Help! Sick Rooster with purple comb.

[Zookeeper9000]

I am not sure but maybe Diana will be on to help you. I think her name on here is dunicorn or something close if you find her you could pm her. Sure wish I could help sorry

 

[mypicklebird]

Purple comb just means he has poor circulation, it is not a diagnosis, it is a symptom some severe disease process. Yellow fluid from his mouth could be from his crop (food mixed with water/saliva) or from his lungs/air sacs. That with lying there- the bird is likely dying. If the other birds are totally normal, he may be the first to succumb, or he may have something not contagious.

If he had lost noticeable weight a few days ago, he likely has not been meeting his calorie needs for a week or longer- doesn't fit as well with an acute respiratory problem like avian flu (incidentally regular old avian flu is around, but the 'bad' asian avian flu that can jump to people is not here yet). If you have many ill birds with severe symptoms and mortality- it would be worth it to send one to the state lab, most states if you get them the bird will do a necropsy for free and tell you what pathogens you have in your flock.

If everyone else seems fine and stays that way for the next two weeks, they probably are fine.

With a single very sick bird and a bunch of healthy ones, it is much more likely he has/had a non contagious problem like a wound you did not know about, ate some toxin/poison, or even had some genetic problem that caused something internal to fail at an early age.

Antibiotics won't help him if it is viral or ate something toxic, but they might if he has a bacterial infection or hidden wound.
Hope he is not as sick as he sounds, Jess

 

[silkiechicken]

Sounds like his main problem is with his respiratory problem. Purple comb means his blood flow is compromised for some reason such as cold comb, heart failure, liver failure (liver creates albumen which maintains blood volume), and so on. Yellow from the mouth, is his crop impacted by any chance (does his crop feel empty in the morning or after 12 hours of food withheld)? Is it ooze or is it something he threw up? Is his voice raspy? What about his fecal matter? Describe that and it's consistency. If he's loosing weight, he could have cocci (not a bacteria) and/or worms. Both those things destroy the lining of the gut and prevent absorption of nutrients from food.

First line of measure is isolate him away from the rest. Birds can get flus... but the AI that the world is paranoid about is of the H5N1 variety, which has not been found in the US. I am also not a fan of giving broad spectrum antibiotics, but if it really is an infection, a full course of antibioitcs and don't stop short and do know that if the same infection comes back or a new one shows up, the antibiotic you have on hand my no longer work.

 

[dlhunicorn]

In addition to the excellent advice by the last two posters I can only add my vote to the advice to separate this bird immediately... never take chances with illness. Not only that but separating ensures the others do not bully him away from feed and water (and you must ensure he has easy access to both but especially water as ill birds will stop drinking and dehydration occurs very easily and that will kill them quicker than what ails them)

 

[nnbreeder]

If the bird does not survive I would get in touch with the NY State Ag. Dept and talk to them about getting a necropsy done. That way you have a positive cause and can take immediate action to save the flock if needed. To prepare him just seal in a big bag and refrigerate and not freeze the bird until it can be picked up.

 

[chickiemomma]

Unfortunately we found our rooster dead this morning. Thank you all so much for your quick responses and support. We had put him in a separate pen several weeks ago because he was extremely aggressive. He was actually a very mean rooster and hated kids but I still didn't want it to end like this. The other chickens all seem fine as of this morning.

 

[FisherMOM]

Sorry about your rooster... even if he was mean.