Rooster attacked, severe neck injury (graphic image)

[Shezadandy]

If there's a mild part of the day --- if you take him outside, I would keep him out of physical contact with the others because chickens love feasting on flesh and blood. So if he goes out, make sure they can't reach him.

 

[MaxLevine]

Hey y'all, thanks for the responses. I'm going to stop keeping this thread alive after this post, as I don't think my rooster qualifies as an emergency anymore and I want to make sure people get the help they need.

That being said, I'll start weening him outside this week. It's just him and two hens, so I'm hoping to reunite them soon. I'm sure the hens will be interested in his wound, but he's a lot bigger than them. Once it completely heals over, I think he should be able to defend himself against the girls.

Thanks again for all the help. My rooster will live to crow another day!

 

[Eggcessive]

I wouldn’t stop this thread completely, but just give an update now and then. Those people who have posted will automatically get a notification that there are new posts. We love hearing how these chickens get along.

 

[coach723]

X2! Sometimes people much later find a thread that relates to something they are dealing wtih, and updates with outcomes can provide good info for them. Glad your roo is doing well!

 

[aart]

X3!

another thought....keep his indoor quarters as cool as possible,
even cracking open a window in a room you can close of from the rest of your house.

 

[LaFleche]

Spray him thoroughly with antibiotic Blue Cote before reuniting him with the two hens.

He might be much bigger but roosters often hold still when being pecked by hens, so the chances of them making his wounds much worse or even "eating him up alive" are pretty high if not using a repellent.

Maybe have him separated from the hens by a fence for starters. He will be able to communicate etc. but they cannot harm him.

I am glad he is recovering.

 

[Shezadandy]

Definitely keep taking pictures and posting them, please. Think of the next person who finds one of their birds in similar condition and starts looking around BYC to see if it has a chance to survive.

Having weekly pictures of "7 days later" "2 weeks later" and then the hopeful "all healed" photo ... can really help others see that these things can be survivable, and that there is quality of life after healing.

Plus, we really love seeing the "after" photos!!

 

[MaxLevine]

Okay I will keep it updated. Here's a picture of him happy in the coop. I brought him in after a few minutes, he started getting pretty cold. I'm happy he and the hens got to see each other.

Also attached is a picture of his wound. His eye has been open mostly, but I just sprayed him with vetericyn and he was not too pleased, so he closed his eye.

To me it looks like the wound is getting much smaller. Still horrid to look at, but it seems more manageable. He has a big crusty on his eyelid that I can't seem to get off. I've used hot water on qtips and cotton pads, and that wasn't enough to loosen it. I think it may still be attached to a cut that hasn't fully healed, so I'm not going to mess with it too much.

The incident happened 9 days ago. He is fully spunky again, just missing half a face.

Thanks again everyone.

 

[MaxLevine]

My rooster is still getting better everyday. I gave him a little bath yesterday, because he was finally ready for it. He's now looking pretty fresh. I've been weening him outside in my garage. Started with a space heater, as it's getting down to the low teens some nights and he was still recovering and transitioning from my 60 degree basement.

He's been off the space heater a few days now, and he's had some good interactions with the hens, so tonight is his first night back in the coop. It seems like he is defending himself from being pecked in the wound. He's posturing the girls more than normal, but honestly it seems pretty harmless. I think worst case scenario is he gets 1 peck too many and has a small cut, and after what he's been through, I don't think that will hurt him too much. My hens are nice and he's a lot bigger than them.

He's grown totally restless of the dog cage I had him in, so I'm happy to return him to the coop. I can't have him free ranging in my garage, unfortunately.

Thanks again for all the help. Seems like he's nearly made a full recovery.

 

[Eggcessive]

Thank you so much for the good report. I am glad that he continues to recover and is doing well.