Yet another dog attack story - any help?

[Lorije1]

Before the flames start - my chickens are in a privacy fenced yard and they have clipped wings. My dogs are not in the yard and do not go in the yard unsupervised.

Big Poppy, my rooster, somehow got over the fence and my dog (parent's dog actually) got him. There are feathers starting in front of my house (tail) all the way down to my parent's front yard some 40yrds away. That is where we found the dog laying beside the still breathing, still moving Poppy.
I scooped him up and took him to my house, gave him some sugar water and scrambled an egg for him. He is missing every single tail feather and has various wounds, but he still fusses and can stand without trouble. The problem is his neck. When it first happened, whenever he stood his head was on the floor. I put him on a towel in my bathtub and left the heat on so he would be warm and turned out the light. Then I had to leave for work.

I went back on my lunch break and he was still alive. When I bent over to pick him up he fussed at me and struggled just a tiny bit. He drank sugar water on his own when I held it up to him, and I put bits of egg in his beak and he gobbled it. But his neck is still floppy. He seems to be able to pick it up a tiny bit from the floor, but tires very easily and just lays it down. I gave him all the water he wanted and left him again to come back to work.

If he is still alive when I get home, is there more I can do for him? I don't have ACV (at least not unfiltered). I have Vit B complex, sugar, honey, eggs........

Poor Poppy

 

[CMV]

Oh dear. I have seen this injury before. I believe he may have a fractured or severely dislocated neck if it is what I think it is. I had something like that happen to a young pullet after my cockerel jumped on her head. She couldn't lift her head. She would be standing there and her head would hang down underneath her. She started turning somersaults when she tried to walk because she couldn't seem to figure out where her head was oriented in relation to the rest of her body. Unfortunately, this injury proved to be catastrophic and I ended up culling the pullet. She wasn't improving on her own and was just getting worse, so I opted to cull rather than watch her die slowly.

I am sorry for your rooster and for you.

 

[Lorije1]

oh geez I hope that isn't what it is.... but I can imagine it being dislocated.
he did, however, hold his head up a little this morning, for just maybe a minute. And later on he drank sugar water from a bowl on his own. He still isn't eating on his own, but gobbles whatever I set in his beak. I'll give him the weekend as long as he is fighting... if he doesn't improve by then I guess it will be inevitable.

 

[thebritt]

Quote:
Since he did actually lift his head, I doubt it's broken. If it was me, and I really liked the rooster, I'd give him up to 2 weeks to show improvement, as soft tissue takes a long time to heal. Good luck!

 

[Lorije1]

Thanks... he is standing on his own AND he held his head up while standing. He still does some kind of weird movements as if he has to twist his neck to make food / water go down, but he doesn't do it every single time. When he drinks I am not sure how much he is getting, because he is constantly starving for water. I still give him sugar water.
I also crushed up a Vit B and put it in some water and dripped it in with a syringe (thanks, Dawg).

I dont' think he is even close to being out of the woods, but I sure do have a little more hope than I did last night!!

 

[ruth]

You could try making a neck brace for him. Wrap his neck loosely with some vet wrap but thick enough that it gives him some support. He might fight it at first and even walk backwards but he'll get used to it within a day. I've used this method to treat wry neck. Treat his wounds by flushing with betadine, then Hydrogen Peroxide, then Neosporin. Leave them open to drain if there are puncture wounds. I had a stray get our pet front porch chicken and though her wounds were deep and festered, they healed. You may need to clean them each day until they dry up.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Sure hope he makes it,

and to have endured what he went through your right in giving him a fighting chance..

 

[farmerlor]

Dogs always go for the neck on chickens but your roo may just have some nerve damage. I wouldn't give up on him yet. Shock usually kills them first and if he's giving you a hard time he's not in shock so his chances for recovery seem pretty good at this point. The first 24 hours will tell the tale. If he's still kicking this time tomorrow he's going to make it.