Rooster rescued from a coyote, using Manuka honey

[Sunshine Flock]

I honestly don't know. Every time I was called on one of these cases, it was horrifically bad and the only option was euthanasia. But in my 60+ years with horses, dogs, cats, chickens & a host of other's from Noah's ark, any time there was an infection, it would reek. You're doing such a great job with Henry. I'm very impressed and hoping for a wonderful "Lived Happily Ever After" ending!

Oh, thank you so much!

The "gangrenous" wound isn't mounded like it was two days ago. It's flatter and no longer bleeding. But we're in a holding pattern here, not really knowing if Henry's teetering on the verge of this worsening.

I'm pretty thrilled, though, with the healing I'm seeing from the honey and epsom salt. This combo is a winning duo for sure, and the echinacea and goldenseal tincture for immune support. Hen Pen Jem saved the day on that one.

The hemp protein doesn't seem to be creating any digestive issues with Henry, and he likes it dipped in banana.

Comfrey poultice for the other leg.

And that's all I've been using. Today we have scabs lifting up and off, folks. As a chronic picker (disturbing, I know), this is very exciting for me. But I'm not touching these, except for a few that came off on their own and just sat there looking at me.

The epsom salt is cleaning the wounds and flushing out all kinds of grossness. Then it dries and the scabbing increases. It's awesome stuff.

I took photos today. I'll post them tomorrow.

That's it for now.

 

[WhatAboutBob?]

I can hardly wait to see pictures! I have been imaging what this all has looked like!

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

One of your posts mentioned using Turmeric. Were you interested because of the Berberine content? There is Berberine in Goldenseal too. It is antibacterial and anti-fungal, good for external use as well as internal. It's effective against many strains of bacteria. You can try some of your tincture on Henry's leg wound, the one that is concerning you. I can't hurt.

Symptoms of gangrene in humans is as follows:
The moist type gangrene begins with inflammation, with the dying or dead tissues becoming bluish or black. The dry gangrene results from contracted arterioles where circulation is poor, and it begins with yellow or black spotting in the tissue.
"Dr. Christopher's, Herbal Legacy", herballegacy.com

Because we are dealing with birds I am not sure what exactly it would look like. But, researching symptoms on bird sites, describe similar symptoms. It's important to maintain circulation by massage or physical therapy. Gangrene results from lack of blood circulation.

I think you are doing a very good job of keeping his wounds clean and providing good supportive care, massaging his legs till he can start physical therapy.

God Bless!

 

[ChuSayBok]

Sorry for being absent; I haven't been on since the day I posted, b/c this time of year is crazy for us and I'm either working or going or just trying to get chores done.

I read through about your trials with the leg and without being able to put my hands on yer roo, I would ask if he seems to have normal range of motion when no weight is on it (compare to good leg, or to that of an uninjured chicken.) If so, how much does he seem able to move it in response to a stimulus (still without weight bearing..) toes, ankle, hock, knee, and where the thigh meets the pelvis. If he has pain when you try to move these joints or they won't move without forcing (which you probably don't want to do unless you are very slow and careful and he doesn't protest,) that indicates either an injury or contracture. Contractures are where the joints freeze up from lack of motion; it's actually a shortening of the connective tissue/muscles from inactivity. You may need to manipulate these gently some every day if he can't (passive range of motion) or help him if he can move them some but isn't strong enough (active assistive range of motion.)

What I've done on several occasions for injured legs, but particularly in the case of Walter, my current alpha, whom I had to rehab twice -- he had an injury that I think was caused by another roo attacking him; he presented like the tendon on the back of his leg was damaged, but not severed. If you have a severed tendon, nothing but surgery to reconnect or divine intervention will fix it as far as I know. But I believe any degree of tearing (if tissue is still connected) has promise for at least some healing with the right combination of rest/nutrition/PT/love/etc... We were told in school that stretching of ligaments is a permanent situation, but I do not believe this at all.. if tendons can contract from lack of activity, I would certainly think this could happen with an overstretch as well.. another subject which probably doesn't concern Henry, but anyhow..

With Walter I stood him up holding the hock joint straight with my hand (this is the part that looks like a backward knee, and for him, the site of injury.) None of the other joints seemed compromised, so I made a splint of sticks and duct tape (I would wrap with gauze prior to taping next time, b/c it really pulls the feathers when you remove it.) It wasn't tight enough to keep the joint locked into extension (straight) but it kept it straight enough that he could actually prop on it to stand for short periods at first. I also did exercises with him holding up part of his weight and allowing him to gradually build his atrophied muscles back up to being able to bear weight on that side. He started off wobbly and had a hard time because now he couldn't completely bend the joint (which was necessary in that case for healing, but you don't want to keep it that way too long, because as it heals it needs to stretch a little.) The splint had enough play to give a small range of motion and still do it's job propping and protecting. As he pecked and wrestled with it over the next couple weeks or so, the tape naturally loosened some, but long story short, he began walking within a week with a terrible limp. After a month he could limp pretty much all over the place and I think I took the splint completely off around 6 weeks (redid it a cpl times.) It took him about 4-6 months to get to where he could run (still with a limp,) but after almost a year, he has barely a limp at all, and possibly none unless you are looking for it.

