- Sep 15, 2014
- 6
- 1
- 11
I came home on Saturday and half my flock had been wiped out by some sort of predator-we think maybe coyotes? Two of my roosters were killed, but one survived, although he is wounded. The feathers on his back have been ripped out and he has several puncture wounds on his back as well. The wounds are fairly superficial, but obviously there could be more under his feathered areas that I am unaware of/internal injuries/chance of infection. I went to Tractor Supply on Saturday night and bought a topical chicken wound spray. The spray has amino benzoate and lots of herbal items (tea tree oil, etc)--I have been applying this every night after he goes to sleep since the incident. I also started putting antibiotics into their water supply yesterday...also from Tractor Supply, I think a tetracycline. He was super stressed after his hens died-he was the only one left alive in the chicken yard when I found them (all the other hens that survived had escaped and were hiding far away-I eventually got them to return to the yard) and he was uninterested in food/water but just sat on a log the rest of the day with his eyes half shut. He is a very vocal rooster, but he hasn't really "talked" since the incident...he crowed once or twice yesterday...but he is not his normal self. I have been leaving everyone in the coop until noon (with water provided) and think the rest has been helping him-yesterday he seemed to be improving a little. He showed interest in some tomatoes and corn that I gave everyone...and he drank a lot of water when I let him out of the coop. He also was less lethargic and walked around quite a bit, although he has been sneezing a lot. Am I doing everything I can, or does anyone have some advice for him? I am really attached to this rooster and really want him to pull through...