rooster with eyes shut and matted feathers...

[ldesivo]

One of our roosters named Grayson has gotten into a fight. His eyes seem glued shut and his feathers are matted with dried blood. There is a new rooster in the yard and I think they may have been fighting.
What do I do for him? I have brought him in and put him in a cage in the garage. He won't eat or drink.
Not sure if I need to wash his face to clear his eyes so he can see and eat..
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[crtrlovr]

keep him warm, gently clean his eyes, wash his face and any other injured areas with warm water (if you happen to have any Betadine around the house, you can put some in the water -- just add enough to make the water look like somewhat weak tea) , and put neosporin or other antibiotic ointment WITHOUT the pain reliever ; don't use anything that has an ingredient that ends in "caine" ; it can be lethal to chickens. I hope he recovers well. I'd DEFINITELY keep an eye on the new rooster. You may have to keep the two roos separated. You said "There is a new rooster in the yard". Is this one you bought at a sale or something? did you quarantine him for at least 3-4 weeks before introducing him to your flock? How long has the new rooster been there, and have you watched to see how his arrival has changed the flock dynamic/interaction? .... hmmmm

 

[OhMyItsAndyy]

Pretty much all that has just been said. But just drop water droplets onto his beak, might encourage him to drink, or gently dip his beak, below the nostrils, so as not to drown him.

Check out the other rooster, any signs that he's injured, and ofcourse, fight signs

 

[ldesivo]

The new rooster was in a cage in the yard for a couple of weeks. I let him out about four days ago. The chickens free range and they all went about their wandering. I am not sure when the fighting happened. With the holidays we have not been home all day so I didn't catch them in action.
Grayson drank and ate. I gave him some vita water. He has opened one eye. The other seems a little swollen. I am going to try to wash him tomorrow early so he can dry in the sun. I will keep him separate and in the garage until he is better. I will keep a closer eye on the other roosters. There are three others including the new guy.
Thank you so much for all the info.

 

[naked_heels]

I get that all the time, sometime my thai gamefowl got loose from his cage and get into altercation with another rooster while i'm not home. What I did was, I wash their wound with warm water and rub Iodine on it and gave them Antibiotic one tablet per day for 3days. first 2days he will not eat or drink, you can try gave him some water thru seringe w/o needle. He will be ok w/o food for a day or two, third or fourth day the eyes will open up slowly and he will try to each or drink. Once you hear him crow then you know he's ok. Sometime if the wound was so bad, he will be blind one eye or both. Hope this helps

 

[ldesivo]

Yes all info is appreciated!

 

[highcountrychickens]

Idesevo, Welcome to BYC - I'm so sorry to hear this - I sure hope your Grayson pulls through. You know, although you will hear of the occasional but very, very rare exception to this, the general rule is that roosters fight... that is a main part of job as they see it - they fight to the death. (why you hear of illegal rooster fights - so sad that it's so simple for idiots to use for their own sport because it's such an intrinsic part of the nature of these birds) Unless you have two separate fenced yards and coops, you really should keep only one, or this will happen again and again until one of them kills the other one. I know it's terribly harsh, but it's one of those sad chicken truths. There are stories of those who raised them together and they didn't fight, but if you have a new fellow that has demonstrated this so clearly, you are going to have to face a tough decision - so sorry about that.

All of the treatment advice you have already seen here is sound, good advice. I hope your guy pulls through!

Keep us posted here - everyone on this forum holds on for happy endings, or suffers with you for sad ones.

 

[ldesivo]

Grayson is doing better. He is eating and even attempting to crow!
I am sad about the fighting. I have always had three to four roosters, and they have never fought.
I will keep a close eye on the new guy but I think it may be the dominant rooster who has caused this. Either way, one might have to go

 

[naked_heels]

You do not have to get rid of any rooster, all you got to do is make a separated cell for the other rooster.