Rooster with weird head bobble thing

[Sinful chick]

Mybeloved rooster was attacked by a raccoon. (I think). I have been spoon feeding/watering him for a week, as his neck is unstable. He wants so badly to walk and be normal!! What can I do to help him??? I feel so helpless!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Mybeloved rooster was attacked by a raccoon. (I think). I have been spoon feeding/watering him for a week, as his neck is unstable. He wants so badly to walk and be normal!! What can I do to help him??? I feel so helpless!

He will take weeks to heal, maybe longer. Keep him quiet and comfortable, and let him do it.

 

[tjs22]

To my suprise, the rooster opened his eyes long enough to drink some water, then closed his eyes again.(with me holding it right in front of his face) But he did do this multiple times and drank quite a bit. He doesn't seem to be interested in eating. Hoping he makes it through the night and we will try eggs again tomorrow. I'll take pics tomorrow if he's still with us. Is it a possibltity that the black on his comb and wattles is from bruising from the pecking? Maybe he's in much more pain than I thought from being pecked. Wondering if he was wobbly earlier from just being weak? Will update tomorrow. Thank you for your answers!!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I have had a few bantam cochin roosters get into some big fights. They can be listless afterwards, and it can take a few weeks for them to heal up. It is possible he's sore. As long as he's willing to drink that's a good sign.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

To my suprise, the rooster opened his eyes long enough to drink some water, then closed his eyes again.(with me holding it right in front of his face) But he did do this multiple times and drank quite a bit. He doesn't seem to be interested in eating. Hoping he makes it through the night and we will try eggs again tomorrow. I'll take pics tomorrow if he's still with us. Is it a possibltity that the black on his comb and wattles is from bruising from the pecking? Maybe he's in much more pain than I thought from being pecked. Wondering if he was wobbly earlier from just being weak? Will update tomorrow. Thank you for your answers!!

@tjs22 it's good that you were able to get some water into him.
Photos will be most helpful. I agree with @oldhenlikesdogs if he was pecked or beaten up, this could be the cause of his symptoms. Injuries can make a chicken lethargic, so more information is welcomed.

Mybeloved rooster was attacked by a raccoon. (I think). I have been spoon feeding/watering him for a week, as his neck is unstable. He wants so badly to walk and be normal!! What can I do to help him??? I feel so helpless!

Hi @Sinful chick I'm sorry to hear your rooster was attacked. If you prefer, you can start your own thread - you will get more answers, but we will be glad to help you the best we can.
It sounds like he has extensive injuries to the neck, is that correct? Are his wounds healing - do you see any signs of infection?
It good that you are able to get food/water into him - add some poultry vitamins to the water or direct dose him once a day with Poultry Nutri-Drench at 1cc per 3lbs of weight.
Keep trying to get his normal feed into him, some will readily eat a little egg on their own, so you might want to see if he will take that as a treat - but he does need a balanced poultry feed if at all possible.
Is he unable to stand? You could try making him a sling - this may help strengthen the legs - google "chicken sling" and you will find a lot of creative ideas.
Hope he gets better soon, please keep us posted.

 

[Sinful chick]

@tjs22 it's good that you were able to get some water into him.
Photos will be most helpful. I agree with @oldhenlikesdogs if he was pecked or beaten up, this could be the cause of his symptoms. Injuries can make a chicken lethargic, so more information is welcomed.



Hi @Sinful chick I'm sorry to hear your rooster was attacked. If you prefer, you can start your own thread - you will get more answers, but we will be glad to help you the best we can.
It sounds like he has extensive injuries to the neck, is that correct? Are his wounds healing - do you see any signs of infection?
It good that you are able to get food/water into him - add some poultry vitamins to the water or direct dose him once a day with Poultry Nutri-Drench at 1cc per 3lbs of weight.
Keep trying to get his normal feed into him, some will readily eat a little egg on their own, so you might want to see if he will take that as a treat - but he does need a balanced poultry feed if at all possible.
Is he unable to stand? You could try making him a sling - this may help strengthen the legs - google "chicken sling" and you will find a lot of creative ideas.
Hope he gets better soon, please keep us posted.

 

[Sinful chick]

THANK YOU for your kind encouragement! My boy is drinking alot of water (via spoon) , but little food....can't peck...eating alot of applesauce, but no grain, etc. I do have the electrolites for his water. He stands, but falls over easily. I'm so afraid he's going to injure himself even more. His neck moves like a "helicopter" sometimes and his co-ordination is terrible. One minute, he's so much better, then all of the sudden he does horrible! I'm going to look up the sling thing! Thanks!!!

 

[tjs22]

Here are some pics. He seems to be making progress and is eating a tiny bit. Turns out he is loaded with mites. I have elector PSP on hand so will deal with that promptly. His eye is also shut. I think his eye lid got pecked. But before isolation his eye was opened, so I think his actual eye ball is OK. Anything I should do to it?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

He does look more ill than sore to me. Poor guy.

 

[tjs22]

He does look more ill than sore to me. Poor guy.

Yeah I feel terrible. He purks up for a bit then goes right back to sitting with his eyes closed. But he is more alert then yesterday, and is eating a bit more. We will see. Hope the damn mites don't infest my house. He's in the bathroom. I replaced his hay and box, and spayed him and his box and hay and all around his area and even up my walls and my floor a bit, anywhere surrounding his box with elector psp. I have used this stuff before with great success for the same mite and it worked amazingly. My husband is not happy with me for bringing him inside. Opps