Possum Attack(emergency sick rooster)

[Ursuline Chick]

Your Rooster really got beaten up. I am so sorry, I have never taken care of anything this bad at home. I guess I have been lucky, to be able to treat wounds at home, as they were not this bad. Perhaps you will need a vet to look at his eyes, among other things.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the advice! I flushed out his eyes and am working on cleaning the injuries better.
I shared some pictures of the injuries but if you want better pictures in some areas, just say.
I have one question though, should I use the eye ointment once or every time after I flush them?

Thank you!

Can you get some photos of what he looks like since you cleaned him up?

If you haven't done so, I would take some wetted qtips and wipe out his beak too. Take a look inside to make sure that's just dried blood and debris.

Is there a wound under his wing as well? If so, trim the feathers and flush out the wound, apply your ointment.

Keep tending to the eyes. Yes, apply ointment each time you flush.
Can you see if his ear has been injured too? I would keep ointment on his face.

Work on getting fluids into him. Electrolytes or warmed sugar water. A little plain water too. Once hydrated offer wet feed.

For this guy, since a Possum attacked, I would also consider giving antibiotics.
Are you in the US? If so, what state?
Depending on where you live...you may be able to find fish antibiotics (Amoxicillin) at stores like Tractor Supply. In a pinch, I would give him Penicillin which is found in the refrigerated section of TSC. If you have a relationship with a vet for another animal, sometimes they will write you a script. Let me know if you have anything on hand or if you can source meds.

 

[Jrose]

His eyes don't look swollen to me in the photos. It looks like he's in a ton of pain, and birds tend to shut their eyes when overwhelmed like that.

That's a lot of blood around his mouth! Is it all his? Do you know the source of blood around his beak? Hopefully it's possum blood...?

Birds can shock easily (also might be why his eyes are closed). If it were my rooster, I'd keep him dark, quiet, and disturbed as little as possible. I wouldn't put him on prescription antibiotics unless I confirmed an infection, as it will reduce his immune system needlessly otherwise. Not a personal fan of "preventative antibiotics" or "just in case". Infections aren't usually a death sentence, they are a natural part of the healing process and can be easily treated and managed as needed.

That said- immune support, immune support, immune support. Stress is hard on birds. Good calories, good probiotics, good electrolytes. Reducing bodily stress; keep him warm, clean, and immobile. I would trim his feathers with scissors anywhere and everywhere til I found his wounds. I would flush and clean any wounds I found with vinegar water and trim all feathers away from any torn skin. Any major tears scan be stitched shut with needle and threat if need be. Bird heal wounds extremely quickly, so sterilizing any punctures before they seal over would be my priority. If already crusted over, I would soften in warm salt water and re-open the punctures so they can heal from the bottom up.

 

[Ayam-cemanilove]

Can you get some photos of what he looks like since you cleaned him up?

If you haven't done so, I would take some wetted qtips and wipe out his beak too. Take a look inside to make sure that's just dried blood and debris.

Is there a wound under his wing as well? If so, trim the feathers and flush out the wound, apply your ointment.

Keep tending to the eyes. Yes, apply ointment each time you flush.
Can you see if his ear has been injured too? I would keep ointment on his face.

Work on getting fluids into him. Electrolytes or warmed sugar water. A little plain water too. Once hydrated offer wet feed.

For this guy, since a Possum attacked, I would also consider giving antibiotics.
Are you in the US? If so, what state?
Depending on where you live...you may be able to find fish antibiotics (Amoxicillin) at stores like Tractor Supply. In a pinch, I would give him Penicillin which is found in the refrigerated section of TSC. If you have a relationship with a vet for another animal, sometimes they will write you a script. Let me know if you have anything on hand or if you can source meds.

Hi, sorry for taking so long to reply. I didn’t see that someone replied to the post until now.

Since it’s been a while I’ll give you a update on his condition before answering the questions. He is still inside and is way more responsive right now. Most of his wounds are looking better except for a weird bruise on his wing and his eyes are still not open(I’m still flushing them). He is getting enough water but has not eaten enough. Yesterday I noticed his crop is unusually full so I’m assuming he has sour crop. So I am trying to treat that. If you have any questions about his condition, obviously, just ask.

Onto the questions:

• I’m currently not home but I’ll send you some once I get there, any specific ones I should get?
• There is a bruise but other than that there are no wounds.
• I did not see that the ear was injured but I’ll check again while taking pictures

I have a couple of questions I was wondering if you could answer or give suggestions for. Should I be more concerned for his eyes? What should I do for them? They don’t seem to be bothering him or to be infected but I would’ve excepted him to be using them by now. What would you recommend for treating sour crop? I would want to do a method where he could eat soon or during it. But the only two methods I could find was the vomiting method and giving him zero sugar Greek yogurt mixed with his food. The problem with the vomiting is that I think it would be risky, it could stress him, and it could risk him getting food or liquids into his lungs. The only negative with the yogurt method is that I don’t know if I can get him to eat it. If you don’t know what I should do for any of the questions, that is obviously fine, I just don’t know your experiences or knowledge on these topics.



