining,it softened the dirt so maybe Rosie Roo didn't take the full impact. We put wound kote on his head and put him in a dog kennel to keep him safe. We gave him food and water and have been watching him closely. It has been 10 hours since the incident and he is still standing, has both eyes closed, (he was opening and shutting them for a little while when we talked to him), and isn't eating or drinking. The vet has hope and as much as I want to believe him, I don't want Rosie Roo to suffer. I'm at a loss. He is standing strong and he is sturdy on his feet, but is it possible for a blind rooster to survive? He is the leader of the flock and always protects his girls from danger and our other rooster. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions that may help me to hopefully makes sure he makes a good recovery? He isn't crying or whining so I can't tell how much pain he is really in. Please help!

 

[Dmontgomery]

I don't know if this will help you or not, but know that we feel for you. A couple years ago our best rooster ever, Henry, was injured by a snake attack in the old coop. He went completely blind in both eyes. Just like Rosie Roo, he had always been very standoffish towards us. That's why I know he was blind. Both eyes stayed closed and he didn't fight us when we went to pick him up anymore.
For a month my wife babied him as much as possible, wiping his face several times a day with a warm, wet wash cloth. She would hold him and rock him in her lap. Somehow he survived the ordeal and recovered his sight and health after a few weeks. Every morning we went out to the coop and had to retrieve him from his usual roosting spot, to place him on the ground near the food and water. Every night he somehow got back up on the roost by himself.
So I think with a lot of attention, a blind rooster can survive in certain situations. Good luck to you.

 

[shannon71980]

Thank you! That does help. He is still alive this morning and even looks a little better. We are going to try a wet wash cloth to wash off his face because he has dried blood on his face and I'm hoping that maybe his eyes are just matted shut. Many of my friends don't have chickens and they actully laugh when we tell them what happened. I know he is just a chicken, but we love our babies and it is breaking our hearts.

 

[Chickens126]

What do I do!? My Wellsummer (we've had for 2 years now) seems to have a broken toe. I just noticed her limping around. But it seems like she broke it and it healed on its own. Seems kinda strange to me because I say hi to them every day and never noticed anything wrong with her.

There looks to be an extra joint around where the break might of occurred. Since it healed on its own should I leave it alone? Or should I do something because she's still limping? It doesn't look like she's limping in pain tho because when I pick her up and touch it she doesn't seem to react. What should I do?

 

[CluckerCottage]

chickens are stoic are rarely show reaction to pain.
if the toe healed on it's own, that's great.
another thing to look for, since you just today see her limping, is bumblefoot.
Look at the bottom of her feet for swelling and a dark spot/scab.
Also look at the tops of her feet for swelling, also between the toes.

 

[Chickens126]

@CluckerCottage there is swelling at the joint of her foot. She is eating and drinking. I don't see a dark spot or scab. Is that a good sign?

 

[Chickens126]

Her toe is very crooked though. Looks like it's definitely out of place.

 

[shannon71980]

Rosie Roo is still fighting. We are forcing antibiotics and electrolytes and he seems more alert. He opened one eye last night and reacted to our voices. We cleaned him up more this morning and applied corona salve to his comb (he had maggots on it this morning) We are still praying for a miracle, but I think the fact that he is still alive 60 hours after having his head ran over by a big truck, is already a miracle.

 

[Justagurllll]

If it's been 60 hours he should be fine .. I've had a couple of my chickens attacked by my dogs and another one attacked by one of our turkeys and usually they pull through .. I also have a chicken that is blind in one eye (from
Birth) .. she does fine! She's kind of spastic but that's because she panics when she is separated from her friend Stormy ( believe it or not she is like her see and eye chicken lol they have been together from birth and are very attached to each other) I think you're doing everything right with Rosie Roo ... i don't think there's much more you could do other than continue to love on him!

I think he'll be fine! It may take some time but if he's made it this far he should be alright!

 

[shannon71980]

If it's been 60 hours he should be fine .. I've had a couple of my chickens attacked by my dogs and another one attacked by one of our turkeys and usually they pull through .. I also have a chicken that is blind in one eye (from
Birth) .. she does fine! She's kind of spastic but that's because she panics when she is separated from her friend Stormy ( believe it or not she is like her see and eye chicken lol they have been together from birth and are very attached to each other) I think you're doing everything right with Rosie Roo ... i don't think there's much more you could do other than continue to love on him!

I think he'll be fine! It may take some time but if he's made it this far he should be alright!

Thank you! He still isn't eating, but I wouldn't want to eat either. He has a best friend that he has been with since birth, so I hope she helps him.