Nelda - You are very kind to try to help. The problem is, this is not a wound, per se. I believe now after thought that it is some kind of tumor growth, black and slippery. I have since found out that he is very elderly and was 'given' to some other people a week ago. He was very weak and near death. I can say candidly, the people who had this poor fellow are very, very poor and would not bother further, I am certain. In fact they would think it think it nuts to spend this kind of time and effort, whereas I would do it without question. The wife of the original couple I thought owned it came down and took him back home for her husband to assess when he gets home - as they have chickens and roosters and grew up with them. She had seen him a week ago and so knew his story. She agreed his future was dismal if returned to those folks and we both agreed euthanasia might be a kindness, however regrettable, because there is something really unhealthy going on with that tumor in an elderly bird. It would be a mercy for him to no longer have to suffer the misery of the flies bombarding him. The people who had this fellow would put him in a small cage with no attention - I just couldn't have that; it would be excruciating for this handsome fellow to go out that way. The poor guy was very weak from his days lost in the woods and no doubt the mild, gentle handling was even a strain, but he just laid in my arms in the towel and was then just lying looking very near death, and was becoming cool to the touch. This afternoon in the yard he was lying in a huddle looking very near death, as well. It was all just too much for him, it seems. I am very sad about this whole thing, but I can take a small solace that he will not long be suffering the flies and tumor complications, and will not linger painfully in a small cage with no relief. I spent some time stroking him and telling him he was a good boy and a fine fellow before putting him in the cage for her to take to her husband. So he had kind words and a caring touch at the end, more than many or most roosters, probably. (Can you tell I'm a vegetarian?) If her husband, more of an expert, feels optimistic about him, I'll post the resolution.

I removed my Bermuda about 5 years ago and converted to desert with minus granite (love that stuff). I scrapped about 2-4" of soil with a shovel and piled it all to make a raised area in the yard, and dug deeper in other area to add more interest than a flat yard. People say Bermuda has roots 14' deep and it grows back from the roots. It doesn't...it grows from rhizomes which are just under the soil surface. People also told me the pile of sod would sprout at the next rain, it didn't. Bermuda is tough but with a little thinking and work you can win. You have to remove the rhizomes. I saw a class advertised by a permaculture guy where they dug like 12" down and shift thru the soil with mesh to find all the rhizomes. That's crazy. I dig down a bit, 4-6", and remove whatever green/rhizomes/root I find. Shake out the dirt and toss the plant into the compost or trash. Next rain or after watering I check for new growth, and that's the great thing about Bermuda, it sends up a flag to tell you exactly where the rhizome is located. Dig that out. For my lawn I had maybe 10 or so spots that sprouted after the scraping. And after that a couple where the rhizome was deep, like 12" down, looked like where it hit edging and had gone deeper to get under it. In the pile of sod there were a few sprouts which I just turned over. If there's a big area I'd scrape the entire area and pile the dirt/sod next to the area. Now I have a high berm and a low spot and I tamp down the high spot, smooth it all and it looks natural. Wait for any new sprouts, you can water to see that, remove any survivors. Then later cover with minus granite. You can of course just use RoundUp on Bermuda. For a large area you really need a serious sprayer and the concentrate. Using the spray bottle is expensive and to me a real pain to use for a large area. Pre-emergent would not effect rhizomes, it stops seeds from germinating. But I don't know much about pre-emergent chemicals, I'm OK with weeding. I enjoy it, time to think. Most weeds don't have to be pulled. I use a shovel and push it into the soil a bit and back out so the surface granite isn't disturbed too much, that loosens the root enough, and/or cuts the tap root, that touching it with the shovel removes it. I leave them in place normally to dry up and disappear. There are a few weeds with thick roots the plant can grow back from. I dig a bit deeper to cut that and same deal, comes out easy. Some do come back, but not many. I don't try to get every weed. Faster I get to it after a rain the easier. Being so dry here works to weed killing advantage. With Bermuda and weeds the real trick is to stay after it...as you already know.

I ended up with some berry gatorade as they didnt have clear or watermelon gatorade. I think he drank his fill earlier though. He had fallen and when I put him on back on the flowers, he was just jumping from flower to flower nectaring and I dont know how much nectar they need. He didnt seem interested in the gatorade, but then, he doesnt seem interested in the flowers right now so maybe he got the nourishment he needs for the time being. Butterflutter, I dont have a spare wing. And I really dont think it is that easy to do. If I could, I would fix his wing because I feel very badly.

I found this discussion by accident and thought I'd mention something about this type of bird. I agree with the rehab center. Google farmers and vultures and see what pops up. They hunt by locating vulnerable animals. This may be a newborn calf, lamb, goat, feral kittens, nestling birds, fledglings, etc. The newborn animals get their eyes pecked out. The mother can't prevent it because they hunt in large groups. The newborn animal then gets pecked to death and flesh is ripped off it's body while still alive. It's never good to see something die a slow death but in this case, I agree with the rehab center. Let nature take it's course.