Rooster rescued from a coyote, using Manuka honey

[biophiliac]

Very good news, I was getting ready to ask for an update.

Love that face! How is his attitude/spirit?
I also had wondered if the red patches were unrelated to the injury. Do you think that a bird with Marek's could do so well after such a severe injury? It would surprise me.

continuing best wishes

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Henry's legs are worsening. I know infection can worsen before it pulls back and begins to heal, but what I thought I was seeing the other day when I posted those photos — a decrease in swelling — seems to have reversed itself.

And now the redness in his good leg has spread and worsened, and I'm really not sure what's going on here. I'm noticing very faint pink dots on the webbing and toes of his good leg, and today I noticed the same thing on one of my hens, the smallest hen and lowest in the pecking order.

Suggestions and brainstorming are most welcome, as always, but especially now.

 

[Birdinhand]

wow, he is looking great. you are so very attentive and he has benefited greatly from this. I think you are doing as much as you can. I am not there and can't say for sure if that redness is a problem but from the looks of that leg I'd say he is in the bone/infection healing stage and is on the mend. I do not see anything potentially dire going on. bones take many weeks to heal. who know whats going to happen in the long run, but for now he looks on track and you should be proud of your efforts. he will likely self limit the use of the leg, but use it a little, which can cause a temporary increase in redness and swelling as it puts "good stress" on it. the right amount of stress and strain at the right time can even help the body direct it's healing.

as for you, I'd continue caring for him but begin to give him more latitude, more time on his own doing his own thing and try and not worry so much about whether he is suffering, I think he is past the worst of it. over the next couple of weeks the leg should regain strength and he will hopefully regain confidence in using it as the pain subsides. if he fractured his bone, it should be well on it's way to being healed.

you are going a great job!

here is an article with some photos on the recovery from a broken leg. http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2014/02/BrokenLeg.html

 

[biophiliac]

Henry's legs are worsening. I know infection can worsen before it pulls back and begins to heal, but what I thought I was seeing the other day when I posted those photos — a decrease in swelling — seems to have reversed itself.

And now the redness in his good leg has spread and worsened, and I'm really not sure what's going on here. I'm noticing very faint pink dots on the webbing and toes of his good leg, and today I noticed the same thing on one of my hens, the smallest hen and lowest in the pecking order.

Suggestions and brainstorming are most welcome, as always, but especially now.

Can you post an updated pic?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Post a photo of the hens legs - Most likely what the pink/red dot on her is due to hormones, You will see what I'm saying about hormones - On dark colored legs like Australorps, you won't see the streaks, but light colored legs (white, yellow) it's normal to have pinkish/red dots or streaks in sexually active males and hens in lay. The photo in this thread shows a BO in this case - note the red goes all the way up the leg. In my BO boy, his legs would be really red in the morning and then late in the day when his hormones were raging (most actively mating) My girls would also have similar coloring as well. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/buff-orpington-has-red-legs-and-feet.486168/

Now, in Henry's case - I would say this is infection and maybe a circulation problem, especially on the bad leg. On the good leg, the redness is not uniform enough (to me) for it to be hormones either.

I would not try to lift the scales or pick them off. I'm sure you have said this, but I read so many threads, so I'm sorry if this is repeating information.
How long does he spend in the sling each day? Can he walk at all on his own, even if it's hobbling around?

Are you still just using honey for the wounds or are you soaking the legs as well?

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Thanks for the feedback, everyone.

I didn't realize with homeopathics that you want to trigger a healing response and then stop treatment for a while. You can repeat in cycles, but it's not necessary or even helpful to douse the bird with remedies when you start seeing a positive response.

So basically I'm struggling with stepping back and being hands off. As @Birdinhand says it's time to let Henry take over and give him some space for his body to heal on its own.

I'm still doing daily epsom salt soaks on the legs and every two or three days I'm giving him a full soak in a tub to address his other wounds. He's shoved in his sling a couple times a day, at varying heights to challenge his legs to regain strength.

He actively hobbles around on his good leg and stands upright, and the hip on his injured leg now has mobility. It was completely lifeless before. This helps him lift that leg up and over as he moves.

I'm also still using honey on some of his wounds, the bigger ones, and his legs. The honey is what led to the noticeable healing on his leg, once I removed the dead scales. The scales were pretty much just sitting there. The flesh underneath was bright red and swollen when I removed them, and then after a full day of honey, they started to mend, and now the swelling on those scales has gone down and the redness is gone.

I sure wish I knew why he got these red patches and why they grew and became infected — and especially why he has growing patches of infection on his good leg. It's very curious and almost seems independent of the attack, except for perhaps the stress Henry experienced and how that can trigger dormant problems to suddenly come to life.

I'll see if I can take some photos today.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Post a photo of the hens legs - Most likely what the pink/red dot on her is due to hormones, You will see what I'm saying about hormones - On dark colored legs like Australorps, you won't see the streaks, but light colored legs (white, yellow) it's normal to have pinkish/red dots or streaks in sexually active males and hens in lay. The photo in this thread shows a BO in this case - note the red goes all the way up the leg. In my BO boy, his legs would be really red in the morning and then late in the day when his hormones were raging (most actively mating) My girls would also have similar coloring as well. https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/buff-orpington-has-red-legs-and-feet.486168/

Now, in Henry's case - I would say this is infection and maybe a circulation problem, especially on the bad leg. On the good leg, the redness is not uniform enough (to me) for it to be hormones either.

