Rooster with injured and bleeding legs/feet

[Dirty Farmer]

Our chickens have always free ranged during the day. Well today the wife and I went out to get lunch, and we were gone for about an hour. When we returned home, I noticed the rooster in the barn doorway by himself, and the hens were out in the field picking up the remnants from when the corn was harvested this fall. I thought that was odd, but didn't think anything of it as he was crowing just like his normal self. Some time passes and I see that he's still there in the barn and the girls are now with him, but he's now standing on one foot. We call them up to the house for some treats, and all the hens come running, but the rooster just keeps standing there on one foot. I call him some more, and he finally starts to come our way. He starts hopping on the one foot, and when he does use his other leg, he limps badly with the cripple leg.

Upon inspection the one foot that he doesn't stand on, is completely missing one of his toes and bleeding. And the leg that he still stands on and uses to hop around on, is all scraped up with scales missing and cuts all over it. I'm not sure if he had a tangle with a predator, caught in some farm equipment or even a car in the road perhaps.

My question is, should I put anything on the wounds? The bleeding has stopped, and I checked him over, and nothing else seems the matter with him, other than the missing toe, missing scales and lacerations on his legs.

poor little guy, any help would be appreciated.

 

[Judy]

I would treat the wounds much as I would my own, clean with mild soapy water and smear with Neosporin -- to cut down on germs and because I find that any wound hurts less if at all with Neosporin.

If you happen to have another antibiotic ointment, that's fine, but be sure it does not have a "caine" drug added as a pain killer. Examples are cetacaine, benzocaine -- you get the idea. Don't worry about the pain killer that the brand Neosporin uses, it's a completely different drug and won't hurt birds.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=133860 (from a sticky in this forum)

 

[SteveBaz]

I would put Blue Kote on the leg or TAO (Triple Antibiotic Ointment) - general cuts, scrapes scratches and splinter the toe. It sounds like he got caught on some type of wire of a fence. He will be alright but I would tomorrow get rubber gloves on or if he will let you handle him easy and inspect his entire body. The may be some under the feather cuts if it was a predator. If its wire scrapes th TAO or Neosporin or any antiseptic ointment will do the trick. Good luck he will be OK I think