My rooster is not well

[chuzubaby1]

Yes that syrup was antibiotic, but he said give it only for like 3 days
how does it looks? Do you think it looks normal? his foot?
& okay thank you so much, I'm so gonna do it.
& yes, so that means he's sick?
because his comb is on one side it always turns into dark purplish color then it goes back to being normal when i make him sleep in my lap & when he's relaxed it's red again.
& I've no idea. it's making me worried. I don't know when it ll heal.

 

[speckledhen]

Yes that syrup was antibiotic, but he said give it only for like 3 days
how does it looks? Do you think it looks normal? his foot?
& okay thank you so much, I'm so gonna do it.
& yes, so that means he's sick?
because his comb is on one side it always turns into dark purplish color then it goes back to being normal when i make him sleep in my lap & when he's relaxed it's red again.
& I've no idea. it's making me worried. I don't know when it ll heal.

A rooster's comb does change color depending on body temperature and blood flow. It's like a barometer for his health, too. It can go from bright red to dull red, to having the back blade part be darkish and back to red again, all normal changes. What you don't want to see is a pale pinkish-yellowish, shrunken comb.

I think it still looks somewhat swollen. For bumblefoot, which is a staph infection, he would have needed a very strong antibiotic, not sure what a 3 day dose would do. Do you know the name of it? If it was Baytril, that is very strong, but I think the FDA forbids its use now, not sure on that.

I had a cockerel years ago who had a soft tissue leg injury. His hock developed an infection that we fought with numerous antibiotics. He was looking really bad for awhile with a shrunken, yellow-pink comb. When someone finally gave me a VERY strong antibiotic that kicked out the infection, he recovered, though he had permanent tendon damage and lost the use of his leg. He lived to almost 5 years old but we had to care for him daily. He was healthy other than his bad leg. Anyway, his name was Zane-many here know about my Zane. There are threads about his injury and recovery on BYC. Here is a pic of his comb when it showed he was very ill so you can see:

one of the threads about Zane: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/66017/barred-rock-cockerel-zane-updates

Zane before his injury so you can see his normal comb:


After when he had an infected hock in his body sling that took weight off his leg-you can see he was very ill from the infection. Click to see the close up of the picture so you can see the comb, how it lists to the side and was pale.

 

[chuzubaby1]

ohmygod, first of all. I'm so sad to hear bout your rooster, he looks so handsome tho. so beautiful honestly, and i feel so bad for him, I'm so sorry that he had to go through so much pain, I'm sure he's in better place. &&& it's keflex cephalexin, I gave him only for like 3 days, if there's a better antibiotic you can tell me bout? So I can buy it? he's very sensitive tho, his legs are very weak. and his comb is very heavy sometimes i Blame myself for whatever happened to him, not sure how long he ll survive but I cannot afford to lose him he's my happy place, my life. i love him so much. i cry thinking bout how he's such a depending rooster, he cannot eat without me he cannot drink water without me, he cannot bend his neck because few months from now one of my garden dog ran after him so he jumped of terrace & he was so scared & from that time his neck is kind of at other side, so it's really hard to see him like this i wish there was a way to get back my old chuzu. He's so calm
Now he walks in slow motion if he stands at one place he ll be standing there for like hours, it really hurts so see him like this, I'll show your his pics before & after. please tell me if there's any way that he can be like he was before.

 

[speckledhen]

ohmygod, first of all. I'm so sad to hear bout your rooster, he looks so handsome tho. so beautiful honestly, and i feel so bad for him, I'm so sorry that he had to go through so much pain, I'm sure he's in better place. &&& it's keflex cephalexin, I gave him only for like 3 days, if there's a better antibiotic you can tell me bout? So I can buy it? he's very sensitive tho, his legs are very weak. and his comb is very heavy sometimes i Blame myself for whatever happened to him, not sure how long he ll survive but I cannot afford to lose him he's my happy place, my life. i love him so much. i cry thinking bout how he's such a depending rooster, he cannot eat without me he cannot drink water without me, he cannot bend his neck because few months from now one of my garden dog ran after him so he jumped of terrace & he was so scared & from that time his neck is kind of at other side, so it's really hard to see him like this i wish there was a way to get back my old chuzu. He's so calm
Now he walks in slow motion if he stands at one place he ll be standing there for like hours, it really hurts so see him like this, I'll show your his pics before & after. please tell me if there's any way that he can be like he was before.

Oh, what a poor boy! Sounds like he has some permanent damage from his accident. Cephalexin is a good antibiotic but I'm not sure if it will work that well on bumblefoot, I just don't know. I don't give antibiotics to my birds with bumblefoot anyway, though I used to, just keep treating them topically. Seems to do as much as any antibiotic. Sometimes it takes opening up the black scab more than once to pack antibiotic ointment in it if it seems like there is more infection.

I can only do so much online to help since I can't get my hands on him to examine him. Bumblefoot will take awhile to heal up, especially as swollen as it was originally. I'd put more ointment on it and a padded bandage for another couple of weeks, changing periodically, at the very least. I hope he heals up, but whatever caused the infection may still be there, something he scraped his foot on. It's almost impossible to figure out most of the time. It can recur, even if it heals. I've had some hens with chronic bumblefoot, mostly due to the shape of their feet or one hen because she has some tendon damage and cannot flex her toes so she walks flatfooted and always has bumblefoot, though minor, in both feet. If it starts to swell is when we cut it out, but if it's not hurting her much, we don't do that.

 

[chuzubaby1]

Okay, what should i do now? i removed the bandage & let him walk for a while but then I'm not sure if it's okay to let him walk i mean it's only been 11 days,it's still swollen though. please I'm worried everyone in my home said it's too hot in here you should remove the bandage i don't know what to do
I'm so worried

 

[speckledhen]

Don't worry about the bandage in the heat. It won't affect him. Just remove it, pack with antibiotic ointment and replace. But bumblefoot that was that bad often needs to be cut into/treated again.

There is limited help I can give you online. Is there anyone you know near you who has chickens at all that may have experience with bumblefoot? I'm not sure your vet knew what he was doing, judging from how much the bird bled during the removal, but if he's all you have, that may be all you can do if you cannot treat him yourself. If I was there, I would do it and show you how to treat him yourself so you could continue it.

I feel bad for you and your rooster because I know he's your pet and you really care about him, but I'm not sure there's much else I can do online, honey. If you have more antibiotic left, I'd do another round of it. And since antibiotics mess with his digestive system, if you can get some plain, non sweetened active culture yogurt or probiotics, you should give him that if you give him antibiotics again.

 

[chuzubaby1]

Treated again? I didn't get you? what does it mean?
& no, there's no one this is why I'm here asking you, trust me i won't be able to focus on anything I'm really worried, his wound isn't bleeding, but I can see a huge cut in there, God i don't know what to do. I'll still do a bandage, if i let him walk without bandage then his foot will be infected again? Am i right? I'm not going back to see that doctor. I want to treat it on my own. for god sake he's my life I'm worried i love him so much

 

[chuzubaby1]

<3

 

[chuzubaby1]

 

[chuzubaby1]