Rooster rescued from a coyote, using Manuka honey

[Sunshine Flock]

ha, ha, that made me laugh! so, my only worry with wrapping at this point is that you want him to regain as much of a normal gate as soon as possible, especially since he is putting his foot down flat. If you can cordon off an area of the run just for him, that might be the way to go and then add hens in with him, under direct observation. the pecking order of the flock has invariably changed in his absence, so there is surely an alpha hen or two that will defend their new found positions. if all treat him well except "Hortense", then I'd put her in solitary, while Henry and the others get free reign of the run. IMHO, Henry's efforts to use his foot will improve the healing process of the nerves and or help him adapt and rewire, ideally this would be unencumbered by bandages at this point in the healing process.

Oh, this is really good insight, thank you!

I'm often outside working on the chicken run and always put Henry near me so I can keep an eye on him. But Hortense is the sole cannibal culprit, although the others could be closet cannibals and I just don't know about it yet. I'll be sure to keep her in the run and let the others free range or vice versa, when Henry is outside.

And I definitely won't wrap his leg. I'm so glad for your feedback.

One question: Did you notice in the video or the photos that the toes on his right leg are close together? They spread out a bit when I flex his knee, but I was wondering why they seem to be restricted like that. You mentioned that toe curling indicates atrophy. Could you please tell me more about this?

Thank you!

 

[Birdinhand]

I'm not a vet, so I'm giving my best insight, take it all with the appropriate sized grain of salt. that said, my sense is that extensor muscles in his foot are not yet firing much, if at all, those are the ones that should spread his toes as he takes a step. the good news is that his proprioception has improved dramatically, meaning he is likely aware of more of his foot that he was just a few weeks ago or at least is learning to predict where it is which is critical for balance and movement. as for curling, as a muscle atrophies, it tends to tighten. I'm not seeing that. and with him now actually putting weight on his foot, it should help stave that off as he has a chance to repair further. I would cautiously move in the direction of giving him unlimited time to move about. as he adapts to the changes, he will find motivation to improve and I am a firm believer that motivation can have a lot to do with recovery from paralysis. there are many shades of gray between feeling and being able to move nothing and actually 100% function. fortunately for Henry it appears that the mean and nasty neuropathy that some times sets in has passed or he wouldn't be putting weight on his foot at all. how much sensory and how much motor will come back is yet to be seen. the fact that his foot is flat enough for him to put weight on is super awesome, even if he doesn't regain all function, he will be likely able to walk with a limp instead of just on one leg. I'm really glad he is not putting all his weight on his knee, I've seen that and it totally screws up the hip joint long term and they develop a big callous and the joint eventually becomes immobile. he is so much further along than I figured he'd get, it's really inspiring! as for the heat and swelling at this point, it may very well be a good thing, a sign that more healing is taking place, it can be the body working overtime to re-align strenghen all the moving parts, which in that part of the ankle are all tendons and nerves and bone.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I'm not a vet, so I'm giving my best insight, take it all with the appropriate sized grain of salt. that said, my sense is that extensor muscles in his foot are not yet firing much, if at all, those are the ones that should spread his toes as he takes a step. the good news is that his proprioception has improved dramatically, meaning he is likely aware of more of his foot that he was just a few weeks ago or at least is learning to predict where it is which is critical for balance and movement. as for curling, as a muscle atrophies, it tends to tighten. I'm not seeing that. and with him now actually putting weight on his foot, it should help stave that off as he has a chance to repair further. I would cautiously move in the direction of giving him unlimited time to move about. as he adapts to the changes, he will find motivation to improve and I am a firm believer that motivation can have a lot to do with recovery from paralysis. there are many shades of gray between feeling and being able to move nothing and actually 100% function. fortunately for Henry it appears that the mean and nasty neuropathy that some times sets in has passed or he wouldn't be putting weight on his foot at all. how much sensory and how much motor will come back is yet to be seen. the fact that his foot is flat enough for him to put weight on is super awesome, even if he doesn't regain all function, he will be likely able to walk with a limp instead of just on one leg. I'm really glad he is not putting all his weight on his knee, I've seen that and it totally screws up the hip joint long term and they develop a big callous and the joint eventually becomes immobile. he is so much further along than I figured he'd get, it's really inspiring! as for the heat and swelling at this point, it may very well be a good thing, a sign that more healing is taking place, it can be the body working overtime to re-align strenghen all the moving parts, which in that part of the ankle are all tendons and nerves and bone.

You see more in the video than I'm able to detect spending hours with him for weeks on end. I'm grateful for your eyeballs!

We're conditioned to expect or hope for quick healing, but what I'm learning is that true, deep healing happens gradually over a period of time. When he hopped up the step, I was as surprised as anyone else. He followed his hen and seemed more focused on keeping up with her than the obstacle in his way, and up he went.

I forgot to mention something he did that totally caught me by surprise. He can now walk over the sliding glass door tray in his room to the deck outside. A few days ago I opened the door to get the compost bucket and out he went. When I realized the dogs needed a trip to the doggy yard, I left Henry alone for a few quick seconds, ran through the house and gathered up the canines, and took them outside.

