Skinny Rooster? Comb staying blue at the tips?

[FeatheredChildren]

Hello All,

My beloved roo went through a traumatic event last week and yet survived. My grandfather is suffering from dimentia and went to check on the chickens late at night while I was at a dinner. Both of my grandparents know I take care of the animals and yet he is not really all there at this point. Well, to cut to the chase, that night I went straight to bed as it was late and they were already sleeping. He had went out and left the gate open. He has had chickens for years previous and when he started slipping away mentally I took over the care and even purchased more feathered babies. The next morning I was up bright and early only to look out the window and see our 100lb bull mastiff with my Roo in his mouth. I nearly had a heart attack. I yelled PUT HIM DOWN NOW!! Surely, the dog set the roo down and as soon as his lil feet hit the ground he ran all the way across the yard into my arms. I was on my knees with my arms wide open and he knew I was there to save him. So, I wrapped him in a towel and thought surely he was going to pass away. All of his rear end feathers are gone. Yet, he protected ALL of his ladies. He is definitely worth keeping for life!!
No deep punctures per the vet and my inspection or even broken bones which is unbelievable in my eyes. Vet just said he bruised the bone in his leg.
My life was at a complete standstill as this roo has been therapy for me. I took him into a vet and he was boarded with them for several days in a brooder. When I brought him in, they were sure he had spine trauma as he would not walk, after administering some anti-inflammatory meds, antibiotics with rest-my roo was up and walking again!
Fast forward a few days and he has been in a dog crate in my house. I administer his anti-inflammatories twice daily (though the dose is slowly being lowered per the vet), he has a comfy clean towel to rest on, food and water. I give him a cooked egg once daily, which he devours, along with his regular feed/mealworms. I let him roam about multiple times daily for exercise. A few things I've noticed however and want to know if anyone can advise as the vet just brushed it off and said it was due to trauma.
1) he is very wobbly-understandably so-however, when he preens himself he tends to fall over in a tuck and roll type style. Is this neurological? Or could it be due to the loss of his tail? balance issue? Should I be looking out for any specific signs?

2) His comb started turning purple today at the tips & alot more from the rear. It is also lasting longer than it ever has previously. He has always had moments where the tips were purple tinged but it would go away shortly after. Today it seems a lot more intense and I'm very concerned. Could it be stress induced as he was roaming the house for a bit? Dehydration? Hoping not a heart issue

3)He is still sooooo thin. I can feel his breast bone protruding and am not sure what is normal. Any tips on getting him to gain more weight? He has been eating.
-What is a normal weighing roo feel like? He is a 8 month old RIR

4) He has never had a pasty butt until when I picked him up from the vet. Redness on his rear-end and the poop is clumped to what few tail feathers remain. Is this normal since he is not stable enough to clean himself? Vet said not to bathe him. I do rinse his feet in the sink a bit and its driving me nuts I can't clean his rear-end.

5) Will any of his tail feathers grow back? I will love him regardless but am curious if that is a possibility. They were all ripped clean out. Poor guy.

Other than that when he is out and about he roams around, crows and appears to be active and doing well. As you can probably tell, I not only feel responsible but am like a protective mother to him. I love him dearly and just want to make sure there is not something else I should be doing for him. I do worry there could be internal issues going on that I am unaware of. Sometimes, not always, when I pick him up he tries to get away and I'm always concerned I'm hurting his injuries.

Thank you in advance for any and all input.

 

[Jessicx]

I had a Red Sexlink hen nearly taken by a fox a couple months ago. We found her in the fox's mouth, not unlike how you found yours. She lost a lot of feathers, and was bruised and beaten. I thought for sure I would lose her, but she pulled through and today shows no I'll effect from her experience. For the first couple of weeks afterward, she had a lot of difficulty walking. She was lethargic, and was clearly hurting. At first, I isolated her. But she appeared to be MORE stressed during isolation than with her sisters, so I put her back out. I watched her closely with the intention of removing her again if her sisters started pecking or bullying, but everything was good. All of her feathers grew back, and all of her injuries healed. I know you mentioned not being able to bathe him, but can you maybe just soak his bottom with a warm, wet washcloth? I imagine his stress is what's causing his pasty butt. I'm not sure about his comb. I've read that combs will turn purple, then black when frostbitten. Hopefully it's one of his injuries that will resolve. My girls' combs turn very pale when dehydrated, so I doubt that's the issue. Keep us updated, and I pray he pulls through.

 

[FeatheredChildren]

Thank you for the support! He is doing sooo much better and the vet said he is a "great rooster" at his follow-up appointment. I was being paranoid but I'd rather be safe than sorry. It has been in the 90's here so no frostbite, I'm thinking it could be stress induced more-so. His comb was BRIGHT red and healthy looking during the car ride but turns purple-ish when inside the house. I would think a car ride would be more stressful with all the sights and sounds, so I don't know.

