When i went to let my chickens out this morning one of my roos.. well really two of my roos bc I suspect its his brother doing it because I caught Rojo chasing Brownie last night all over the yard tormenting him, but back to what i was saying.. Brownie was a mass of bloody comb & neck feathers (blood had run down) I'm guessing he got on the roost below his brother last night & this morning (they get up at 4am.. i don't let them out till daylight at 6 am) he pecked the crap out of his brother. Been this way sinec Brownie chased one specific hen yesterday, Rojo has had it in for him ever since. I isolated Brownie but i do not know what to put on his wounds.. they don't appear to be deep & he wasn't letting me near him yet, i put food & water in teh smaller coop & just let him be alone for now. I read somewhere on BYC that the blood will stop running if you don't stress them out (from the comb when you trim combs due to frost bite) & was hoping the same theory worked now. Since its just me & mom can't help hold them down (he's a BIG roo) i can't hold him & medicate him also if he isn't in a calm mood. The offending Roo will be watched today for behavior problems & will be shipped across the street for a prolonged visit with the neighbor's girls (70+ chickens over there) if he is the problem... if its someone else.. i'll decide whether to send them to freezer camp or what. I just don't know what to do for Brownie at the moment. He's gonna need washed off I'm sure.. (sure that will be interesting) and something put on there. Spray neosporin possibly?
please help brownie
Can you wrap him in a towel or something? That's what I've done with cats a time or two before I had my DH around to help.
poor brownie, I hope the bird has calmed down.. as far as a bath, I do the same as Loreen. a moist warm towel wrap will keep the bird still and usually calmes them down. after I drape the towel over them thay get wrapped up and are easy for one person to handle between your knees, or drop them into a couple of inches of warm water in the bathtub. once their feet get adjusted they will usually let you wash them. The bird should stop bleeding soon. the bath will help clean the wound, but be aware that even a little blood when wet can look like a severe wound... clean the bird up, dry well and all should be fine if it isn't too deep.
a good idea to seperate them, I would take the nasty boy to a cat carrier for some time out.
good luck
-joe-
well.. Your talking like a standard welsummer roo.. he's probably 18 to 20 inches tall from foot to head... and a good 10 to 12 lbs of Rooster.. The problem is when he struggles it takes all of me to hold him down. I've had him wrapped in a towel before moving him before.. its not a pretty sight. My cats I wrap in towels all the time when i need to control them to medicte them or put them in a carrier. (rescue cats.. not fond of carriers) but it doesn't work well for me with the larger chickens.. bantams it works great normally.
hmm.. i missed that post.. you warm the towel first? I never thought of that. I could throw it in the dryer for a bit & see if he will calm down then. I realize that blood on then is usually like a head wound to a human.. more blood than you think should come out of a tiny cut.
good luck :-(
for some reason a towel off the radiator works - when it's warm enough we steam some towels and and wash/groom them before going to fairs.... the cats hate the warm towels.. and yes, i have mostly smaller birds at most 5 lbs.. the larger breeds are new to the coop and still small. .... i think that if i had too large of a bird, i might just be thinking of pot pie evey time it got nasty ..
how is the cut? as long as it closes up befor infection sets in, and i'd let it heal a bit.. i understand from other posts that chickens like chicken, and care should be kept to keep them away from chicken blood.
-joe-
idk yet.. i had to go to work & haven't been able to get out of the office & back down there to check. It looked like it was mostly damage to the comb this morning, maybe teh head feathers right behind teh comb also. Another 40 minutes & I can get out of here & back to the coop.
I also seriously considereing chicken & dumplings when i saw him chasing him yesterday... but he's rare aound here so I will ask the neighrbo if he wants the trouble of him first.
I hope things are better now. I also do the towel wrap thing, or if necessary, hold them by the legs, upsidedown. After they struggle a bit, they calm down. I don't like doing that but it's been the only way for me to treat some roos for mites, because you can't dust them all over when they are wrapped up in a towel. I use the sulfur ointment from Rooster Booster for cuts on comb and wattles. Spray neosporin would also be good.