All this takes considerable time, which you seem to be spending anyway, so there's no reason you couldn't try it and see if it works. Diagnosing the injury is the tricky part, so pay close attention to yer guy's reactions. Discomfort is expected an often necessary, especially where contractures start to develop, so if he flinches, just go really slow. If he makes a noise or vocal protest, that's probably too much. You don't want to injure him further.

Thanks for keeping us posted and for your commitment to seeing him through this. So far, I haven't seen anything in your posts that leads me to believe he can't make a full recovery, so that's still what I'm hoping for. Do you have any pictures?

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Sorry for being absent; I haven't been on since the day I posted, b/c this time of year is crazy for us and I'm either working or going or just trying to get chores done.

I read through about your trials with the leg and without being able to put my hands on yer roo, I would ask if he seems to have normal range of motion when no weight is on it (compare to good leg, or to that of an uninjured chicken.) If so, how much does he seem able to move it in response to a stimulus (still without weight bearing..) toes, ankle, hock, knee, and where the thigh meets the pelvis. If he has pain when you try to move these joints or they won't move without forcing (which you probably don't want to do unless you are very slow and careful and he doesn't protest,) that indicates either an injury or contracture. Contractures are where the joints freeze up from lack of motion; it's actually a shortening of the connective tissue/muscles from inactivity. You may need to manipulate these gently some every day if he can't (passive range of motion) or help him if he can move them some but isn't strong enough (active assistive range of motion.)

What I've done on several occasions for injured legs, but particularly in the case of Walter, my current alpha, whom I had to rehab twice -- he had an injury that I think was caused by another roo attacking him; he presented like the tendon on the back of his leg was damaged, but not severed. If you have a severed tendon, nothing but surgery to reconnect or divine intervention will fix it as far as I know. But I believe any degree of tearing (if tissue is still connected) has promise for at least some healing with the right combination of rest/nutrition/PT/love/etc... We were told in school that stretching of ligaments is a permanent situation, but I do not believe this at all.. if tendons can contract from lack of activity, I would certainly think this could happen with an overstretch as well.. another subject which probably doesn't concern Henry, but anyhow..

With Walter I stood him up holding the hock joint straight with my hand (this is the part that looks like a backward knee, and for him, the site of injury.) None of the other joints seemed compromised, so I made a splint of sticks and duct tape (I would wrap with gauze prior to taping next time, b/c it really pulls the feathers when you remove it.) It wasn't tight enough to keep the joint locked into extension (straight) but it kept it straight enough that he could actually prop on it to stand for short periods at first. I also did exercises with him holding up part of his weight and allowing him to gradually build his atrophied muscles back up to being able to bear weight on that side. He started off wobbly and had a hard time because now he couldn't completely bend the joint (which was necessary in that case for healing, but you don't want to keep it that way too long, because as it heals it needs to stretch a little.) The splint had enough play to give a small range of motion and still do it's job propping and protecting. As he pecked and wrestled with it over the next couple weeks or so, the tape naturally loosened some, but long story short, he began walking within a week with a terrible limp. After a month he could limp pretty much all over the place and I think I took the splint completely off around 6 weeks (redid it a cpl times.) It took him about 4-6 months to get to where he could run (still with a limp,) but after almost a year, he has barely a limp at all, and possibly none unless you are looking for it.

All this takes considerable time, which you seem to be spending anyway, so there's no reason you couldn't try it and see if it works. Diagnosing the injury is the tricky part, so pay close attention to yer guy's reactions. Discomfort is expected an often necessary, especially where contractures start to develop, so if he flinches, just go really slow. If he makes a noise or vocal protest, that's probably too much. You don't want to injure him further.

Thanks for keeping us posted and for your commitment to seeing him through this. So far, I haven't seen anything in your posts that leads me to believe he can't make a full recovery, so that's still what I'm hoping for. Do you have any pictures?

Thanks for sharing this. Really good steps to take.

Henry's lame leg pretty much just hangs there, and I'm not seeing a pain reaction when I work with that leg. I'd say from the hip down it's all very loose. In the first few days I saw only a slight redness on that leg, which has since considerably worsened. The leg is also swollen.

But the mounded lump that opened and bled has receded and is mostly flat, with a gummy greenish-gray surface. There's redness on the other leg, but not nearly as much and no sores. Today, though, I noticed some more redness on the inside of his good leg.

