HELP! Swollen Frostbitten Roo!!! *PICS!* Not eating/drinking!!!

[silkieluver_07]

Question: If Louie has fowl cholera, will this spread to my other birds? Should I treat them or something? I'm printing out the fowl cholera page that dlhunicorn posted to take to the vet.

 

[ThornyRidge]

I personally am leaning toward the frostbite/freezing relation to the large wattle.. I have a Silver Spangled Hamburg who has a similar condition after being in this freak arctic blast here in NE Ohio, it was down to -14 plus windchill for a couple days.. Prior to this cold my rooster was fine and had no illness.. Now he has a swollen wattle area with dark purple at the ends.. I know unfortunately from watching him drink that when he does his entire wattle area is submerged or at least partially in the water bowl, obviously this could not have been good when it was so darn cold.. my guys swelling is obviously bothersome as he constantly shakes his head ( believe it has something to do with the weight of the wattles) but he appears to be acting ok beside that.. he has no other symptoms ( eyes are clear, no drainage, no coughing, no sneezing,etc) His wattles are not hot either.. in fact more cool to the touch. I have rubbed some vaseline on him and moved him into a dog crate with extra bedding inside my goat barn where it is warmer. Outside of that I am offering him food/water,treats and monitoring closely.

 

[HorseFeathers]

Ouch! Poor guy!

 

[silkieluver_07]

Quote:
Louie wattles were always submerged in his drinking dish. Two days ago he was perfectly fine, then yesterday morning his wattles were all swollen. (The only difference between my bird and yours is that Louie's wattles are *warm to the touch*)If he had fowl cholera, wouldnt it have shown in the rest of my birds by now?

 

[Indiana hens]

Our rooster Handsome got frostbite on his comb and it sarted swelling and was cream in color. I hated the idea of decombing sounds very bloody. I was more concerned about Handsome. So when I was dehorning goats;GF held him an I grabbed his head and snip sizzle. I would never hesitate on the comb again. He never skipped a beat after. The next day he was picking on the younger roosters. I have not tried wattles and the swelling on yours would concern me, on the carterization.

 

[dlhunicorn]

As just one example, it can be tested for with this:
http://www.idexx.com/production/poultry/poultry9.jsp
(you might want to print this out for your vet or email it to him if you have already been and your vet is not familiar with poultry)

... a frostbitten roo will often not loose his appetite so quickly,,, there may also be frostbite issues at the same time (which may have weakened his system to such that the cholera is secondary to that? ) it is all just a guess but your bird looks a lot like the photo in the merck manual and other birds with this condition I have seen which is why I warned you of it (so you would keep him separate from the others)
good luck at the vet.

 

[silkieluver_07]

Quote:

I wish I would have seen this sooner. I will try emailing the link to her. The medical exam was $36.00 and she gave Louie a Baytril Injection which was $6.00. Then gave me a prescription for Baytril tablets that was $25.00. She said that he most likely has pastruella. The vet said that the injection might kill him overnight. She mentioned that if any of my other birds got sick, that I must notify the ag. extension right away to test my birds.

 

[ThornyRidge]

I would definately still lean toward the result of significant freezing/frostbite.. my roos wattles today are a tiny bit less swollen and are warm (not hot/inflamed) to touch. Someone mentioned too that swelling is accumulation of blood returning to injured tissue- I would think that if these wattles were severly frozen and damaged this swelling could be result.. as a result it would be painful and a chicken would not be interested in eating/drinking. I know in watching my guy he shakes his head around periodically- since he can't talk I can only presume it is from the swelling/weight/discomfort/numbing/tingling in that area. He however is still crowing and acting masculine with his dancing and enticing the hen I put in with him to keep him company. I gently massaged his wattles today as I was rubbing more vaseline on and he did not seem to be in distress. I am hoping for the best with my guy. And again I would definately lean toward some traumatic frostbite/frozen especially if there were no signs of illness such as with my flock. Everyone is healthy and happy until this extreme cold showed up. And yes unfortunately those large wattled birds submerge their entire wattle in water which is not good at all in cold weather.

 

[ThornyRidge]

I found this information on another poultry site and in a chicken health handbook I have.. both are similar in information:
Since cocks don't sleep with their heads tucked under a wing, as hens do, cocks are more likely than hens to have their combs and wattles frozen when temperatures dip during the night. Note the part where it says that after they "thaw they tend to turn red/and swell"

"Cocks with large combs are more likely than other to be frostbitten.

Frozen combs and wattles look pale.

If you discover the condition while the part is still frozen, apply a damp, warm cloth (105 F, 40.5 C) to the frozen part for 15 minutes or until it thaws

Do not rub.

After the part has thawed gently apply an antiseptic ointment such as Neosporin.

Isolate the bird and keep an eye on it to see that the comb heals properly

Frozen wattles and combs are more likely to be discovered after they have thawed and become red, hot, swollen, and painful.

The bird doesn't feel like moving and is listless, and loses interest in eating

If the part has already thawed, warming it is no longer necessary.

Gently coat the part with Neosporin and isolate the bird

After the swelling goes down, the skin may peel, the part may itch, and it may be sensitive to cold for a while.


It may turn scabby, develop pus, and eventually fall off. The suffering cock will continue to lose weight and may become infertile

If the comb or wattles were seriously frozen, instead of swelling they may remain cold, begin to shrivel, and eventually die back

Other chickens may peck at the affected part making things worse

If the comb or wattle turns black, the affected tissue has died and gangrene has set in - the comb or wattle is no longer receiving a blood supply and must be surgically removed

In the event that the frostbite has affected less than 50% of the area you can generally just apply a light coating of triple antibiotic and wing it from there.

Adding some all purpose vitamins to the drinking water can also help the area to recover a little quicker."

 

[silkieluver_07]

Quote:
That sounds almost exactly like him! The vet said that he was starving himself. I mixed some vitamins in his mash and he ate. We'll see what happens. We're thinking about puttin him in the garage where it isn't too hot or too cold with a brooder light on him.