EstlHope
In the Brooder
- Sep 1, 2022
- 12
- 9
- 37
Hello! We have the sweetest rooster in the world named Lee. He is (normally) a fierce protector of his ladies, a gentleman when it comes to mating, always making sure the hens get the best treats, and gentle and friendly towards humans. About 5 months ago, we noticed Lee was limping pretty badly. We quickly figured out that he was fighting with the awful rooster (since moved on to the freezer) in the flock in the next paddock. We free range our birds on pasture, but we use mesh electrical fencing to rotate them around to different spots. The interior fence isn't electrified. We put more separation between those two so they couldn't fight, and we figured he had just pulled a muscle or something. We gave him some aspirin, and things seemed to get better for a few days. Then his limp came back, and it seemed a little worse this time.
We have a dog crate that is large enough for him to fully stand up in, but not walk around too much. We put pine shavings in that, and isolated him for a few days with some aspirin in his water, hoping he could rest and recover. It sort of got better for a bit, then it started getting worse again. We went through this cycle for a couple of months. Because it kept getting better, we kept hoping that we could figure out how to help him heal. The limp was still present, but not bad and then we had an aerial predator attack. The pred got one of our baby turkeys in the next area over, but Lee's limp was much worse after that.
I could feel that his knee joint wasn't fully in place and he had very limited range of motion. We were able to get his knee joint back in place and restore the range of motion, but he had a very pronounced limp. The joint has definitely styed in place, but the muscles around his knee and thigh are very tight. I've been trying to massage them to loosen them up a bit. It usually seems to help some, but not enough to eliminate the limp. The limp is better in the mornings, usually, and gets worse as the day goes on. We keep them in coops that we can move around the pasture, so their bedding is just the grass. But there are roosts in there, and he can't hop up on a roost. He used to not be able to stand on the roost if we lifted him up. He can now, but doesn't like it too much. He sleeps on the ground. He can sometimes cover a hen, but that just depends on the day.
Everything else is fine. He's molting right now, so doesn't look his best. But before that, his feathers were fine. His eyes, comb, and wattle are fine. There are no visible signs of anything anywhere on his feet, shanks, or anywhere else. He eats and drinks fine. His poop is completely normal. His crow was hoarse and ragged for awhile, but it's back to normal now.
I took two videos the other day around 4:30pm. This is about as bad as the limp gets these days, but it's still more than we would like.
Video 1
Video 2
We want to do what we can to keep him, because he really is an excellent rooster. We don't want him to suffer, though. We don't have money to take him to a vet right now. We are willing to spend some money on treatment if we can do it ourselves, though. We both have a medical background and are comfortable with a lot of different things. My boyfriend is also an engineer, so if we need to build or create things, that's also an option.
I have two questions.
1. Do you have any suggestions for how we can treat him?
2. Do you think we need to put him down? If so, please give your reasons.
Thank you so much for your help! We love this rooster, and really hope that we can help him get better. But most especially, we don't want him to suffer.
We have a dog crate that is large enough for him to fully stand up in, but not walk around too much. We put pine shavings in that, and isolated him for a few days with some aspirin in his water, hoping he could rest and recover. It sort of got better for a bit, then it started getting worse again. We went through this cycle for a couple of months. Because it kept getting better, we kept hoping that we could figure out how to help him heal. The limp was still present, but not bad and then we had an aerial predator attack. The pred got one of our baby turkeys in the next area over, but Lee's limp was much worse after that.
I could feel that his knee joint wasn't fully in place and he had very limited range of motion. We were able to get his knee joint back in place and restore the range of motion, but he had a very pronounced limp. The joint has definitely styed in place, but the muscles around his knee and thigh are very tight. I've been trying to massage them to loosen them up a bit. It usually seems to help some, but not enough to eliminate the limp. The limp is better in the mornings, usually, and gets worse as the day goes on. We keep them in coops that we can move around the pasture, so their bedding is just the grass. But there are roosts in there, and he can't hop up on a roost. He used to not be able to stand on the roost if we lifted him up. He can now, but doesn't like it too much. He sleeps on the ground. He can sometimes cover a hen, but that just depends on the day.
Everything else is fine. He's molting right now, so doesn't look his best. But before that, his feathers were fine. His eyes, comb, and wattle are fine. There are no visible signs of anything anywhere on his feet, shanks, or anywhere else. He eats and drinks fine. His poop is completely normal. His crow was hoarse and ragged for awhile, but it's back to normal now.
I took two videos the other day around 4:30pm. This is about as bad as the limp gets these days, but it's still more than we would like.
Video 1
Video 2
We want to do what we can to keep him, because he really is an excellent rooster. We don't want him to suffer, though. We don't have money to take him to a vet right now. We are willing to spend some money on treatment if we can do it ourselves, though. We both have a medical background and are comfortable with a lot of different things. My boyfriend is also an engineer, so if we need to build or create things, that's also an option.
I have two questions.
1. Do you have any suggestions for how we can treat him?
2. Do you think we need to put him down? If so, please give your reasons.
Thank you so much for your help! We love this rooster, and really hope that we can help him get better. But most especially, we don't want him to suffer.