And what did I find? Henry standing on top of a stack of three 2x6 boards near his door, crowing for all he was worth.

You saw the effort it took for him to hurdle a small step. So how the heck did he hop on top of all those boards? His wing feathers are all clipped. He does flap his wings sometimes and uses them as stabilizers, but he can't fly at all.

It's pouring today, so no outings. I'm going to build some safe perches for him and bring in a heavy log. It never occurred to me to create 123AZ (cat just typed, rolling all over the keyboard) a physical therapy gymnasium for him. This ought to be interesting.

 

[Birdinhand]

yes and, the fact is, Henry came within a hair's breadth of his life, the injuries he sustained were about as severe as they get and there is no question that he'd be dead if not for your intensive care early on and his own unusual level of will to survive. the reason it's taking so long to heal is that his injuries were super deep, involving nerve, bone and internal organs. frankly it's a miracle he is alive. I think it's fair to say he is doing spectacularly. I'd say yes to anything gymnasium. he will make up with his wings at least some of what he can't do with his leg, even clipped. harvest the accomplishments, intervene only as absolutely necessary, if he gets overworked. now is the time to foster more independence so he maximizes advances while he is still in the healing stage. some day you might just find you've enrolled in veterinary school, you certainly have a gift in this area.

there is an interesting paradox between emergency and emergence.

"As the skies grow dark, the stars begin to shine" :~)

 

[biophiliac]

Great to have the update! Agree 1000% w @Birdinhand and x2 no bandage, use BlueCoat if you need to hide a wound.
You and Henry are awesome!

 

[ChuSayBok]

Sorry so late coming back to this; I've been snowed under lately, and I actually got on this afternoon b/c I had to know how Henry was doing. No words can express how happy I am for you. so…

I skimmed through several of the replies; I did want to comment on the contracture side that massage DOES help. And to say that Walter was limping about like Henry after I took his splint off; it took him about a year, but he eventually overcame every trace of the limp. I have my own experiment to work on now, a little pullet that hatched w/ toes that all have bent to the side.

@microchick :

This is a great thread. All y'all..

 

[XanderWiFi]

Well done. Sounds like the guy is on the upswing.

Had a polish hen of mine get hit by a hawk. At night, it made this kind of trilling snore with each respiration. Believe she had a ruptured air sac as I had to drain subcutaneous emphysema whenever she started puffing up like a balloon.

Glad the hero is doing better.

 

[Ariell]

Did he live

 

[Birdinhand]

Did he live

Henry lives!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

yes and, the fact is, Henry came within a hair's breadth of his life, the injuries he sustained were about as severe as they get and there is no question that he'd be dead if not for your intensive care early on and his own unusual level of will to survive. the reason it's taking so long to heal is that his injuries were super deep, involving nerve, bone and internal organs. frankly it's a miracle he is alive. I think it's fair to say he is doing spectacularly. I'd say yes to anything gymnasium. he will make up with his wings at least some of what he can't do with his leg, even clipped. harvest the accomplishments, intervene only as absolutely necessary, if he gets overworked. now is the time to foster more independence so he maximizes advances while he is still in the healing stage. some day you might just find you've enrolled in veterinary school, you certainly have a gift in this area.

there is an interesting paradox between emergency and emergence.

"As the skies grow dark, the stars begin to shine" :~)

Thank you so much for posting this. Your kind words are humbling, and I love that quote. I had never considered the emergency and emergence paradox before.

There isn't any heat from the swelling in Henry's foot. The temperature is within the normal range, and thankfully the swelling isn't the bursting redness it once was.

I brought in a four foot section of a pine log (dried and the bark removed) and supported it with paint cans so it doesn't roll over. On the lower end the height is similar to the stacked 2x6s I found him standing on the other day. When I placed him on the log and supported his undercarriage with my hand, he wasn't thrilled — and when I pulled my hand away for a split second, the boy took flight and flew about two feet and landed perfectly on his legs, no wobbles or crash.

That was pretty amazing, but maybe two minutes later he threw his head all the way back and opened his beak as wide as he can. It was a gulping motion and he did this several times. Once again I was thinking I may need to prepare for an unexpected turn in his recovery and start writing an eulogy, but then he stopped, crowed, ate some food, and it didn't happen again.

It's probably safe to say this is related to the short flight. Wing flapping takes considerable energy. I've held him with his wings free before, and boy did he work hard to take flight. Considering the gravity of his upper body wounds, now mostly healed over, and especially the sucking wound, it's my guess that the exertion put considerable pressure on his chest, heart or one of those breathing contraptions (there are so many in a bird!).

Any thoughts on this? I gave him some Arnica and Hypercicum right away and spoke to him in a soothing tone (this has helped him numerous times) to calm and stabilize him.

Since he was able to jump on top of a stack of three 2x6s without any help from me, I'll let him discover and explore the log on his own. But I'm certain one day soon I'll walk into his room and find a crowing Henry standing on top of the log, balanced and fully in control of his movements.