Help! Rooster - Thick mucus in mouth, twisted neck, dropped wings

[speckledhen]

If it is Newcastle, antibiotics do nothing. It's a virus and no virus responds to antibiotics. With those symptoms, I'm afraid I'd euthanize the poor boy. I believe that there are two forms of Newcastle. Exotic Newcastle is a nasty contagion and must be reported to the state here. I don't know what is wrong with him, of course, but what did the tests tell the vet? Did he say or just give meds?

 

[ivyyoon]

Thank you everybody for all your help. He died yesterday. We held him a lot and cried while he was still breathing and stroked his beautiful feathers. This was my first rooster and I feel terrible, I feel so guilty about my inexperience in keeping chickens...Anyway, one of the hens is not looking good either although they were separated when he showed sick symptoms. She is sitting all day eyes closed, eyelid looks bluish grey, not eating or drinking. At first I thought she was just depressed, but after he died she hasn't moved. I think she will die too....Then I will only have my one hen (the white on on pic) left. She seems fine, eating, drinking, busy...I'm so scared that I will lose them all...What could it be? What am I doing wrong???

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

I do not think you have done anything wrong.


I believe your birds were already sick before you got them. Chickens do not get colds like humans, but there are many viruses out there that "act" like colds in chickens. Generally once they have caught this virus (or a resp. virus) - if they get better, they still carry the virus in their bodies. This virus waits for the trigger of stress, and once that trigger is pulled - the bird gets sick again.

Birds can have this virus hiding in their bodies for a long time - they may never show they are sick (like your white bird so far) but they still have the virus - which means they can give it to new birds who are not sick.

If they were mine - and I was NOT going to get more birds - I would nurse the sick one and see if she will recover. I would bring her into the house or garage, somewhere warm so she does not have to work to heat her body and give her lots of high protein feed - scrambled eggs, tuna or salmon, baby parrot formula and Poly-vi-sol (non iron formula) infant vitamins - two or three drops a day dribbled in her food or on her beak.

If they were mine - and I DID want more birds................

Personally for me I would either wait until they both passed or (and I do not mean to hurt your feelings) but I would put them down. Clean the coop/run really well and then wait a bit before getting more.

I am so sorry

 

[inbarajan6004]

Really very good to hear...U are complacent which shows your greatness
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[krazychick28]

 

[snicols]

I hate to sound fatalistic, but whenever I have had chickens expressing those symptoms, they have passed away. I have only been raising chickens for a year and a half, but I have taken many rescues and am studying veterinary medicine. I don't know too much more about chickens than what I have learned from directly interacting with my chickens, but I have seen this quite a lot, especially with the sick chickens I have taken on. I have even had the twisty-necked ones that will eat, but they still pass within a day or three. One took about a week.

I certainly hope someone on here is able to help you and has more experience than I do! However, if no one gets to you, just make sure you sit with him and love him. I have only had three chickens pass away when I wasn't with them - they seem to find it more comfortable when their person is near, especially if their person spends as much time with them as it sounds like you do. I had one chicken who passed recently who has been very sick for a long time, and I was never able to figure out what was wrong - and even when taking him to vets, the vets would say "He looks normal, maybe it's just his personality." He would get sick whenever I wasn't spending one-on-one time with him. He never had a twisty neck, though, so I don't know what to say other than to make sure you spend time with your boy and make sure he knows he's loved.

If he begins gaping, as if gasping for air, that is called "post-mortem breathing". There is nothing that can be done at that point but to keep him comfortable. Most of the animals I have been with while dying have only done that "breathing" for about thirty seconds - but I had one hold out for about an hour. They will go entirely limp when they're gone - but they are not gone before this point, so keep talking. I usually wrap mine in a towel, because their bodies will begin to have difficulty maintaining temperature, then I lie on my back and place them on my chest, and hold them, pet them, and talk to them until they're gone. Then I weep for them - every single one. Just know that you loved him, and he certainly knew that.

That’s so beautiful and full of love. You made me cry. Your birds are lucky to be with you.