Rooster injured by coyote

[nnbreeder]

This is a good boost for sick or injured chickens.



To help a bird recover from illness, they need extra protein.. this formula really helps them with thier recovery

My Treatment is this

“” This amount feeds one bird””

Feed the birds three times a day for three days a mixture of

This mixture is what you will need for the entire three feeds…. It is not 3 egg yolks and 3 teaspoons of honey etc…. divide the contents into three

½ to 1 x egg yolk….. give the whites to the other hens mixed into their seed or pellets (depends a lot on the size of the egg yolk)

1 teaspoon honey…. .given for energy

2 x tablespoons yoghurt…. Given for calcium and also to make the bowel go back into normal production after this upset
Only use the plain yoghurt never the one with fruit or extra sugar in it, not good for the bird

¼ teaspoon calcium powder (if you can’t get the yoghurt)

3 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats…. To give substance to the feed, or use chicken crumbles or layer pellets but soften them with some boiling water first

Sprinkle of multi vitamin powder (only if you are not already giving it to them in their drinking water, don’t overdose) just a few grains will usually be enough for this size mixture

2 to 4 table spoons of apple sauce or grated apple, it must be grated not chopped up for ease of digestion

Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny

If the bird is not eating you will have to force feed... roll into small pellets the same size as a layer pellet.... and force feed, and then massage the neck in a downward motion to get it down into the bired crop, make sure your keep the neck straight, its really hard getting someting down a neck that is bent or curved, the bird may be too weak to eat or have lost the desire to eat…. Don’t hold back…. The longer it goes without this the worse it will get

If you must give it something to drink – only give drops onto the beak or use the crop tube to get fluids down the throat, don’t try and pour any fluid down a chickens throat, it will more than likely go into the air passage and into the lungs and end up drowning the bird


This will give the bird a large dose of Vitamin D, C and A

After 3 days cut back to once a day for 2 weeks, you should notice the difference in 3 or 4 days

Give other food also, chick crumbles, grower crumbles or layer pellets depending on the age of the bird etc
Also have fresh water at all times for the birds to drink in easy reach, remember it is not well so it may not go looking for the food and water, so put it just about under its nose so it can’t miss it

 

[Dave Z]

threehorses and nnbreeder, that's some good info.

As far as injuries, he has a cut (maybe deep scratch is more accurate) under a wing, but it has scabbed up nicely and looks like it's healing OK. There is a small scab behind his left eye, but no swelling or anything. His beak was all crusty on the day of the attack, looked like it had blood and tissue in and on it. But he had no obvious bleeding, so I'm not sure where that blood and tissue came from. We saw the coyote; it went over the fence when we yelled at it and went outside, so there was no delay between the attack and when we examined him. I wondered about internal injuries, but he seems to be doing OK. His beak looks pretty normal now. He seems to be able to move it normally.

He lost a lot of feathers and I found one clump of feathers on a rock and there was a trickle of blood with them. That's the only blood I saw.

He does seem to have vision problems. When he sees food, he tries to eat it. He'll move his head towards it kind of eagerly, but then, just before his beak touches it, he stops. He looks a little confused, as if he can't see it when he gets too close, like his peripheral vision or near vision is messed up. But he makes his way around the yard with no real problems and climbs the ramp into the coop with no problems. And found the hen with no problems.

His left eyelid was kind of droopy for a day or two but looks better now. His eyes themselves look completely normal and healthy. The pupils react to light equally, so I don't think they are injured. I've wondered if the small wound behind the left eye could have damaged the optic nerve or something.

As I said, he wants to eat. If I get the bread in his mouth, he gulps it right down. Same with the worms. He just doesn't like me messing with his mouth. But I'll stop the bread and worms and make some of the mixture and give a new update in a day or two.

We'd have never known what was going on if it weren't for a flock of ravens that were gathered around and screeching at the coyote, diving at it and raising an alarm for the whole neighborhood. We heard the disturbance and looked out and saw what was going on. Bubba kept the coyote busy long enough for the hens to get in the coop, they we're unharmed, but shaken up a bit. It's affected their laying. But I never expected to be grateful for ravens.

Coyotes have been bad this year. They've taken several small dogs and who knows how many cats in the neighborhood. They'll go over a 6 or 8 foot fence like it isn't there.

Many thanks,
Dave

 

[threehorses]

That's the most amazing story about him defending the hens, and the ravens cheering him on!! They're so remarkably smart! Wow, if you are a chicken hugger (I admittedly am) give him a big hug. Or a spare treat. lol Wonderful boy!

Sounds like everything is on track. I suspect his vision is temporarily changed, but you might have to tempt him to eat on his own - before he's TOO spoiled.