Thank you! Glad to hear your girl survived as well

I had a Red Sexlink hen nearly taken by a fox a couple months ago. We found her in the fox's mouth, not unlike how you found yours. She lost a lot of feathers, and was bruised and beaten. I thought for sure I would lose her, but she pulled through and today shows no I'll effect from her experience. For the first couple of weeks afterward, she had a lot of difficulty walking. She was lethargic, and was clearly hurting. At first, I isolated her. But she appeared to be MORE stressed during isolation than with her sisters, so I put her back out. I watched her closely with the intention of removing her again if her sisters started pecking or bullying, but everything was good. All of her feathers grew back, and all of her injuries healed. I know you mentioned not being able to bathe him, but can you maybe just soak his bottom with a warm, wet washcloth? I imagine his stress is what's causing his pasty butt. I'm not sure about his comb. I've read that combs will turn purple, then black when frostbitten. Hopefully it's one of his injuries that will resolve. My girls' combs turn very pale when dehydrated, so I doubt that's the issue. Keep us updated, and I pray he pulls through.

 

[Jessicx]

Yay, I'm so excited for you! Interestingly, my rooster started getting a purple comb last night. I was FREAKING out! 20 minutes later, when I locked him in for the night, his comb was back to normal. I think he was just heat stressed.

 

[FeatheredChildren]

Yay, I'm so excited for you! Interestingly, my rooster started getting a purple comb last night. I was FREAKING out! 20 minutes later, when I locked him in for the night, his comb was back to normal. I think he was just heat stressed.

Yea I've noticed before that the rear tips would turn purple when he was outside with all his ladies but would then go away shortly after. (Women, heh)
However, these past few days it has stayed dark longer and seems like a bigger portion of his comb was affected as well. I brought him inside after spending some time outside for exercise and rinsed his feet I realized the water came out was VERY cold and immediately the rear tips of his comb turned the darkest purple I have ever seen. Again, that went away though thankfully. Sure hope it's not heart related. :/

 

[abraga]

I think he's probly still a bit stressed and miss in his ladies. By any chance..is the masstiff in the house to? That woukd b very stressful fir a chickencto be confibed in tge envirinment his attacker frequents. Pasty butt can be stress...to cold/hot. It would be better to gently soak his bottom in sone warm emsom salts or warm water..break up the dried poo. It can block him up and cause toxins to build up and kill him or cause ingkamatio

 

[FeatheredChildren]

I think he's probly still a bit stressed and miss in his ladies. By any chance..is the masstiff in the house to? That woukd b very stressful fir a chickencto be confibed in tge envirinment his attacker frequents. Pasty butt can be stress...to cold/hot. It would be better to gently soak his bottom in sone warm emsom salts or warm water..break up the dried poo. It can block him up and cause toxins to build up and kill him or cause ingkamatio

No, the mastiff is not inside. His butt actually cleaned up a lot by now and there is no more residue from runny poop thankfully! Especially now that he is no longer taking the anti-inflammatory meds. He is gaining his balance again now and can preen himself successfully without begrudgingly falling over. I always giggle because when he would try to do it he would start to lose his balance & make these little sounds which I like to picture him cursing under his breath LOL
I did at one point wipe some of the poop gently off but maybe I will soak him as you said. There is redness on his rear which the vet said was a result of the trauma so the epsom salt soak might help.

 

[abraga]

I think he's probly still a bit stressed and miss in his ladies. By any chance..is the masstiff in the house to? That woukd b very stressful fir a chickencto be confibed in tge envirinment his attacker frequents. Pasty butt can be stress...to cold/hot. It would be better to gently soak his bottom in sone warm emsom salts or warm water..break up the dried poo. It can block him up and cause toxins to build up and kill him or cause ingkamatio

Wups..or cause inflammation to the opening. His feathers should grow back...ive had a similar issue like that in the past..however..he may be a bit " off" till he gets his plumage back. Best thing for him would be to put him back w/his hens if u can. If he's stressed...his comb can change colors. Keeping them confined is also stressful in itself, as they r flock birds. He may have some neurological issues due to trauma, inflammation but hopefully as his bruised tissues heal it will resolve itself. Chickens are pretty tuff birds!u can feed him pieces of fat..ground beef, diced liver, tuna in oil to give him some extra fat. Stress can also cause weight loss. Best medicine would be to place him back with his hens if your coop is secured.

 

[abraga]

No, the mastiff is not inside. His butt actually cleaned up a lot by now and there is no more residue from runny poop thankfully! Especially now that he is no longer taking the anti-inflammatory meds. He is gaining his balance again now and can preen himself successfully without begrudgingly falling over. I always giggle because when he would try to do it he would start to lose his balance & make these little sounds which I like to picture him cursing under his breath LOL
I did at one point wipe some of the poop gently off but maybe I will soak him as you said. There is redness on his rear which the vet said was a result of the trauma so the epsom salt soak might help.

A nice warm epsom salt soak helps a lot. Its very soothing to them. do u have probiotics or yogurt? That will help get his digestive system back on track.

 

[FeatheredChildren]

I let him roam with them for a bit today and it went really well! He was walking around so proud. The only thing was that his rear is still bare and I noticed he was bleeding on one part because one of the hens picked at a tiny new feather growing in. I am nervous they will pick at him....