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Urgent Rooster Help

TikkiTembo

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Hi guys, am I allowed to post about my rooster in this forum? I will delete the one I did in Poultry Row this morning since things have changed now to a more urgent matter needing advice.
I noticed this morning that young Calvin had a funny wing, and wasn't sure if he maybe had some feathers pulled,or if he had injured his wing. An hour ago, I just went to collect eggs like I do every evening, and found a dead hen and a ton of Calvin's feathers in the coop. The hen was destroyed, broken bones and all. Horrible. I picked up Calvin to check him, and found this wound. It looks like whatever it was that got into the coop must have been pulling him by the wing. My poor boy! I am thinking of spraying him with antibiotics and possibly even wrapping the area. Our avian vet will see chickens, but that will take some convincing, as my husband is 'sure' nothing is broken. Calvin is eating and drinking and acting normal. He definitely enjoyed a good snuggle and let me get some pin feathers for him even.
Would any of you treat and or wrap this, or leave it alone? Or would you head to the vet? A broken wing won't effect his life in the sense that he can't fly anyways, but I don't want him suffering in pain either.
Every nook and cranny on the coop has been screwed shut with wood. My husband said he is sure he would have noticed the feathers and Calvin's condition when he let the chickens out of the coop this morning, but I noticed Calvin an hour after he left at 9am. I was awake, so I'm sure I would have heard something this morning. My husband forgot to close the coop last night until I reminded him at 11pm, so even though he's sure he would have noticed something, I'm guessing either the hen was already dead then,or something was in the coop waiting. Chicken ownership is hard sometimes. :arghh: I'm proud of Calvin for obviously fighting off the intruder, our grown rooster, Steve, was untouched, so he obviously kept his distance. I'm so glad Calvin is alive, there would be tears to lose him!
 

parrotluv

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Sorry for this horrible attack. If you are able to treat his wing and wrap it I would suggest doing so. At least for a few days to give it time to heal and be seen by a vet.
 

Shezbug

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Oh, poor Calvin!

If you think he has a broken wing I would be going to the vet. Breaks hurt like heck and can heal poorly.
They do use their wings (and can fly although it’s not very graceful or far when they do fly) to ward off predators and for balance etc.

I’m sorry to hear you lost a chook and maybe have a predator interested in your flock :(
It is awful when predators get into the chicken coop and harm your babies ....I had to rehome all mine a few years ago as feral cats won the battle and I couldn’t stand to have any more of our babies harmed.

I hope Calvin and the rest of the flock will recover and you manage to keep the problem animal away.
 

iamwhoiam

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Sorry that Calvin was injured and that you lost a hen. Do you have antibiotics? Probably a good idea to take to vet and have the wing checked.
@Birdbabe will probably have some excellent advice for you.
 

rocky'smom

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My advice see the vet
 

TikkiTembo

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Thanks guys, we try not to get too attached since predators happen, but it's hard not to love a gentle rooster! I will get some blue kote spray and wrap from Tractor Supply tomorrow, and chat with the vet. They may even let me email pics before scheduling a visit. I've never taken a chicken to the vet before, but nobody has ever survived an attack before! We've only lived in this house for a few months, so we weren't sure what kinds of predators were lurking...Apparently something very nasty!
 

Begone

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For your description look after a badger or a mink. They both can take your whole flock in one night.
It's very stressful for the hens when they have had a predator that have enter their home so make sure they are safe where they are now because the predator will come back, trust me.
To keep your own animals safe think of to put the predator down. To scare it away will only help for a night or two.
 

TikkiTembo

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He was terrified to go in the coop tonight, poor thing kept trying to get in the house! We had to carry him to the coop, and got another good look at him. It is looking more like those are rouge feathers that will need to be pulled, not bones, but I'm still going to spray and wrap and monitor it for a few days. I've locked our cats in for tonight as well, hopefully whatever it was that got them will bugger off after a few unsuccessful nights.
 

TikkiTembo

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For your description look after a badger or a mink. They both can take your whole flock in one night.
It's very stressful for the hens when they have had a predator that have enter their home so make sure they are safe where they are now because the predator will come back, trust me.
To keep your own animals safe think of to put the predator down. To scare it away will only help for a night or two.
I am thinking mink, the spaces for get in the coop are tiny. We don't own any traps or guns, but our neighbors would probably be happy to help.
 

Begone

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hopefully whatever it was that got them will bugger off after a few unsuccessful nights.
No. As long as they know where their is food they will come back. You must make their place safe for mink. (for all predators) You can not kill them all.
 

Begone

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Can they come from above? Is their a roof? If not it can be a hawk too. Forgot that...
 

TikkiTembo

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There is a roof, thankfully! I've saved one from a hawk attack before, I think that leads to more of a ripping and shredding, this was a pluck and chew and crunch. Ugh :grumpy: I've reached out to our neighbors, they have traps and such. They lost an entire flock to a fox a few years ago. I believe they kill and eat their chickens after they stop laying, which we could never do, but even then, they hate to think of them suffering and afraid. Another chicken group I'm in also thinks it's a superficial wound, so fingers crossed that when I go to clean him and wrap him tomorrow, I'll agree and feel more at ease with the situation. My husband has agreed to a vet visit if we pull the feathers and don't like the way it looks, so that's a win. He says he's never loved a rooster quite like him, so he's worth investing in for sure! Nice roosters are so hard to come by, though he's still young and could change his mind later :hehe:
 

Birdbabe

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I would at least clean it with warm soapy water or saline, then apply some antibacterial cream..my neighbor just lost one of his roosters and six hen's to a stray dog..too graphic to post. I hope Calvin will be ok, ..you must get the predator, it will not stop.
 

Mockinbirdiva

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Maybe do a dusting of flour around the outside of the coop so you can identify foot prints to see what kind of predator you have. I would also attach a small hole wire fence around the parameter of the coop and bury the fence down into the soil too in case they try to dig under your coop.
 

TikkiTembo

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Thank you, everyone! Calvin seems happy this morning, and came to bully the cat away from the cat food this morning like normal :hehe: We didn't lose any chickens last night, and there's no sign of any attempts to enter. @Hawk12237 had a brilliant idea...If the attack really did happen between 8 and 9am like we think it may have, it very well could have been a hawk. The coop has a roof, but the chickens can walk out into the run that isn't covered. From there, they can choose to stay in the run or free range over two acres. He said he's seen Hawks in his coop before, so a hawk very well could have landed in the run, and chased the hen into the coop where she was trapped. Then Calvin would have come running to try to save her. It would make sense as to why Steve the rooster was not hurt, he was probably free ranging with the other hens. I've never imagined a hawk attack could be so brutal, but I suppose anything is possible. It would make sense plucking wise, whatever killed her really plucked her like crazy.
Anyways, I guess that's the risk you run when you don't enclose them completely. We knew there would be plenty of Hawks around here, we will have to decide if we want to build a roof on the run. I will catch Calvin today and wash his wound, I may also pull those feathers, we'll see how brave I'm feeling.
I appreciate all of your support and advice, hopefully there is no more chicken drama for a while, poor things didn't lay a single egg yesterday, and I can't say I blame them!
 
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