Ol' Red Had A Run-in With Coyotes

[Sabrina]

The morning of December 28th my husband took a couple of shots at five coyotes. He followed them down to the creek and found our two-year-old rooster (a commercial Rhode Island Red) walking back up. He picked him up and brought him on home. He's missing all the feathers on his back and most of them on the back of his neck. We found five open wounds, presumably teeth marks. His skin is otherwise intact.

We treated his wounds with a topical ointment (Corona) and put him out in the coop. He almost immediately crowed and we were feeling pretty good. We kept an eye on him all day; he seemed to act pretty much normal, walking around, drinking, pecking at the ground. That night he was up on his roost, but we brought him in anyway.

The next morning we put him out and he acted as though he really didn't feel very good. This made sense to me as the soreness usually sets in the day after. That night he did not make it up on his roost; he was sleeping in one of the nests. That was the last time he has been outside.

His condition seems to have remained the same since Tuesday morning. He is living in a travel play pen in our living room. He refuses to eat but drinks voraciously. I bathed him two days ago to get the ointment off and really check him out. His external wounds are healing very nicely; no sign of infection. I didn't feel any broken bones.

I've never had good luck with feeding tubes, so I have put some laying mash in his water to make a broth for him in hopes that he will get the nutrition he needs. I keep a light on him at night so he can drink his broth when he wakes up, not just during the day. His waste is very runny, presumably because he is only ingesting water, and is a beautiful bright green. He doesn't walk around much, but he does stand.

I don't know what else I can do for Ol' Red and it really bothers me that I haven't seen any improvement yet. Any suggestions?

 

[CarlaRiggs]

The green color may suggest that his food is being expelled too quickly from when eaten. He may not be digesting nutrients that he needs, even from the little food you're able to give him.
Do you think he may have some intestinal damage? It sounds as if he was almost a dinner, but the gun shots scared off the coyotes.
I'd continue to keep him warm and well hydrated; I'd turn off the light at night so that he can get a good night's sleep.
I'd consider some oral medication/vitamins, also.
If you have a sweet natured hen, you may want to bring him in a little companionship.

Good luck! And please keep us updated.

Carla

 

[Sabrina]

I don't know if he has any internal damage or not. I'm wondering if he might since I am not seeing any improvement yet.

I thought about turning his light off at night for the reason you mentioned, but I also thought that leaving it on would allow him to drink more of his "broth" as well as provide him a bit of heat since our nights are freezing.

I am wondering if I should get some chick starter for him rather than making his broth from the laying mash.

 

[CarlaRiggs]

Sabrina,
I don't think it makes a difference in the laying mash/chick starter.
You may try to tempt him with treats... is there anything in particular that he likes? Scrambled egg, cottage cheese have protein, which he will need. Perhaps oatmeal or fresh pears?

The more I think about a companion for him, the better I like the idea.

A girlfriend can keep him warm at night; and I would think your Roo is used to having the girls about. You may try some meal worms or even crickets. If a hen is eating, he may show more interest, also.

Does he feel thinner to you?

Carla

 

[birdlover]

Poor fella!! I have a couple of suggestions. First of all, offer him some plain yogurt with oatmeal and smashed hard boiled egg mixed in. Also try applesauce and, if he likes it, you can put his mash in it to get more in him. See if he will eat plain old chopped up hard boiled egg. I've found all of those things are usually tempting to sick chickens I've had. (The bright green color means he isn't getting enough to eat.)

Secondly, if he is going to make it, he needs an oral antibiotic. The bite wounds have most certainly introduced bacteria into his body and need to be dealt with. An ointment won't work for that. To get a strong antibiotic, you almost always have to go through a vet. I believe you may be able to get cipro through this website: www.firststatevetsupply.com Don't delay, though.

As far as a friend goes, not sure that is a good idea or not. He needs to be kept quiet and warm. Best of luck to Ol' Red. I hope he makes it.

ETA: I went to the website I mentioned and they don't have cipro but they do have pennicillan you can order or amoxycillin, etc. in pill form. I prefer to give my chickens pills over oral liquid...much easier.

 

[Pumpkinpup]

Man! That is one lucky roo to make it out alive!

 

[#1California Chick]

Quote:
Boy, I do agree with that!!! If he was hauled away by a coyote, he probably feels pretty sore!!

Welcome to BYC!! I sorry that your first message had to be for an emergency!!

You might scan some of the other entries in this section for suggestions for other injured roos.

Again, WELCOME!!

Cindy

 

[Sabrina]

Thank you all for your concern and suggestions. Ol' Red has taken a turn for the worse. I think it is his lack of nourishment catching up with him because he has become very weak. He absolutely refuses to eat, even though I tried cottage cheese, yogurt and hard boiled eggs.

I figure now is the time to try anything so I crushed an aspirin in one cup of water, added a couple table spoons of laying mash, threw in a splash of Gatorade and mixed it all up for him. I went looking for old antibiotics but we don't have any and I really don't know that he will last long enough for one to start working.

He isn't drinking much now, and when he does more runs out of his mouth than he swallows. He was standing a couple of hours ago and lost his balance and ended up taking a nose-dive. He got back onto his belly but I think his hours are numbered, although I really hope I am wrong. We'll see what the morning brings ...

 

[birdlover]

I'm so sorry. No, it doesn't sound good. Poor, sweet boy.

 

[Sabrina]

It was about an hour ago that he took a couple drinks of his aspirin "soup". He is now standing up and drinking like he was yesterday and he just poo'ed and it looked pretty normal, not that bright emerald green color. I don't really want to get my hopes up, but it looks as though he is a little, very little, bit better. Please send good wishes his way ... he's a tough ol' roo but he can use every bit of extra help he can get!