Rooster attacked by puppy - in shock - what do I do?

[nysara]

My Rhode Island Red Rooster was attacked by our new puppy. I can't tell if/how he is hurt since there is no blood, though he lost some tail feathers and was holding his wing funny when I stopped the attack.

At first I let him stay in the coop, but noticed that he is acting like he is in shock, so brought him inside in a dog crate. He has food and water, but won't touch it and I am afraid to investigate his wounds or clean the mud off of him until he comes out of his shell.

Is there anything I can/should do besides keep him warm and wait? For context, I live too far from vet/stores to do anything before Monday when stuff is open again, so I will need to use what we have on hand here...

 

[silkiechicken]

Go ahead and clean him up. Wash off the dirt and look for wounds. If any are found, clean them up and neosporin will work. After that, put him in a quiet place like the dog crate and let him rest like you are now.

 

[farmergal]

if he does have open wounds, you also might want to consider buying some antibiotics from your local feed store (when you get to it on Monday) to prevent systemic infections. you can buy antibiotics that dissolve in water for about $5.

when my girl was attacked by a fox, I called the vet's office. they said that dog bites and fox bites are really full of bacteria... so it's best to put chickens on antibiotics if they've been bitten. better safe than sorry! (I've heard stories of people who got their chickens through the first few days of a major trauma, only to lose them 2 weeks later to a systemic infection.)

 

[nysara]

OK this is a really dumb question - should I dunk him in water in the tub, or use a rag?

 

[silkiechicken]

How ever you are most comfortable. I would use a bin and set him into it to reduce needing to rub. Just hold his head up as they do sink. There is a thread somewhere on here that is along the lines of "bathing a silkie".

 

[jjthink]

He needs to calm down first and foremost so you don't lose him from shock. Speak softly and reassuringly and have him in a dimly lit warm quiet room on really comfy bedding in the dog crate. Once you feel he's not going to keel over from the stress of what happened to him, then gently examine and clean him up in a manner least stressful to him. My feathered friends have never appreciated a dunking so I use a warm wet cloth to gently clean. 9 parts water to one part betadine was recommended to me by an avian vet for cleaning wounds (there are other "recipes" here on BYC that you can also use. And then neosporin (the kind without the pain relief) topically. He may need oral or injectable antibiotic if the wounds are more than simple surface wounds. If he seems in pain tomorrow and isn't bleeding or so injured that you suspect internal injuries you can visit the idea of aspirin in his water to relieve some pain so he is inclined to drink and eat.
If you have or can get Rescue Remedy put a couple drops in his water (it has calming effect).
If he's a gentle roo who has a special hen friend that he watches out for, it may do him a lot of good to have her with him (can give them something to focus on, a reason to live..) but watch that she doesn't peck at his wounds.
I hope he'll be okay.
JJ

 

[nysara]

I took him out of the coop where he was snuggled up with his hen friend because it will be close to 40 in there tonight. He seems to be doing a little better though he doens't seem to care for the cage - it is kind of small, but it is all I have. I will be picking up a larger one in town on Monday in case this ever happens again.

I used a rag since he is not used to being handled and as I washed his feet, he became more comfortable with me looking him over. There were two spots where his tail feathers came out and it had spots of blod, so he got neosporin there. His wings appear to be working right as do his legs and he told me "bock bock bock" one time which is usually a friendly sound in our coop.

He will not drink even if i dunk his beak though and his favorite foods are not interesting. Since is it way past his bed time, I am letting him sleep and will check in at the crack of dawn when he usually talks to the sun.

Thank you everyone for your help! He's looking much better than when I found him trying to push through the mesh back into his run. I guess we'd better cover it so they can't run in the yard until our puppy is either trained, or we detirmine that she can't be trained. Until today, she has not shown the slightest interest in the birds.

Needless to say, the dog is locked up...

 

[Lil Chirp]

I feel your pain.

 

[smom1976]

how is he doing today?

 

[nysara]

Well Mr Rooster woke me up this morning with his eating and at about 7, I carried him out to the coop and he jumped right up on the roost next to his lady friend. A few minutes ago, I went to look in on him and he is scratching around the yard, acting like a rooster - but he is no longer alpha - our white rock has resumed that position for now.

Thank you again for all your the advice!