I would not try to lift the scales or pick them off. I'm sure you have said this, but I read so many threads, so I'm sorry if this is repeating information.
How long does he spend in the sling each day? Can he walk at all on his own, even if it's hobbling around?

Are you still just using honey for the wounds or are you soaking the legs as well?

I forgot to respond to your comment on the pink dots on my hen's legs. Hortense is the underling in the pack. She's smaller than everyone else and lowest in the pecking order. Her comb is very small and a pale pink, no hint of red and yet she's seven months old. I don't think she started laying eggs. With what you mentioned I did some reading and sure enough, sexually maturing hens may have a change in color to their legs.

I'm certain that's what it is. One less worry. Thank you!

Worries do abound with Henry, though. When I brought home some organic raw cranberries and decided to see if Henry would like one (I'm conservative on treats, I should mention), he gobbled it up whole, no chewing. Chickens don't have teeth, so naturally no chewing. But the cranberry was huge. I was expecting him to pulverize it like he does with other things.

I swear it's like Henry has died a thousand deaths throughout this experience. Death by cranberry was not going to leave my honor in tact. But he hardly even blinked when he swallowed it down and was perfectly calm and Henry. I was the one freaking out.

I'm pretty sure Google hates me by now.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Henry was grabbed by a coyote five weeks ago today and relocated to a private little alcove in the woods on BLM land, across the road from our home — and the boy still lives.

Here's a video I took of Henry's progress six days ago. Please read the description that accompanies the video:

About eight days ago I added turmeric to Henry's healing repertoire. I doused his legs that night, and the next morning I noticed a slight reduction in swelling and some dryness to his leg sores.

The turmeric and the addition of Belladonna (homeopathic remedy) has significantly contributed to his healing. Each remedy I've used resulted in measurable healing. There isn't one I feel he could have done without.

I now sleep in Henry's room (doggy logistics, cat logistics, husband logistics all necessitate this) and am greeted with a hearty round of crows every morning. His mad clucking has returned (done whenever Rosemary lays her egg in the rosemary shrub and comes out mad clucking), and he is hobble walking.

And the big news is that yesterday I took Henry outside to free range with his flock. He hobble walked right off the blanket about twelve feet and wasted no time dipping his beak into a patch of teeny little green grass starts, and spent a blissful twenty-five minutes surrounded by the hens, who never left his side.

He's having problems reasserting his leadership with the head hen, but I'm hopeful they'll figure it out in due time.

Yes, indeed, the boy continues to live and amaze.

Thank you @biophiliac @Birdinhand @Hen Pen Jem for your herbal and homeopathic guidance and feedback on Henry's progress. I sure hope this discussion is found by others and helps inspire natural healing for our feathered friends.

Peace and apples, folks!

 

[biophiliac]

Henry was grabbed by a coyote five weeks ago today and relocated to a private little alcove in the woods on BLM land, across the road from our home — and the boy still lives.

Here's a video I took of Henry's progress six days ago. Please read the description that accompanies the video:

About eight days ago I added turmeric to Henry's healing repertoire. I doused his legs that night, and the next morning I noticed a slight reduction in swelling and some dryness to his leg sores.

The turmeric and the addition of Belladonna (homeopathic remedy) has significantly contributed to his healing. Each remedy I've used resulted in measurable healing. There isn't one I feel he could have done without.

I now sleep in Henry's room (doggy logistics, cat logistics, husband logistics all necessitate this) and am greeted with a hearty round of crows every morning. His mad clucking has returned (done whenever Rosemary lays her egg in the rosemary shrub and comes out mad clucking), and he is hobble walking.

And the big news is that yesterday I took Henry outside to free range with his flock. He hobble walked right off the blanket about twelve feet and wasted no time dipping his beak into a patch of teeny little green grass starts, and spent a blissful twenty-five minutes surrounded by the hens, who never left his side.

He's having problems reasserting his leadership with the head hen, but I'm hopeful they'll figure it out in due time.

Yes, indeed, the boy continues to live and amaze.

Thank you @biophiliac @Birdinhand @Hen Pen Jem for your herbal and homeopathic guidance and feedback on Henry's progress. I sure hope this discussion is found by others and helps inspire natural healing for our feathered friends.

Peace and apples, folks!

Thank you so much for the video. He looks great!! He should continue to improve with your care.

Edit @CarolinaSunshineFlock I wish you would write an article about the use of Manuka honey(and other types of honey) and submit it for consideration to the learning center. You could illustrate it with fotos of Henry's progress. I do think it is important info, especially if you can cite a published reference or study on some of the recognition honey is getting for wound treatment recently.
You could explain how and why you used it, etc... jmo ;D

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Awesome!


Genesis 1:29-30

29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat”; and it was so.


God Bless!