My rooster won't eat or drink after a bad fight. Please help!

[casportpony]

That is a great detailed photo!
Wish I could take credit for the pic above, but it's from a great article written by Craig Hopkins from http://www.hopkinslivestock.com/oral_dosing_article.htm

Very pretty!

Thanks, he's a sweet boy!

T

 

[cochins1088]

Thanks for the detailed photos! They really helped!

I just gave him another 20 ml of the Gatorade water mix, but it sounds like I need to give him a lot more. I'll go weigh him.

So the tube should go around the hole in the back of the throat?

 

[casportpony]

You should be able to feel the tube on the right side as it goes down into the crop. FYI, I just gave my pea 130cc.

 

[cochins1088]

He was crowing again this morning, so that's a good thing, but he still seems pretty weak.

He still won't eat or drink and I was only able to give him 40 ml of water total yesterday.

I also tried putting some hydrogen peroxide on his gums.

Oh, and I gave him a bath yesterday. His feathers are no longer blood stained, so he looks a lot better (even though he isn't).

 

[casportpony]

If his crop empties, you should be able to get way more than that into him. Keep trying, you'll be glad you did.

 

[cochins1088]

If his crop empties, you should be able to get way more than that into him. Keep trying, you'll be glad you did.

I know.. It's just hard to get the tube down his throat. He doesn't appreciate it at all, and I'm always worried that it'll go down the wrong hole. I can't really see into the back of his mouth.

I turned the heat up in the garage to 70 degrees and I let him run around. I then brought one of the hens in to keep him company. I figured that seeing her eat may encourage him to eat. He got so excited. He started running around and dancing (I've never seen a rooster dance before) and then mated her. He still running around excited. I have no idea where all this energy is coming from, but I'm glad he's happy. He looked like he was on death's door step last night, so this really took me by surprise.

 

[cochins1088]

He's still not eating or drinking... He looks super weak. I'll try the tube again in a few moments.

 

[cochins1088]

I was able to get 55 ml of water-gatorade in him. I weighed him and he's only 6 1/2 pounds, possibly because he hasn't eaten for over 3 days.

 

[casportpony]

That's a good start, but he needs way more than that.

 

[cochins1088]

I just mixed up a "solution" of food. I mixed chick starter, scrambled egg, Gatorade, and water together. It's liquid enough to go down the tube. I'm hoping this will give him a little jumpstart.

How much fluid do you recommend I give him?

I didn't give him any yesterday... I saw him with that hen and I figured that he would eat and drink on his own time, but since he still isn't eating or drinking, I need to give him something.

Also, is there any direction you aim for when using the tube? I opened his beak as wide as I could and shined a flashlight into his mouth and I couldn't see anything.. I've been going down very gently and I've gotten it right most of the time, but I think that I started putting it down the wrong hole twice.