Rooster rescued from a coyote, using Manuka honey

[garrison451]

It's very late at night. I just checked on him and am now hearing a sound like snore from his throat or beak, not the hole in his lung. It's not constant, but it's a change in how he's been all day.

I think he has fluid in his lungs. He drank a lot of water earlier. Or it could be the honey, but I'm thinking not. It could also be blood.

Either way, I'm not sure he's going to survive. But I wanted to document this here for others to see and learn from.

 

[garrison451]

I'm going to see if I can post some photos today. We're having camera problems, that's why I haven't posted anything yet.

Just be prepared. This is day five, I think. The wounds have really improved, but the puncture is the big concern. The skin all has to die, right? So the process involves pulling back and up, which would expose more of the puncture. Someone suggested saran wrap to protect the puncture. Could that encourage the growth of bacteria, since it's a warm, damp environment?

He can also reach back there with his beak. He pecks at his honey coated feathers a bit, from his frustration that I'm causing him pain. At what point should I consider some kind of a covering in the form of a cross body saddle thing?

How did you make out with your rooster? I hope everything is good.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

How did you make out with your rooster? I hope everything is good.

Thank you, garrison! He's trying to stand right now. I let one of the hens into his room, and they ate pumpkin seeds together from my hand. Rosemary, the head hen, is too aggressive with food, so she's been reassigned to dog yard patrol. Hortense is great with Henry. She's sweet and calm.

Henry's comb has been interesting to watch. In the first few days I had to massage it to encourage blood circulation. Now it's staying nice and red, a beautiful brilliant red like it was before the attack. Sometimes the back two tips dull to a blueish gray, but then he eats or a hen visits and it brightens back up.

Since it's Sunday I can't make any phone calls to UC Davis. So all I can do for now is trim back more feathers to clear more space around the puncture and apply honey. I'm kind of wondering if this is a body cavity puncture. An air sac would deflate, wouldn't it? The wound kind of heals over on top with skin wound and blocks my view. But I had a clear view this morning and am wondering if I'm actually seeing the curved side of an air sac on the left and something else on the right. There's a dark abyss between the two.

Pretty much everything I've written these past few days would have totally grossed me out a week ago. But I'm now dwelling in the world of ooze and maggot concerns (none yet) and having to ask what chicken pus and fat looks like.

He is trying so hard to stand. It doesn't seem to be affecting the puncture wound, which is great news. I think his standing efforts are good for his muscles and vitality.

You know how annoying it is when you get just a dab of honey on your skin? Imagine being covered in the stuff and having feathers!!

The real gem is my husband is developing a whole new affection for Henry. He discovered he's a rooster whisperer.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I'm with Henry right now. This is the first time I've sat with him while he takes a nap. But what if he's not sleeping? All these days and his eyes are heavy and closing while eating with a hen? He's also slightly shivering. He has a warmer, and it's been a warm day. No breeze or draft in his room.

His wounds aren't pretty, but I don't see or smell an infection.

Could a chicken slowly lose consciousness and die? How do I know he's just napping? They don't roost for another hour or so. He has balance problems because of his legs. He does shiver or shake as he's adjusting. But he's doing this in his sleep.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[Trish1974]

I'm sorry, I don't have any answers... just wanted to say I'm pulling for him. I hope he will be okay.

 

[Sunshine Flock]

Thank you, Trish!

Well, Henry lives yet again. He was simply exhausted and taking a nap, something I never got to see since he was always on duty as a rooster and very alert and active.

I sure do miss his crowing. He first gargled out a crow when he was just under two months old. How that's possible I don't know. And just a few days later he did a full crow with an echo. Once he figured out he doesn't need that echo, he perfected his crowing and he was on duty as our property manager ever since.

He's pecking at his honeyed feathers near his wounds, but not the wounds themselves. More trimming is in order, but he's so strong and active now I need the chicken whisperer to gently keep his head front and center while I work. I'll tackle that tomorrow.

Every day more and more feathers are trimmed away. He's a godly mess. I'm not sure there's such a thing as a tidy, feather-free wound on a chicken, not of this scale anyway.

His comb intrigues me. I have to comment on it again. It's been brilliant red all day, except for a small bit that dulled and then brightened again once he ate or a hen paid a visit. It was horrible blue and gray the first two days. As I described several pages back, compression helped return the color (code for circulation) and it went from cold to warm and bright in color. But it would gray by morning.

I think it's a good sign that his comb is now staying vibrant red all on its own.

We heard the coyote howling in the woods across the road. I'm certain she's local now and at least for a good while will be calling those woods her home. She took our beloved cat a few weeks ago. There's a bear in the area, and we found scat near our property. But I'm pretty sure this coyote grabbed our boy. I love that coyote for her wildness, but I sure don't want to lose more animals.

Signing off from Henry's room. See you tomorrow.

