Sometimes when the feet are frostbitten and turn black. The black part is dead, it will dry up and fall off. In the process sometimes it will cause an infect in a joint that has been recently injured. Check the joints for swelling and limps on the bone near/in the joints. If so it may require to be treated with a broad spectrum antibiotic. I have used 250mg pill X 3 days of ampicillin, or .250cc of injectable penicillin just under the skin under the wing, and follow with a second shot (other side) in two days. I am not a vet, but this is what I've done for a RIR Roo someone gave me. He was run over by their sons' big wheel-several times and developed infections involving the joints. He fully recovered after 5-6 days.

You can also give 1 asprin a day, push down throat with the eraser end of a pencil. His diet sounds fine to me, just go easy witht the corn.

We're talking 250mg of human ampicillin and 1 human aspirin, right? This cracks me up!

Giving it to him will be easy, crush and put in between his bread with olive oil, he'll eat that right out of my hand!

Thank you so much for your help.

Lee Ann

Good idea to crush the meds and put it in his goodies. With respect to fancifowl, pushing a pill down a chicken's throat is risky--someone might push it down the wrong hole and choke the bird to death. Chickens have a hole under their tongue that they breathe through, the hole in the back of the throat is where the food goes. :) And I'd think that the bird would struggle a LOT if you were trying to force a pill on him, which might injure him further in this case.

I have no idea if aspirin is safe for birds or what the dosage would be--any idea what breed he is? Is he a standard or a bantam? Is it adult or baby aspirin? I'd be very interested in finding out more details of the aspirin treatment, if you guys wouldn't mind posting it. :)

I'd say it's likely that the cold is causing him to feel his injury a bit, just it does with people. Things like pulled tendons can take weeks to heal properly, and can get reinjured if the birds jumps up onto or down from something and makes a hard landing. Keeping him warm and quiet, and reducing or eliminating things for him to jump onto, will go a long way towards healing him.

As for table scraps, there should be no 'garbage smell', just give him a few bites of goodies here and there--anything he doesn't clean up in 5 minutes, toss out. Don't give him chocolate (toxic for birds) or raw meat (can carry parasites), and most chickens don't dig onions. But other than that, if it's healthy for you, it's healthy for him. My flock LOVES table scraps. :) And yes, giving him a bit of extra protein can give his body more fuel to heal with. I've got a chicken info site here, it may help:

http://jackshenhouse.com/

Good for you for taking him in! At least you found out at the vet that he was relatively healthy, and that nothing was broken. :)

Velvet ~:>

I've poked more than a couple Asprin down a chicken, including small bantams. A little veg/olive oil does make it go better. I would not come here and tell someone to do that if it werent safe? I used to keep games and have plenty experience with poultry, not an expert but lots of hands on caring for high dollar chickens. I sure wouldnt try and kill a bird I valued in the hundreds $$$s.

What I never do tho is give meds, I have no experience there, that only weakens them in the long run. I breed for resistance and in a few years the birds just dont get sick, and theyb travel a few thousand miles a year.

If you have a rooster that likes to be petted you have a real gift. Mine is too dignified for that and skittish.

Is your barn floor cement? I think walking on cement is hard on chicken feet. If it is cement, you can just cover the floor with a few inches of whatever litter you are using. It will absorb the poop and keep his area clean and dry too.

Keep vaseline on his comb and wattles to help prevent frostbite, but not enough to make his feathers greasy - that would make him cold.

Poor little guy. Sounds like he has a great new home with you. Is he by himself?

Lee Ann, sure sounds like the rooster lucked out when you found him and gave him such a good home. I don't have any advice on meds or diagnosis but what you are feeding sounds good. I agree that my chickens love scraps but you don't want so many that he won't readily clean it all up. I keep a little bowl on my counter for this purpose and even the tiniest scrap off the plate goes in there. I don't think they are supposed to have raw potato skins but sometimes I nuke those if I have a lot, well, plus I have pigs so they have to share the scraps ;) Lori

I have a hard time deciding where the scraps go:

compost bin

chickens

or Goats

Hope your Roo is okay!

Why not let the critters have free range of the compost pile? They can harvest a good deal of protein from it and you still end up with the mineral and plant nutrients that make your garden grow, and they will not readily eat the parts that add to soil structure.

Update on Fletcher the rooster. His toes on his right foot have turned black. It has stopped right at the foot which is a bright yellow color. Some days he gets up but puts almost no weight on the foot on other days he just lays in the hay, When I feed him I pick him up bring him to his food dish, he gets his worms and water, poops (of course) and back he goes. During the day, when I am not home he will get to his dishes himself.

My big question is I know the comb will slowly come off (the black is nearly gone) but will his toes fall off?

I just really don't want to lose him, he is a gem. I have never owned a chicken or rooster, I have two geese. Unless we have a need to rescue more we won't intentionally go out and get more. Unfortunately, Fletcher is it for now.

Oh, yeah, he does love table scrapes, thank you all so much.
and Fletcher thanks you.
Lee Ann

Sometimes when the feet are frostbitten and turn black. The black part is dead, it will dry up and fall off.