Dog injured rooster? Please, any advise or insight for a newbie

[pikeechickee]

I have a rather brave rooster that got in over his head with our dog. The dog is very gentle and was only defending himself as he does not bother any other animal that we have ever had. The rooster was attacking him...again...and the dog pretty much accidentally held the rooster down, but did not shake him or anything like that.

I got the dog off the rooster. A few minutes later the rooster walked out from underneath the deck, and went out of the fence in the drive way, and a little later even decided to jump one of the hens...so I thought he was ok.

However..yesterday night he was in the barn corner hiding? I moved him around some and just cannot find anything that looks like a serious injury. The dog was not trying to kill the rooster but simply keep him off him. But the dog weighs around 90 pounds and, well, is a dog.

So I don't know if the rooster has just given up or maybe has internal injuries, but I don't want him to just continue laying in the barn suffering if he is going to die. He is, for the most part not responding to me. I have gone out several times trying to get him to drink some water. I picked him up and took him out into the sunshine to try and get him to snap out of it if it is only a matter of him being upset about having lost a fight or something.

But he has his eyes closed, will not open them(they are not injured) and he just lays there with his mouth a little open, and eyes closed, not really responding much to me.

Gee I hate to loose him but would rather have him put down that let him suffer. We have doctored another rooster back from much worse.

Oh, and where I moved him in the barn..he pooped, yellow/green diarrhea...is that a sign of possible internal injuries that I cannot see from the outside?

I don't want to loose him, can't afford much in the way of medicines, don't want him to suffer....not sure if he has just decided to give up...I don't know what to do, I just don't want him to suffer though

 

[pikeechickee]

Oh, I forgot too...now my hens are just goofy. They are off their feed, though still roaming around the yard pecking around eating...but they always ate their feed. And they always come to me when I call them but now they won't...they are just totally out of whack.

What can I do for them? If I loose my rooster should I get another for them?

There was a few eggs this morning so cannot tell yet if their laying is effected...

 

[terryg]

First of all, it sounds like you have one, good, tolerant dog. I have no idea if the dog injured the roo - it could be. However, even a rooster in a sulk, eats! But, since you're noticing other signs of possible illness in your flock, I'd keep a very close eye on them. It might be that the tangling with the dog is a red herring, and that there is something else going on. Are they all breathing okay? Manure fine?
I have a FAQ about how to think through whether you have illness in your flock here: http://www.hencam.com/henblog/diagnosing-a-sick-chicken/

 

[pikeechickee]

First of all, it sounds like you have one, good, tolerant dog. I have no idea if the dog injured the roo - it could be. However, even a rooster in a sulk, eats! But, since you're noticing other signs of possible illness in your flock, I'd keep a very close eye on them. It might be that the tangling with the dog is a red herring, and that there is something else going on. Are they all breathing okay? Manure fine?
I have a FAQ about how to think through whether you have illness in your flock here: http://www.hencam.com/henblog/diagnosing-a-sick-chicken/

Thank you. I haven't noticed any illness with the hens, and up until the ruckus yesterday I hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Every one eating and laying as normal.

Thanks for linking the page, I am heading there now. I sure would hate to loose my birds, all has been going so well, good layers and everything, they are all just now turning a year old...all but the roo who is, I guessing pretty much as he was given to us, but around 4 to 6 years old...I really don't know for sure.

And yes, my pooh bear(the dog), is a sweetie. His baby sitters after he was born were miniature horses..he even allowed for some stray cats that came up. He is truly a special fella and as much as I hate that the rooster is possibly gone, it really is not that the dog was being aggressive.

 

[pikeechickee]

That was very interesting...thanks for the helpful info.

Have you ever used Collodial Silver?

It is relatively inexpensive. We have used in on the dog, horses and an injured roo, the one I was talking about in the other post that was injured much more seriously...or at least with visible injuries.

His eye was injured in, I guess a fight with something, maybe the other rooster(they were separated though) or possibly a hawk. But I found him the next day hiding, got him out, and we opened his eye, and gently cleaned the infection with a q-tip, and put a drop of the Collodial Silver in his eye...we did that for a couple days, also giving him a dose with the syringe as you are talking about...and his eye was saved, ok, much to our surprise.

But the silver is a good natural antibiotic..

 

[pikeechickee]

Well. No need for further advice on him, he is gone. I'm really bummed. I know it is just a chicken but we had him now several years and I get attached to everything...

 

[klmclain1]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss...and I'm sure the dog didn't mean harm - he was probably tired of being attacked! I would GUESS your roo had internal injuries - a slow bleed maybe? As for getting a replacement...do you want babies? I don't have a roo and my girls free-range and hang with the dogs - no problems. So I guess it depends on your "druthers"!

 

[pikeechickee]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss...and I'm sure the dog didn't mean harm - he was probably tired of being attacked! I would GUESS your roo had internal injuries - a slow bleed maybe? As for getting a replacement...do you want babies? I don't have a roo and my girls free-range and hang with the dogs - no problems. So I guess it depends on your "druthers"!

Thanks...I sure missed his crowing and snooze alarm this morning, I am so used to hearing a rooster crow for so long. But I really am not wanting to raise any babies right now.

I know the dog didn't mean to break the chicken...he is truly a sweetie pie and so very tolerant.

I have no way of keeping the chickens out of the dog fence, but there is plenty of places the chickens can go and the dog can't. So they are not forced together or anything. He is not showing any signs of aggression towards the hens, and the hens are not attacking and pecking him

My hens are just an emotional wreck and all out of sorts, though they do seem to be improving, they are still laying.

If I do get another rooster, it will be very carefully chosen, and hopefully of a breed that is more docile. ...if there is such a thing.

 

[Lizzie2]

Hey there, I hope your rooster is doing better. I had a chicken attacked by a dog. I put her in a small cage and kept her in the house, warm and quiet. Be sure to keep his bottom clean. I just wiped it with warm soapy water and a cloth. make sure he has water available and some food. Also, I would try and exercise her daily a couple of times by getting her out and holding her so her feet touched the floor but didn't put alot of weight on her. She finally came around in about 10 days.