Here's the information I have on his condition/behavior:
1) Approximately 8 month old. Extremely nice Australorp Cockerel. :-(....
2) Sunday he seemed fine. He was in beautiful condition.
3) Monday he was sitting on the roosting bar in his pen...not standing...head up most of the time. Not responsive to treats or scratch, which is very unusual.
4) We moved him to a pen to isolate him.
5) He sat most of the day yesterday, but he did move a couple of times and drank about 6 oz. water which contained electrolytes and vitamins.
6) He didn't eat at all that we could tell, but we gave him two doses of Nutridrench.
7) Poop is runny, but we don't see any blood or worms at this point.
8) Last night we gave a dose of Liqumycin, mainly because we couldn't think of anything else to do.
9) This morning he is even more listless...completely drooped...not twisted in any way...just sagging straight down more or less. Laying on the ground.
10) He didn't drink through the night, so we gave him some water mixed with nutridrench by mouth this morning. It was approximately 10 or 15cc.
11) We noticed that his mouth had some mucous in it this morning.
12) His breathing has been labored since Monday night, and sounds a bit like mucous is rattling around in his windpipe.
13) Eyes are a bit watery, but clear. He's keeping them closed most of the time but opens them when held.
14) Comb and wattles are still bright red as usual.
15) Not sure, but I think he might have shuddered a bit while I was holding him this morning.
We wondered if it might be botulism? Any thoughts would be welcomed! He's such a beautiful bird and we'd be very sad to lose him. Thanks!
1) Approximately 8 month old. Extremely nice Australorp Cockerel. :-(....
2) Sunday he seemed fine. He was in beautiful condition.
3) Monday he was sitting on the roosting bar in his pen...not standing...head up most of the time. Not responsive to treats or scratch, which is very unusual.
4) We moved him to a pen to isolate him.
5) He sat most of the day yesterday, but he did move a couple of times and drank about 6 oz. water which contained electrolytes and vitamins.
6) He didn't eat at all that we could tell, but we gave him two doses of Nutridrench.
7) Poop is runny, but we don't see any blood or worms at this point.
8) Last night we gave a dose of Liqumycin, mainly because we couldn't think of anything else to do.
9) This morning he is even more listless...completely drooped...not twisted in any way...just sagging straight down more or less. Laying on the ground.
10) He didn't drink through the night, so we gave him some water mixed with nutridrench by mouth this morning. It was approximately 10 or 15cc.
11) We noticed that his mouth had some mucous in it this morning.
12) His breathing has been labored since Monday night, and sounds a bit like mucous is rattling around in his windpipe.
13) Eyes are a bit watery, but clear. He's keeping them closed most of the time but opens them when held.
14) Comb and wattles are still bright red as usual.
15) Not sure, but I think he might have shuddered a bit while I was holding him this morning.
We wondered if it might be botulism? Any thoughts would be welcomed! He's such a beautiful bird and we'd be very sad to lose him. Thanks!
The only good thing is that he expired prior to taking him to a vet. We suspect botulism as a possibility, but took him to the state avian biologist for an autopsy to confirm. We're very sad to have lost this bird. He was a fantastic and beautiful bird that my daughter was excited to take to some shows.
