Roo attacked no visible wounds

[southernsibe]

My RIR was attacked, I don't know by what. He doesn't have any gashes or tears or punctures that I can find except for one small wound on his back side, and I went over him very carefully. He lost a ton of feathers, or rather had them pulled out. Some are broken and bloody but clotted. These are the only visible wounds. But he can't hold his head up. When I found him he was saying down with his butt stuck up in the air. I got him in a soft place and checked him. He seems to be sleeping but will rouse if I talk to him or move him. I got some water into him and he was taking that gratefully. His breathing seems fine, no evidence of a pressure wound. Just that he can't hold his head up. If his neck was broken, wouldn't he be dead? I am new at this and have never experienced something like this before.

***after I bathed some of the blood away, I did find some puncture wounds, small but there nonetheless***

 

[KrisRose]

I'm no expert. Try to get a couple of drops of liquid children's vitamins in him. Use something on his wounds, such as neosporin. Put him somewere safe from the other chickens.
I would use a laundry basket with old rags in it and place somewere warm and dark. I would keep him in the house for now. Then leave him alone for awhile and let him recover from the stress of being attacked.
As I said I'm no expert, perhaps someone with more experience will answer. At least this post will bump the thread up.

 

[chickbea]

Oh, I'm sorry. KrisRose's ideas are all good; general nursing and helping him stay comfortable are important. You can use the search feature on here to find other ideas. As I always tell folks, check out dlhunicorn's website - it has tons of info.

 

[southernsibe]

I'm so concerned about him not being able to hold his head up. I was able to get him to drink some more water, this time with some sugar in it. I don't have any children's vitamins or gatorade on hand.

 

[chickbea]

I know it's hard to see them suffer.
I'm not sure what to tell you about the neck. I once had a hen that was shaken severely by a dog, and it either broke or dislocated her neck, as it was very floppy. The hen did live another 15 minutes or so, but it sounds like yours has made it even longer, so maybe it isn't as severe? I hope not.
Do you have any plain yogurt? That can help give him some strength.
More folks should be along with ideas, I hope. Good luck...

 

[chickbea]

I was just talking about this with someone here at work who had a couple ideas - are his eyes open? Are they bright and normal looking, or cloudy? She was wondering if maybe he got some type of brain injury...

 

[southernsibe]

His eyes are open some of the time, clear and bright. He is taking sugar water, and I gave him some yogurt. I'm concerned because his breathing seems fine, but sounds almost bubbly. I asked a vet, who is also a friend of mine and she said that if there was a punctured air sac, he would probably be dead, not lasting this long. Thank you to anyone that can help.
Rachel

 

[chickbea]

I've been thinking about you and your roo. I wish I could be more help.

 

[southernsibe]

It seems like a stupid question, but I don't know how much trauma the neck can take and still heal. Wouldn't I be able to tell if it was broken?
Rachel

 

[chickbea]

When it happened to my hen it was very obvious - her neck rolled as if it were on ball bearings.
Can you persuade your friend the vet to come take a peak at him?