Thank you for all of your help!

 

[Ayam-cemanilove]

His eyes don't look swollen to me in the photos. It looks like he's in a ton of pain, and birds tend to shut their eyes when overwhelmed like that.

That's a lot of blood around his mouth! Is it all his? Do you know the source of blood around his beak? Hopefully it's possum blood...?

Birds can shock easily (also might be why his eyes are closed). If it were my rooster, I'd keep him dark, quiet, and disturbed as little as possible. I wouldn't put him on prescription antibiotics unless I confirmed an infection, as it will reduce his immune system needlessly otherwise. Not a personal fan of "preventative antibiotics" or "just in case". Infections aren't usually a death sentence, they are a natural part of the healing process and can be easily treated and managed as needed.

That said- immune support, immune support, immune support. Stress is hard on birds. Good calories, good probiotics, good electrolytes. Reducing bodily stress; keep him warm, clean, and immobile. I would trim his feathers with scissors anywhere and everywhere til I found his wounds. I would flush and clean any wounds I found with vinegar water and trim all feathers away from any torn skin. Any major tears scan be stitched shut with needle and threat if need be. Bird heal wounds extremely quickly, so sterilizing any punctures before they seal over would be my priority. If already crusted over, I would soften in warm salt water and re-open the punctures so they can heal from the bottom up.

Thanks for the advice! While cleaning the wounds I wasn’t sure on what I should do scabbed wounds so I cleaned the areas and left the scabs there. But I’ll clean and remove them when I get home. While reopening the wounds should I be worried about it bleeding? If I should is the anything I should place on the wounds to help stop the bleeding? And because of most of the wounds being on the comb, can I use a cloth soaked in salt water to help open up the wound?
The blood in his beak has been cleaned and I do believe it was possum blood.
His eyes are still closed, so I do not believe that it is because of stress. Although his eyes do open(half way) sometimes when I move him. Do you know what could be wrong with them? Because I find it hard to believe that both eye were scratched without any bleeding or scratches/injuries on the eyelids/near the eyes.
I am also treating him for sour crop. So if you have any suggestions for treating it please tell me. If you have any questions about him and his condition, feel free to ask.

Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Most of his wounds are looking better except for a weird bruise on his wing and his eyes are still not open(I’m still flushing them). He is getting enough water but has not eaten enough. Yesterday I noticed his crop is unusually full so I’m assuming he has sour crop.

Should I be more concerned for his eyes? What should I do for them? T

Photos of all the wounds and his eyes would be good.

Care for the eyes were in previous posts. I really recommend that you get them open. If you need to apply warm compresses to help soften up scabs or remove blood, then that's what I would do. Ointment on the eyes a couple of times a day really helps.

Re-look him over for injuries. A crop issue may be from dehydration is he's not drinking, then he's dehydrated. How to's on getting fluids into a bird or crop feeding were linked as well.

IF you are checking his crop first thing in the morning before he's had anything to eat/drink overnight and it's still not emptying, then I would begin treating according to this article. These are the methods and products I use on my own birds. I would not vomit him. He needs fluids, once hydrated, then you can offer a little wet feed. I rarely withhold feed from any bird that has crop issues.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

For eyes, flush with saline, remove any debris bubbles or pus. Apply an eye ointment like Terramycin or you can use triple antibiotic ointment in the eyes. Clean and flush the eyes several times a day.

If he's unable to see, then he can't stay hydrated. You'll need to syringe or tube fluids into him. Links below on how.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/crop-feeding.75454/

 

[vip30228]

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Thanks for the advice! I flushed out his eyes and am working on cleaning the injuries better.
I shared some pictures of the injuries but if you want better pictures in some areas, just say.
I have one question though, should I use the eye ointment once or every time after I flush them?

Thank you!

Is his eye gone? My Rooster was attacked last night by a possum & one of his eyes looks just like that.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is his eye gone? My Rooster was attacked last night by a possum & one of his eyes looks just like that.

Welcome To BYC

This thread is from 2022 and the participants haven't been on since.

If you can post photos of your rooster and his injuries, we may be able to offer some suggestions.

Sometimes swelling around the eyes can make it look like that eyes are gone. Time and healing will reveal whether the eye(s) are still viable and how much damage they have suffered. Hopefully not a lot.

Without seeing the extent of damage, all I can offer is general care - clean/flush the eyes with saline, apply an eye ointment like terramycin in the eye and on the surrounding tissue. If you don't have or can't get Terramycin, you can use Original Neosporin.

If his eyes are swollen shut, you will likely start seeing some bubbles and/or crust forming. A warm compress soaked in saline can help you work the eyes open so you can remove buildup/crusts - the crusty stuff can make the eyes stick together.

Work on hydration - work him through shock, often chickens can be shocky for a few days after an attack or injury. Slightly warmed sugar water (1tp sugar to 1cup water) can be given, if he can't see to drink on his own, then syringe drops into him. If you have electrolytes those will work too. He needs fluids, once hydrated, then give wet mushy feed, bits of egg or fish.