A broken neck is a very serious injury whether this break happens in humans or in roosters.
If a rooster’s broken neck is not addressed, then this can lead to paralysis or even the death of the bird. This article looks into everything you need to know if your rooster has a broken neck
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Rooster with a broken neck:
Roosters may be the head of the flock but this doesn’t mean that these birds can’t become injured, these birds can suffer a broken neck just as any other flock member can. Here is what you need to know about it:
How to tell if a rooster’s neck is broken:
If your bird actually did break its neck then it would have died instantly, the bird may have rather severely injured its neck.
If you find your bird laying on his back or his bottom, if his head is flipped back, if he is limp, unable to lift his neck, and his eyes are closed then your bird’s neck may be severely injured
If your bird’s head is looking upwards, but your bird was not injured by something, then the bird may have wry neck.
Wry neck is a condition caused by a fungal infection or a lack of vitamin E in the bird’s diet, but it does not mean that the bird’s neck is broken or injured.
Can a rooster survive with a broken neck?
A broken neck is a very serious injury and the bird would have died instantly if the bird did in fact break his neck. So no, a rooster can’t survive with a broken neck.
How to fix a roosters neck:
Collar the neck:
You’d need to first get the bird’s neck stabilized, this will keep his injury from getting worse.
You can use a toilet paper roll to make a c-spine collar for the bird’s neck, cushion the inside of the roll with something soft that won’t come apart, you can use a pantiliner.
Tape the collar to your bird’s neck keeping the neck upright. This will help it heal in place
Hydrate the bird:
Giving the bird hydration is also very important for healing. Your bird may not be able to drink on its own so you’d need to give the bird water using a syringe, a spoon, or a dropper.
Giving the bird electrolytes will also hydrate him and will help with the shock of the injury.
Feeding the bird:
You’d need to feed, likely syringe feed, the bird nutritionally rich food that can easily be eaten and digested. Mix up some collagen powder, chicken feed, and water, and feed this to him.
Other easy-to-digest and easy-to-eat foods that you can feed the rooster include mashed fruit, boiled and mashed up eggs, minced vegetables, (very liquified with water), plain yogurt, and fermented feed.
Isolate the bird:
If left in the coop the other birds will likely peck at your rooster and this can be very bad for your injured bird. Pecking at the injured neck can kill the bird.
Keep the injured bird isolated in a dog crate, cat carrier, cage or a regular cage. Pad the bottom of the enclosure using something soft but use something that won’t catch the bird’s claws, change this padding after the bird poops.
Make sure that this enclosure is kept in a warm dimly lit room or keep an infrared bulb on in the enclosure.
Vet visit:
If you’d rather your vet treat your bird’s neck injury, then taking your bird to the vet to be examined and treated is also a viable option.
Taking the bird to the vet has the added advantage of having the bird’s neck x rayed to see what’s really going on inside.
Pain medication:
You may want to offer your bird some pain medication but this may trick the bird into thinking that it isn’t in pain anymore and that it can use its neck freely. This may result in permanent damage to the neck so it is not recommended.
Give him time:
Continue with the above but give your bird enough time to heal in its enclosure. The bird should go back to acting like its regular self as it gets better.
The bird’s neck may take weeks to heal and the bird will depend on you for a lot while it’s healing.
You can reintroduce him back into the coop with the others once he is healed up
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other chicken related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Chicken Shaking Head And Stretching Neck, Rooster Having Seizures, Crowless Rooster, Rooster Stopped Crowing And Mating, Chicken Seizure
