Help with a chronically ill rooster

[MaeM]

Hi. I have a rescued rooster who is lovely, but I'm having trouble taking care of him.

The first time I took him to the vet, it was because he walked like he was drunk and couldn't really stand on his own feet. At some point, he laid down and closed his eyes, breathing heavily. I thought that was the end for him, but the vet saved him with antibiotics. Apparently, he had a respiratory infection that left him with low lung capacity in his left lung. As for the other symptoms..., the vet said it was an unspecified neurological condition.

He recovered, but not fully. He keeps walking weirdly, although he can live a normal life, except for the fact that he can't jump, and lately, he takes several naps during the day. Then, at night, he doesn't want to go to the coop and sleep with the rest of the flock - instead, he hides in his favorite bush. And he isn't crowing any more. I'd like to know what this behavior might indicate, but also...

He is underweight. Probably due to his condition, his immune system is weak and he used to have coccidiosis and other parasites. He has already received treatment for that, but I can't make him regain the weight he's lost. I feed him the most nutritionally complete commercial feed in my country's market, but what else can I try?

And of course, if someone knows what his condition may be and what else to do to improve his overall health, I'd be more than thankful for the information. So far, I could only take him to two vets in my area and only one is an avian specialist.

 

[Tookie]

@azygous @Wyorp Rock @Eggcessive

 

[ChickNanny13]

Since he was diagnosed with a Respiratory Infection; it's a chronic condition that antibiotics (Tylosin) manages & reoccurs with stress. It's very likely his lungs make it hard for him to be a Rooster, like a person with severe asthma or COPD. I'm surprised your Vet did not inform you that a URI is contagious ... They can live with the condition but at a "closed" flock.

It's possible he does have a neurological problem, you could try adding some Rooster Booster/Poultry Cell to his food ... When they're out in the wild, they don't always get all the vitamins they need that is in a commercial feed.

You can try feeding him feed or treats higher in protein; game bird feed, meal worms, scrambled or boiled egg yolk, tuna, etc ... I'd allow him his favorite bush, maybe figure out a way to shelter it and secure it. Unfortunately he maybe weakening, you can try as you have, keep him comfortable and I'm sure he knows & thankful you're there for him.

I'm just going from my experience, which is limited as apposed to the tag ^^^. They're alot more experienced than I.

 

[MaeM]

He does not seem to be struggling to breathe but he is inactive. Not lethargic, but inactive. He prefers to lay down near my door instead of foraging with other members of the flock (they all free roam). Luckily he does stand up and run to me if I go out with a treat.

The vet didn't tell me that the respiratory infection itself was chronic and didn't warn me about contagiousness as all the other members of the flock are fine. Basically he said that if it was contagious, then I'd have more than one sick bird.

But it makes sense that it reoccurs with stress (although he lives a peaceful life). Do you think I should give him another round of antibiotics?

 

[bhaugh]

Walking like he is drunk could be mereks or botulism poisoning. Neither is a take some meds and your all better. More like survive or die. Since it sound like he survived, then all you can do is let him be a chicken. I've had Uri in birds and none had the drunk syndrome which is a common complaint with the two diseases

 

[azygous]

Vitamin E might help his neurological condition. Gibe him one 400iu gel cap each day directly into his beak.

Try feeding him fish, tofu, and boiled egg to put some weight on him, but limit it to no more than three times a week until he's gained some weight, then stop it.

 

[Eggcessive]

It is always hard to guess what might be wrong with a chicken or rooster. I would try to get him eating nutritious foods, and try the vitamins as other have recommended. If you should lose him, you could have a necropsy done by your state vet which probably would get a diagnosis. Chickens with respiratory infections usually do not achieve their potential. Hopefully, he doesn’t have Mareks, and it is good that your other chickens have not shown symptoms of the respiratory infection.

 

[Myrshine]

I agree with getting a necropsy done on him so you can weed out possible causes. Most respiratory infections remain with the bird for life and will spread to non-infected birds. Common respiratory diseases such as Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG), Infectious Coryza and Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus (ILT), will remain with the infected bird, spreading it through droppings, respiratory secretions, feathers, dander and other bodily fluids (saliva, blood, etc). Most birds will appear healthy and not ever show symptoms of the disease, but will sadly be carriers of the disease. Just because 1 bird was sick and the others aren’t, doesn’t mean your flock is not carrying it also. The only way to know, would be to get a necropsy done or live testing. You can learn more about these diseases here —

• Mycoplasma Gallisepticum (MG) — https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oz-jemqYjmVj0wEUj4gAI5VQ6idPotUU/view?usp=sharing
• Infectious Coryza — https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cagk7N0YbFhryLwJu2bCM1vFFO8wUNdX/view?usp=sharing
• Infectious Laryngotracheitis Virus (ILT) — https://drive.google.com/file/d/1G6qX0s365lijlHj5UNH-gFd8Pp8s1ZUu/view?usp=sharing

I also suggest with your birds necropsy, to be tested for Marek’s Disease and Avian Leukosis Virus (ALV) as they have very close or similar symptoms to one another. I hope this helps!

 

[Banana01]

If birds get severe cocci when young, it can lead to a supposedly lifelong condition due to scarring of the digestive tract and cause complications, i read it the vetmd site for cocci i believe, not remembering the source at the moment. But all my supposedly chronic sick birds over time improve and gain weight with a nice balanced diet and healthy routine. If you dont get answers, just give him a good home and over time hopefully it will improve.

 

[MaeM]

I'm starting to think that he has MG. And I might have other birds infected. It's just that the symptoms are super subtle. For example, I have another rooster who often sneezes and I've seen him with watery eyes in the past. I never took him to the vet because I didn't think it was an important thing - he looks healthy otherwise, and he recovered on his own from the watery eyes overnight.

As for the rescued rooster, he recently had a slightly swollen eyelid (recovered on his own within a few days). And he looks kinda puffed up and depressed.

Let's not talk about necropsies yet - I intend to keep him alive, but I'd like to make him feel better. I think I'm going to give him another round of antibiotics (as well as vitamins)