Otherwise, it sounds like one very very lucky rooster. Amazing. I'll be watching for updates or if you need our help.

 

[Dave Z]

Update.

Bubba is doing better. I mixed up a batch of what I'm calling "Rooster Booster" based on tips from threehorses and nnbreeder and have been able to get quite a bit of it down his throat.

Through fighting with him I've developed a technique. I get a firm grip on his beard, which he doesn't like. So he tries to lift his head which pulls his mouth open, at which point I pop in a little pellet of Booster dough. Then I let go and he gulps it right down. I give him enough to get a nice little lump in his crop.
He was attacked last Wednesday, so it's been a week. He's lost a lot of weight, but he seems stronger than he was just a couple of days ago, which means in a day or two I'll have a much harder time catching him for our feeding sessions.

He still is not eating normally on his own, but he seems to be getting a little food in him.

He launched into a crowing frenzy this afternoon, so I think he's feeling better, Still have some concerns about his vision, but I understand that can take some time.

Thanks for your help everyone!

 

[threehorses]

Rooster Booster! LOL I love it!

Sounds good. I wonder what you could do to tempt him to eat more? Wetting some crumbles? Mixing some with unsweetened applesauce?

Serving it on a table with a white tablecloth? /wink OK maybe that's going too far. But he's pretty spoiled, and let's admit it - he deserves it.

Really on a more serious note, sounds great. It'd be nice to get more nutrition in him and I suspect his lack of vision has something to do with it. Is he finding the food alright?

 

[patyrdz]

I was wondering if maybe his tuffs were preventing him from seeing his food. I know it sounds strange, but my Favorelle hens had to have their tuffs trimmed so they could see better. Just a thought!!

 

[dlhunicorn]

he is fighting you because injury in the beak area can be excruciatingly painful (even dry feed can cause pain so all feed should be moist) .... in addition to the suggestions already made:
offer a live culture yogurt free choice > a dollop on top of his feed will moisten it...
If you have a decent petstore near you they have a product in the bird section which is a "formula" for baby parrots (it is dry > you add water to it to make into a kind of porridge consistency )
if you get some NON-MEDICATED starter or grower mash and mix the baby parrot formula into that it will concentrate the nutrition... set it in a deep dish so he can scoop it out > this to avoid any unnecessary pain to the beak.

 

[Dave Z]

Update...Bubba is now eating on his own...kinda. i don't think he's eating with the flock - his crop always seems empy, but when I caught him this morning to feed him, as soon as he saw the pellet of "Rooster Booster" dough in my hand, he grabbed it and gulped it down. He ate until his crop had a nice little lump in it, all on his own as long as I held it out to him. He still has a kind of strange motion in grabbing the doughball, as if it's not real clear in his vision.

Then I put him out with the hens, and sat down with some grapes. (They absolutley LOVE grapes) The hens almost knock each other over in their rush to get a piece before the others, so I had to hold a piece out to Bubba in such a way that the hens couldn't see it. He'd take a piece and drop it for the hens, doing his clucking thing, then I'd give him another and he'd gulp it down himself.

He's back to his typical crowing regimen. In fact, the other day, I was holding him on my lap, force feeding him, when all of a sudden, he decided he needed to crow. So he did, about 10 times, all the while with me holding him.

He's not back to normal, but he's clearly progressing. It's been 10 days since the coyote incident.

In reading other threads, I've seen people ask about what to feed an injured bird. The thread about the EE with eye infections said something about the hen disliking the yogurt, but with it mixed into the "Rooster Booster" (maybe "Hen Blend" for the ladies), Bubba will have had a whole cup of yogurt when he finishes this batch, and he seems to love it. Should this mixture (or something like it) be posted as a sticky at the top of the "Injuries" index? It sure helped me. And Bubba

 

[threehorses]

That's a wonderful idea - perhaps we should? Feeding your injured bird?

I just absolutely laughed out loud hearing about him bursting into crows on your lap. How delightful!! And that he's showing the girls the graps. Such a great rooster.

Wonderful post, and I'm so very glad to hear that this valiant boy is doing so well under your good care!

 

[PunkinPeep]

I would love to see the recipe for the rooster booster.

I'll put it in my file for future incidents that hopefully never take place!

Also, for the sake of posterity, i wanted to correct a post made earlier on this thread. Someone said that if your bird needs antibiotics, you have to take them to the vet. That isn't true. Many feed stores sell injectable penicillin at a pretty reasonable price. Mine sells 100mg for $10. These threads are read over and over when people go looking for information, and i didn't want that misinformation to go uncorrected.

As for bubba, WHAT A BIRD!

I am SO proud of him! And i don't even know you.

And please post your recipe for rooster booster. If you already did, i missed it.

Blessings!