WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOS Injured rooster… should I put him down?

[Backyardtut]

My rooster, Pepper, flew into my 8 month old Pyrenees puppies’ pen and they nearly played with him to death. They have been around chickens their entire life and are not aggressive towards them, but they get very excited anytime anyone or anything enters their pen. In this case, my rooster was severely injured. I am torn on whether or not I should put my rooster down. I do not want him to suffer but also don’t want to end his life if he has a good chance of recovery. I really feel for the guy.. it looks painful but this is also the first time I’ve had an injured chicken so I don’t know if this is bad or REALLY bad or.. not too bad? I just don’t know.

Please let me know what you think.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can we see his face/head too?

Any puncture wounds?
Are all the wounds shown in the photo or are there more bare areas?

Looks like he's lost feathers and some skin. I'd clean the wounds with saline or chlorhexidine. Apply triple antibiotic ointment to wounds.

Keep him separated so the hens and other birds don't pick at his wounds. He needs space to move about, so think of where he can be kept that's going to be relatively clean and dry for a while.

Get him through shock - give some warmed sugar water or electrolytes if you have them. Once he's drinking well on his own, then offer him food. His normal feed is fine if he's willing to eat it. A nice treat of egg, fish or meat is often welcome too.

 

[FunClucks]

I'm not a super expert in this, but not sure who else is on right now, so I'll respond.

Looks like he lost a bunch of feathers and section of skin.

I think your rooster has an excellent chance of recovering from this, if you're willing to treat him. Or you can put him down. That's a large section of missing skin, so recovery may take a while. He'll need to be isolated in a clean environment where he can't get dirt into his wound.

I had a chicken who got her skin sliced over her rear and it gaped about an inch wide, but eventually scabbed over and healed. Also, I had a chicken who lost a portion of the skin of her wing on her elbow, which also scabbed over, and then the feathers grew back.

In your case, clean the wound with something - Hibiclens maybe? Rinse it well, distilled water if you have it, saline spray would be even better to reduce pain. Alcohol can be used, but it will sting, so not sure how well that will go over. Soap and water also can be used, just rinse well. Get all debris out that you can see, including anything that slipped between his skin and muscle. Once it's clean, pat dry with clean towel and then apply original Neosporin all over (not pain relief version - caine drugs are poisonous to chickens). Apply Neosporin twice a day until healed. If it starts going in the wrong direction, you may need a systemic antibiotic (pill by mouth). A vet can recommend, or there's some guidance on this site. You might could try and stich some of the skin to itself, if there is a flap, to keep it in place, even if it doesn't totally cover the wound. Make sure to sanitize your needle and thread.

ETA: x2 what @Wyorp Rock said. They've got more experience with these things than I do.

 

[Backyardtut]

Can we see his face/head too?

Any puncture wounds?
Are all the wounds shown in the photo or are there more bare areas?

Looks like he's lost feathers and some skin. I'd clean the wounds with saline or chlorhexidine. Apply triple antibiotic ointment to wounds.

Keep him separated so the hens and other birds don't pick at his wounds. He needs space to move about, so think of where he can be kept that's going to be relatively clean and dry for a while.

Get him through shock - give some warmed sugar water or electrolytes if you have them. Once he's drinking well on his own, then offer him food. His normal feed is fine if he's willing to eat it. A nice treat of egg, fish or meat is often welcome too.

No other wounds that I can see. All looks normal on his head/face but I will post more photos. I put him in a small crate in the garage but can transfer him to an area with more space tomorrow. I put some treats and water in the crate— should I remove the treats and just leave the water for him?
If he’s only missing some skin and feathers, that’s good news right?? I only see raw skin. But no punctures or active bleeding.
I cleaned the wound with saline and coated it with ointment.

I appreciate your advice. Thank you so much!

 

[Backyardtut]

I'm not a super expert in this, but not sure who else is on right now, so I'll respond.

Looks like he lost a bunch of feathers and section of skin.

I think your rooster has an excellent chance of recovering from this, if you're willing to treat him. Or you can put him down. That's a large section of missing skin, so recovery may take a while. He'll need to be isolated in a clean environment where he can't get dirt into his wound.

I had a chicken who got her skin sliced over her rear and it gaped about an inch wide, but eventually scabbed over and healed. Also, I had a chicken who lost a portion of the skin of her wing on her elbow, which also scabbed over, and then the feathers grew back.

In your case, clean the wound with something - Hibiclens maybe? Rinse it well, distilled water if you have it, saline spray would be even better to reduce pain. Alcohol can be used, but it will sting, so not sure how well that will go over. Soap and water also can be used, just rinse well. Get all debris out that you can see, including anything that slipped between his skin and muscle. Once it's clean, pat dry with clean towel and then apply original Neosporin all over (not pain relief version - caine drugs are poisonous to chickens). Apply Neosporin twice a day until healed. If it starts going in the wrong direction, you may need a systemic antibiotic (pill by mouth). A vet can recommend, or there's some guidance on this site. You might could try and stich some of the skin to itself, if there is a flap, to keep it in place, even if it doesn't totally cover the wound. Make sure to sanitize your needle and thread.

ETA: x2 what @Wyorp Rock said. They've got more experience with these things than I do.

I am so happy to hear that your hens recovered. This makes me so hopeful. I just didn’t want him suffering if the end was inevitable. Thank you so much for responding!

 

[FunClucks]

No other wounds that I can see. All looks normal on his head/face but I will post more photos. I put him in a small crate in the garage but can transfer him to an area with more space tomorrow. I put some treats and water in the crate— should I remove the treats and just leave the water for him?
If he’s only missing some skin and feathers, that’s good news right?? I only see raw skin. But no punctures or active bleeding.
I cleaned the wound with saline and coated it with ointment.

I appreciate your advice. Thank you so much!

Glad there's no puncture wounds, that's great news!

I'd remove treats and put regular food, or put healthy "treats" like cooked eggs or low salt tuna fish or low salt meat. I'd recommend at least 20% protein FlockRaiser / All Flock if you have it - he'll need the protein to heal.

 

[WoDia]

I had a bantam hen attacked by a neighbors Springer Spaniel years ago. Her injuries were more severe than what I can see in your photos. She had her tail ripped almost off of her tiny body. I cleaned it with saline, applied antibiotics, and wrapped it to keep the skin together until the healing began. I carefully cleaned it every day and monitored her very closely (kept her confined to a hospital box). That sweet little hen made a full recovery.

From what I can see in the photos, he will recover well…. especially since you’ve found no punctures, etc. Good wishes for your handsome rooster!!

 

[Backyardtut]

His comb has changed colors since the last time I checked on him. It is usually vibrant and red but is really dark purple now. What could this mean? These photos are 2 hours after cleansing the wound and applying ointment.

 

[Backyardtut]

Here’s a photo of pepper from last week. Healthy bright red comb.

 

[Backyardtut]

I had a bantam hen attacked by a neighbors Springer Spaniel years ago. Her injuries were more severe than what I can see in your photos. She had her tail ripped almost off of her tiny body. I cleaned it with saline, applied antibiotics, and wrapped it to keep the skin together until the healing began. I carefully cleaned it every day and monitored her very closely (kept her confined to a hospital box). That sweet little hen made a full recovery.

From what I can see in the photos, he will recover well…. especially since you’ve found no punctures, etc. Good wishes for your handsome rooster!!

Thank you so much