 

[MINDANAO DAVE]

Folks, I have read anything like this post. I have no words as how much I enjoy reading your post aside of the fact I am worried of your rooster. This is like reading a first rate novel. You folks are a one in a million. I will look forward to the next chapter. Perhaps it is the sincerity you have for your animals. Thank You

 

[Sunshine Flock]

And now for the next installation in the rooster recovery saga.

I woke up to a totally flattened Henry. His chest was flat on the floor, his beak was on the floor, and his left wing was spread out flat as far as it could go. It was alarming to say the least.

Once again I thought my dear boy was about to meet his maker.

His left leg is his stronger one. The right one keeps him upright but otherwise doesn't move. So I assumed he lost strength over night and collapsed flat when he could no longer move his good leg and right himself.

I tried tucking his feathers together and guiding his wing back to his side, but it resisted any movement. I don't know wings, mind you. I know paws and whiskers and furry bellies. So I tried again, and this time I was able to sense the wing's design as I slowly tucked the various pieces together and got it looking normal again.

Then I nudged Henry upright (he was listing heavily to the left) and said a prayer for him.

But that darn boy suddenly jutted out his wing again, and I had to repeat the process. His body was lifting and shaking and I thought, for the 100th time, here we go: rooster death while I'm watching.

Nope, Henry just got stuck and was waiting for me to tuck his various parts back together for him, nothing more.

He's eating and drinking and making soft sounds whenever he hears or sees a hen. He's pooping not as often as he used to but with more content, and it's looking more and more normal. And he's trying to stand.

Henry is also looking like a quarter of his former self, no longer a half, thanks to all the extra feathers I had to trim away to protect his wounds from honey-soaked feather globs. I had NO clue chickens can turn their heads all the way around and nibble the middle of their backs. All these months of being a chicken person and I just didn't pay much attention to their head reach.

So if you're reading this and you have an injured bird with wounds he or she can reach, you may need to get crafty and sew some kind of a chicken device to stop them from doing that.

Did I mention that Henry and his gals are six months old?

Anyway, the lame leg shows no signs of injuries; at least no obvious wounds. Could it be broken without being able to see the break? I'm still leaning toward pain and problems from the deep wounds and am hopeful he'll regain at least some use of his right leg. The left leg keeps trying to stand, as it was able to do on the first day when he was in shock. So I think that's definitely a pain thing, and he'll fully recover the use of that leg once he heals more.

Okay, so I just got up and let a comfort cat out from her morning visit with Henry. Now the chickens are heading this way. Hortense is the calmest option, but Emma may be a good choice, too. Definitely not the head hen Rosemary. She's too rambunctious.

I'm really hoping this boy recovers. Ten times a day I think, "This is it, then. He's a goner." Only to discover he's napping or just tipped over.

Thank goodness he's not like one of those fainting goats. My husband showed me a video of them recently. We're getting goats this spring. Knowing my luck I'll come home with two of those fainting ones from the discount section at the goat store. I don't think my heart can handle any more animal related coronaries.

That's it for now, folks. Thanks for reading along and for your kind words!

 

[Sunshine Flock]

I'm feeling pretty exhausted and discouraged today.

I found a reddish bruise on Henry's lame leg near his spur. It's possible it's from him resting on that leg and not being able to move it. But I really don't know. How long can anyone stay still before problems arise?

The toes on the lame leg are curled. They won't flatten out like they do on his good leg. They're warm and the foot temperature feels the same as the other foot, thank goodness. But the reddish bruise (not an open sore) has me worried. It wasn't there before.

Tomorrow I'll take a closer look and maybe wash his legs with warm saline and then rub in some coconut oil and do some gentle compressions to encourage good circulation.

His appetite is good and he's drinking plenty of water on his own. I stopped adding Nutri-Drench and am now adding a small amount of apple cider vinegar. I might alternate three day stretches of the two.

He was only given mash and eggs today to see how it affects his droppings. No mustard greens, spinach or pumpkin seeds. He had a firmer, closer to normal dropping, less green and less liquid. It was white and green, but not vibrant green, earthier in color.

In the morning I'm going to add the greens back into his diet. He loves it and I really wouldn't know what else to do for him were his droppings to indicate a possible internal infection. I'm already pretty much doing all I can.

I trimmed a lot more feathers today to make him more comfortable. Honey is messy. Plus, when he turns his head the longer feathers would drape across some of the wounds. I'm still removing stray bits of feathers with tweezers and trimming off what I can.

Still no redness or swollen wounds, no smells.

The coyote has definitely stayed local. It's the first time the same coyote has howled in the woods across the road, several nights in a row. She's keeping pretty close.

If you have any thoughts on why the toes on Henry's lame leg would be curled, please let me know.

More updates tomorrow, folks.

 

[venymae]

Nerve damage from the weight/pressure? I know it can happen to obese people in surgery when they lay on an appendage (source: happened to a family member)