Photos are being posted shortly.

 

[Birdinhand]

...
But the mounded lump that opened and bled has receded and is mostly flat, with a gummy greenish-gray surface...

I picture would be worth a thousand words on this one, I think if it's truly healing, then there is still hope, but if he is badly infected, some meds would probably do wonders. the fact that it's not black and blue and stinky, is a good sign honestly, even discharge is a step in the healing direction often. if he has an infection and its effecting his motor nerve, antibiotics could be the difference between permanent paralysis and decent recovery, IMHO.

 

[ChuSayBok]

The looseness is not a good sign, it does sound like there may be some major nerve damage; which can possibly be mended, like Birdinhand allowed. If you're opposed to pharmaceutical antibiotics, goldenseal root is a good natural; for topical or internal. Is the wound that opened up on the leg? You can irrigate that with saline possibly as well to clean out infection. Again, with nerve pathways, motion and massage to get the existing nerves to branch and reconnect may be crucial, but that can be dicey if an infection is present, b/c it could spread the infection or further inflame the area. =/

 

[Sunshine Flock]

GRAPHIC PHOTOS

Consider yourself warned, folks.

When Henry was attacked by a coyote, my entire focus was on triaging his wounds, trimming gobs and heaps of feathers, and putting together a recovery plan.

But honestly I was giving more thought to sparing him the pain and annoyance of a lengthy recovery and preparing myself to put him down.

There wasn't time for photos.

Now that we're on day fourteen, I'm feeling a lot more composed and managed to do a Henry the Rooster photo shoot yesterday. I put him on a granite cutting board. It's easy to rotate and has nothing to do with supper plans.

The huge concern right now is Henry's right leg. The heat has lessened, but the leg is swollen, and while we seem to be holding steady, not advancing, and the wounds are no longer mounded and dark in color, I'm not really sure what's going on here.

Note that I woke up this morning to a three inch circular scab on the floor next to Henry. It was firmly attached last night, so I'm thinking he was done with it and pulled it free. The healing underneath is remarkable. It's still cavernous, but not nearly as bad as it was. More scabs are breaking free from his body, but they're still partially attached. I won't remove them. It's up to Henry's body or Henry's beak to decide when they're ready to come off.

Remember, these photos are showing remarkable healing from Manuka honey only and epsom salt soaks, on day fourteen of his recovery. The problem with his leg is very concerning and could determine the outcome of his recovery. I'm treating his leg with salt soaks and honey, and twice a day for the last few days I've been dripping the goldenseal tincture on the redness and wounds.

The egg is for size reference. Hehehe.

Okay, here we go.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

As I'm sitting here documenting Henry's leg with detailed photos and measurements, I suddenly remembered something that could be important.

I honestly thought I created this account the day of the coyote attack. I'm not sure how to find other discussions I've started, but what I think I did was start this new thread, and some days prior I opened my account and either created a thread or asked a question in someone else's thread about some faint red patches on Henry's leg.

No time to research this right now, but the faint red-pink discoloration was on the same leg that is now lame. I wasn't able to post photos because of some camera software problems, so I don't think I received any feedback on what it could be.

It was noticeable enough for me to come here and ask some questions. I'm adding this comment to document his health history so I'll remember the details.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I wanted to quickly comment on Henry's abundance of yellow skin. It looks a lot like the pus photos I found on another chicken website.

But when I gently pull the thin layer of skin up, the yellow is part of the skin.

So I'm not feeling he has a pus problem under his skin.

Also, with the scabs starting to lift off, his wounds are looking tidier and smaller. I'll do another round of photos one week from today for comparison.

And one more note.

I'm soaking his legs in epsom salt three to four times a day, ten to fifteen minutes each time. I do this with Henry in his sling and his legs in a large bowl of water. I'm no longer warming up the water. It's been warm here the past few days, and since it's not a full body bath, cold water seemed like a wise choice considering the heat in his lame leg.

Also, when he's done with the soak, I remove the bowl and hoist Henry up a little bit higher in the sling. This way his legs can dry without the smothering heat of his undercarriage feathers pressing into the wounds and creating a germ friendly environment. It didn't occur to me to do this until today.

Much to my delight, the bird is standing on his good leg with quite a bit of weight, voluntarily. This is a new development as of about twenty minutes ago.

As for the wounded leg, I'm no longer letting it hang and manually adjusting the toes and foot. Instead I'm rolling layers of washcloths as a soft platform so it can rest. I wish I had thought to do this when I first started using the sling.

I'm considering a splint for that leg on the underside that will allow for air circulation while also stabilizing the ankle. No flexing or weight on it for a good while, but I'll continue with gentle massage. Please let me know your thoughts on this.