I've also developed what I call the "chicken treatment" pose. I get the bird, wrapped in towel if needed, and then kneel on my heels, with the bird between my legs. I do this with my back against a wall, so the bird can't back out. Squeeze the knees together enough to hold the bird. With my upper body over the bird and the knees holding it, and "almost" sitting on its back, but not with a lot of weight of course, they are practically immobile. Excellent pose for administering medications, etc. I've also used it for spur trimming but with the bird facing backwards. Anyway, it might help.
thanks.. i can't get to him. I'll have to get one of the kids to get him out of the coop tomorrow or find something to bribe him with. He's in a corner of the coop i can't reach & I can't climb in bc we found out the supports on that side are rotting away. I'd fall thru I"m sure. I took his brother to the neighbors this evening. He's got a nice big milk barn turned chicken coop to live in now & free range over 5 acres. He'll be happy. I let his two girls in with him. probably shouldnt have but they were fussing & he was fussing.. when i let them in with him they crawled up on the roost next to him & snuggled. All were cooing & happy when i left.
Since you say his wounds are not deep, I would bet that he would heal just fine with no treatment at all. Head injuries usually don't get infected due to the excellent blood supply.
ya.. i was wondering about that.. it looks like shallow wounds & just a lot of blood. The poor boy bled like a stuck pig. The inside of the smaller coop he was in is smeared all over with blood. At least since his girls are with him now I can get welsummer eggs to put in an incubator. I was going to pen them u together anyways. Just hadn't planned on doing it this soon. Its suppose to freeze here tomorrow & down to 34 tonight. I'd bath him but i'm afraid he'd get too cold. and i can just see me trying to blow dry him. That would be a riot. Is there something I should put on it to keep the others from picking at him? The oldest boy i babysit can get him out of teh cage I know. he hates being cooped up.. at least that way he could free range. The girls showed no interest in picking. They just wanted snuggles. Maybe the others wouldn't either if I let him in the little coop at night? That seems to be when they want to pick at each other. that 2 hrs before daylight when its not safe to let them out yet.
The "Alu-Spray" worked for me. Turned a blood red head silver!
How's he doing today?
After 2 weeks of bandaging a wounded chicken, I truly feel for both of you. I'm really lucky that Claire will sit calmly in my dh's arms, while I change her bandage. Holding the wings down firmly , seems to be the key to calming them down. Good luck!!! Did the warm towel help?
I never got to try the warm towel. He made a great escape & took off across the yard when i tried to get him out of the coop. He seems to be fine. Thinks he's king of the yard now. He still looks horrid but no one is pecking at him & he sits way up high in the roost & bosses them around. He comes up close to me & talks but stays back far enough i can't reach him. He was under teh window today talking to the roo that's inside.. maybe Lucky is telling horror stories of a house full of cats & a strange little dog who will sit & stare at him. I did have a thought tho.. we need a reference thread with a listing of first aid supplies for chickens so we can easily collect & keep things on hand. There are things you never think of needing till you need them.
Good idea Grey. My top things:
Rooster Booster Sulfur ointment (doesn't "go bad" so OK to store long term)
http://www.roosterboosterproducts.com/product/50801
Rooster Booster Pick-no-more lotion (for pecking out feathers, cannibalism)
http://www.roosterboosterproducts.com/product/50910
Human gauze wrap for wrapping around injuries.
Triple antibiotic lotion (can work instead of sulfur ointment) for humans
Sharp scissors - for trimming feathers, bits of skin, etc to clean up wounds.
Hydrogen peroxide for wound cleansing.
Kickin' chicken supplement for boosting energy
http://www.jefferslivestock.com/ssc/product.asp?CID=2&pf_id=0031631
Cottage cheese, minced garlic, olive oil for treating poorly chickens.
I try to keep Aureomycin and tetracycline in powder form for antibiotic treatment when needed. If they are kept in the packets (even opened) in airtight container, they are fine.
How is Brownie? Hope he's doing ok since his great escape.
actually with his brother gone he took over the status of head roo. it rained a couple days ago, drizzle all day & nasty.. it washed him up pretty good. He has a nickle sized bald spot on his head where his brother pulled out the feathers. Kinda funny looking but other than that he's good. Its a nice smooth, clean bald spot after the rain so I think he will be fine. He is still put out with me for cooping him up for a day & no longer will come closer than 4 ft to me. His brother has adapted & is doing well across the street. Has a whole little flock of girls following him around now. Seems quite happy.
good job!
glad to hear everything turned out allright
-joe-