Rooster attacked by dog, now he smells like rotting meat.

[RichnSteph]

I left the coop door open overnight late last week and our rooster decided to go for a midnight stroll. He jumped the 5' run fence and then another 6' fence surrounding the neighbors dog. She's an old Jack Russell and after an initial scuffle she realized that he wasn't a threat and left him alone. Unfortunately he was bruised up enough that he couldn't get back out on his own and was returned to us by the neighbor the following morning while I was at work. He has one bruised leg which he is already walking on. His rear end is punctured in a couple of places and that is where the smell is coming from. The day we got him back he got a warm bath in Epsom salts, was thoroughly dried, had his feathers trimmed so we could check his wounds and was then treated with hydrogen peroxide (he was NOT a fan), then dried and treated with betadine to help stop any infection. He seemed to be doing well. Last night my wife went outside to tell him goodnight and check on him and she reported his odor. I went and brought him in the house and his rear end smells like rotting meat. We did a flush and irrigate with sterile water, dried him off, peroxide then q-tips ro spot clean and betadine to finish. This morning he looks better but the smell is still there. We could see no sign of infection when we looked.


Any advice on further treatment steps? Do we remove all the feathers around the wounds so that some air can get in there?

 

[bobbi-j]

I would get some Blu-Kote to spray on that wound. It's an antibiotic and promotes healing. In my opinion, a rotting flesh smell would indicate infection - maybe deep inside - but I'm not a vet, so can't say for sure. Especially without seeing the wound.

 

[TalkALittle]

I'm thinking you might have a pocket of infection deep in one of the punctures. Clean and dry the area well and see if you see anything seeping out. You may need to keep reopening the puncture wound and flushing it out so the wound heals from the inside. If it is deep he may need a drain installed. Abscesses are tough to treat from the outside. I wouldn't be surprised if oral or injected antibiotics are needed.

 

[aart]

BluKote is a topical antiseptic..not an antibiotic.

Any antibiotic cream or ointment
(nothing with pain relief ie: any kind of ingredient that has -caine in it, can be toxic to chooks) might help topically.

I would not use hydrogen peroxide except for an initial cleansing as it can destroy healthy tissue, especially tender just regrowing tissue.

Agrees that it could be an infection in the puncture and an oral or injectable antibiotic might be the best bet.
Might want to probe the puncture and see if it drains.

I know there's some pretty good ones out there that are used on chickens that can be had at a farm store...Tylan50?..... but I have no first hand experience so can't recommend one with dosages.

Best of CLuck to ya.

 

[bobbi-j]

BluKote is a topical antiseptic..not an antibiotic.

You're right, Aart. I said that wrong.

Any antibiotic cream or ointment
(nothing with pain relief ie: any kind of ingredient that has -caine in it, can be toxic to chooks) might help topically.

I would not use hydrogen peroxide except for an initial cleansing as it can destroy healthy tissue, especially tender just regrowing tissue.

Agreed.

Agrees that it could be an infection in the puncture and an oral or injectable antibiotic might be the best bet.
Might want to probe the puncture and see if it drains.

I know there's some pretty good ones out there that are used on chickens that can be had at a farm store...Tylan50?..... but I have no first hand experience so can't recommend one with dosages.

Best of CLuck to ya.