My EE roo is very lethargic!

[Kirsche09]

I went to the coop this morning to let everyone out and while the hens we're excited for the morning forage, my roo didn't. He slowly came out after a couple mins and then just layed on the ground. It's pretty chilly here this morning in NW WA, about 30 degrees F. We don't have any type of heating source in the coop, just orchard grass. As he was acting fine yesterday, I thought maybe he just got too cold? We brought him in the house and bundled him up with a blanket, but he hasn't moved or opened his eyes much. We rescued him less than 2 weeks ago and he hasn't shown any signs of anything being wrong until this morning. We already love this little snuggler sweetie and don't want to lose him! (Yes he has a terrible case of cross beak if that could have anything to do with it? We make sure to give him his own mash by himself but maybe he hasn't been getting enough??)

 

[Kirsche09]

We've got an appt with our vet for this afternoon so we'll see what we find out. Thanks everyone!

 

[casportpony]

Welcome to BYC! So sorry your rooster is sick. is there any chance you could get him in to see a vet? I say this because he looks very close to death in your picture and there are so many things that could be wrong.

 

[Kirsche09]

Buster is huge!! And sorry for your loss. Any ideas what he died from?

Not sure it just happened. It was just so sudden. He was fine last night when he went to bed but this morning he quickly dropped off. Started with him having trouble getting out of the coop and had absolutely no energy. He just got worse from there. Couldn't get him to open his eyes and finally he was completely limp in my arms.

 

[Cragg Klefor]

I'm out of my depth here, it seems extremely sudden for one to be so ill. I hope someone can help you out I imagine it could be serious, I hope I am wrong

 

[azygous]

Sudden illness such as this can often come from exposure to bacteria and mold. Where has this rooster been foraging? Has he been free-ranging near a compost pile where spoiled food has been tossed? Have you checked the feed for spoilage? It would have a very unpleasant odor.

 

[Kirsche09]

Sudden illness such as this can often come from exposure to bacteria and mold. Where has this rooster been foraging? Has he been free-ranging near a compost pile where spoiled food has been tossed? Have you checked the feed for spoilage? It would have a very unpleasant odor.

He's just been foraging around our yard; nothing he could've gotten into. Our feed is all new also. I did read a post about possible mold and mildew from the coop, between all the poop and dander and such, but we cleaned our coop just the other day and put a bunch of new orchard grass down hoping to keep them warm. We only have 2 hens and him as far as chickens go, but they all sleep together.

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks! We're thinking about just taking him in. We got him from a guy for free, we assumed because of his beak. We're fairly new to having chickens; we came home after vacation a few months ago and found a neighbor's hen had adopted us lol.
I did just read about possible frost bite? His comb has a couple small black dots?

Whatever is wrong with this guy, it isn't frostbite. If you are willing and your vet will see him, I'd get him in ASAP.

 

[casportpony]

We've got an appt with our vet for this afternoon so we'll see what we find out. Thanks everyone!

Oh good, so glad you're able to get him in. Hope all goes well and they can come up with a plan. If they mention tube feeding, do ask them to teach that because that s something that you can do yourself.

 

[azygous]

I'm so sorry. It's very painful to lose a pet you've grown to love and cherish.

My hunch is Buster was hatched with genetic defects, his cross beak being only a single outward sign. He may have had internal defects such as a heart problem or other organic defects that just happened to get to be too much for his body to deal with.

His stunning good looks were certainly not part of his set of defects.