Sick Rooster Treatment - Resp infection?

[BYOChicken]

Hello,

I have a sick rooster and I'm not 100% sure on how to fully diagnose or treat, and would like any input on what I've done so far, and what I can instead do.

I'm not sure of the breed, but the rooster is 11.5 pounds and very large. This past Sunday (8/28) I came home from work and let all the chickens out of the run and was giving them some treats. I noticed he was not present, and when I went to look for him, I saw that he had came from outside the coop connected to their run, and was huddled off in some trees with wings out, beak open, and in obvious breathing distress.

I immediately diagnosed this as potential heat stroke problems, and put him in a bucket of cold water and sat with him for probably 10 - 15 minutes. At this time there was some slight gurgling in his breathing and it was heavy, his comb / waddles had gone from a bright red to a dark scarlet red, and frankly I thought he was going to die at any moment.

After about 20 minutes, he seemed to stabilize and I took him out of the water and inside where I gave him some electrolyte water from a syringe. After another hour, he was still somewhat shaky but I decided to allow him to roost with the others, and put a fan inside to ensure it helped him cool down more. The next morning, he was in much better condition, and by 10AM he seemed completely normal except the color in his beard / waddles was still off, which led me to believe a lack of oxygen was present. I went out about every hour, and hand fed them treats on several occasions which he took part in. About 4PM I came back out and he was doing the same thing as on Sunday, except he was huddled in their coop in the corner, wings out, breathing very labored.

I dunked him in water again, and now have had him inside since then. I will be getting tylon today to inject from tractor supply under the assumption this is a respitory infection. Last night I also put vetrx down his throat, under his wings, and rubbed into his comb / waddles. What i dont understand is he seems fairly ok, and I'll randomly go check on him and he's suddenly gurgling / breathing hard for periods of time. This morning hes crowing non-stop, but seemed to gurgle / shake his head after everytime he drank. He seemed to eat with no issue and all yesterday ate from his bowl / my hand without problem.

Would appreciate any advice / critique of how to improve my care for him.

Thank you,

-BYOChicken

 

[Eggcessive]

I would check his crop to make sure that it is emptying overnight. Gurgling can sometimes be from crop contents coming back up into the throat from sour crop. Do you see any bubbles or foam in his eyes, swelling of his eyelid or face, or nasal drainage?

Be sure to never dunk them in ice cold water, but tepid slightly cool water, so as not to cause a heart attack. Tylan 50 injectable can be given orally without the needle 0.25 ml per pound 3 times a day. Tylosin powder for the water could also be used, but has to be ordered from a place such as jedds.com.

 

[BYOChicken]

I would check his crop to make sure that it is emptying overnight. Gurgling can sometimes be from crop contents coming back up into the throat from sour crop. Do you see any bubbles or foam in his eyes, swelling of his eyelid or face, or nasal drainage?

Be sure to never dunk them in ice cold water, but tepid slightly cool water, so as not to cause a heart attack. Tylan 50 injectable can be given orally without the needle 0.25 ml per pound 3 times a day. Tylosin powder for the water could also be used, but has to be ordered from a place such as jedds.com.

Thanks for the response. I checked his crop this morning and it felt empty to me. He's also been very hungry - eating basically anything I offer to him / his feed in his dish. Water seems to be the gurgling trigger.

I see no bubbles / foaming, swelling, or nasal drainage. I also used a salt water mix last night to spray down his nose some in case he had a blockage there. Is giving Tylan orally better than injecting? I've been struggling to get liquids in his mouth without risk of aspiration.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is not necessary to give Tylan by injection in chickens which can damage the breast muscle, so most give it orally.

 

[BYOChicken]

It is not necessary to give Tylan by injection in chickens which can damage the breast muscle, so most give it orally.

I just gave his first dose of Tylan orally, and now hes breathing very bubbly afterwards and some small 'coughing'?. I don't think I could've caused him to aspirate - I followed precisely instructions I've seen with ensuring his throat is open / extended and syringe in far back right side of throat. He's done this each time I've tried to water him by mouth though as well.

 

[Eggcessive]

You can also drip the dose into his beak 1/2 ml at a time, letting him swallow each bit and repeat. Pull his wattles down give him some, release, let him swallow, and repeat. If he has mucus in his airway, that can make him sound more gurgly. Be sure not to press on his crop when you are holding him, since that can cause crop contents to come back up into his airway. If I have a chicken who I am sure will eat a small amount of scrambled eggs, I will mix the medication into it. Canned cat food works as well.

 

[BYOChicken]

Thank you for all your help / advice. I didn't even think about mucus potentially causing the noise, and assumed it had to be from aspiration. Is there anything I can do to remove the mucus or will the Tylan hopefully clear that up as he 'gets better' (hopefully)?

 

[Eggcessive]

The mucus should clear if he coughs it up and as the antibiotic works.