15 month old Delaware rooster has lost is tongue. How? What? Trouble breathing. Emergency

[LTAY1946]

I heard him try to crow this morning but no way to catch him until he got on the roost in his coop tonight. I checked his throat for smell and it stinks. That is when I saw that he has no tongue. Is there any hope of him surviving? This is a first time for this for me. I hate to lose him for both his sake and mine. He is a free ranging pet that helps me do the feed transfer from the bin to the hanging feeders. He gets up on the bin and supervises me.

 

[LTAY1946]

Does it look like his tongue was ripped completely out? Is it bloody? Chickens need their tongue to help push food to the back of their throat to swallow as far as I can recall...

There is no sign of a tongue at all. He is eating scrambled egg made with milk. Not a lot fast but is eating. He is in a warm room. I don't think he would have survived a cold night with his empty crop. I was trying to get him over to the feed bin last night when I tripped and fell in the coop. He had an empty crop so he may had already lost his tongue. I thought I could see blood around his beak but in the poor light I was not sure. I can't see any part of a tongue attached in his throat.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am sorry about your rooster. Do you have others where his tongue may have been pecked or injured? Is there any way to take a picture of inside his open beak with a light if someone helped you? I would offer him watery chicken feed, soft scrambled watery egg, and keep his water very clean. Perhaps he will fight this off and learn to eat without his tongue. An antibiotic in a small amount of food might help chances of fighting infection, or you could just treat without that. Amoxicillin (or Aqua Mox found online) for fish would be a good one. 250mg capsule twice a day would be the dose to aim for. Here is a link if you want to try that:
https://www.allivet.com/product/aqua-mox-amoxicillin/52208.html

 

[LTAY1946]

Yesterday afternoon I did see him eat a dozen or so pieces of scratch. When I brought him in we fixed scrambled egg with milk for him then. It was cooked well done instead of watery though. This morning it will be watery. We will be getting a 100 day supply for the fish tank that he can share.

 

[Eggcessive]

You say that his beak smells bad. The lower inside looks yellowish white. I wonder if he could have canker (trichomoniasis,) a protozoan infection that can affect the beak throat and crop. It smells bad, and is a disease that is carried by pigeons. Metronidazole or Aqua Zole is a drug that treats canker. Her is some reading about canker to see if you think that it what he might have instead of an injured tongue:
https://poultrydvm.com/condition/canker

 

[LTAY1946]

I have to go to bed now. Will be checking in first thing in the morning. Thanks for the replies everyone.

 

[LTAY1946]

I can see his nose is clogged up. That's why he is breathing with his head raised up high. I got his tongue to finally come up where it could be seen. He pulls it way down into his throat almost immediately. He only shows his tongue when his wattles are pulled way down. Meds are on order. 3 day delivery time. I did get two tablespoons of scrambled egg in him this morning. While I have you here @Eggcessive I have one or two hens in the same flock as this roo that are getting cloudy eyes. Usually just on one side. Is there a human type eye drop over the counter for that? Thank you for all the help.

 

[LTAY1946]

I just went to check on my beloved boy and he was standing up and eating and his comb is has changed from a dark purple to a bright red again. Still not crowing but is not struggling to breath and is not wheezing. On top of everything I'm happy to see chicken poop in his kennel. Finally. I've never been so happy to see chicken poop in my life. Now I am not sure what to do with the meds I have coming. I know not to give one or two antibiotic meds and just stop because of the damage that can cause with creating a resistant strain of bacteria. I'm at least holding him indoors in the warm room and keep a close watch on him. He is drinking in a strange way. He is not lifting his head as high as normal after getting a beak full of water. I think that maybe because of the damage done to his tongue. He must have tried to eat a sharp woody type leaf from a scrub oak that they like to hide in during the day. That is just a guess. He's eating scrambled eggs and starter grower mixed together.

 

[LTAY1946]

He's back on his roost surrounded by some lovely girls now.

 

[LTAY1946]

Did not find a single cloudy eye hen this morning. I guess that is good in a way. The big boy is eating a little scrambled egg on his own and drinking on his on the morning. He's still wheezing. Hoping still his meds arrive on time. Until then he is kept warm with food and drink and some B complex. If anyone sees anything I can do better under the circumstances please let me know here. He seems to be keeping his tongue up where it can be seen more also. He seems to have given up on trying to crow. Not enough wind in him for that still.