My new Rooster seems depressed, what should i do

[Omgbelenz]

So I bought a rooster less than a week ago from a local feed store. He seems to be a Penedesenca rooster and he’s spurs aren’t fully grown yet so I am guessing he’s about 6-8 months old. While we were watching him at the feed store, he seemed healthy and active. I brought him over to my flock of 11 two month old hens. These last few days, I’ve noticed that he doesn’t seem happy. He moves really slow, when i let my flock free range for an hour as I supervise, he doesn’t want to get out of the coop and I have to get him out. He feels a lot lighter than my other rooster who is about the same age (different flock I have in a different cage). He has a poopy bottom although I am not sure if he has diarrhea. He also is breathing quite deeply and salivating a lot. He does eat food and drink water but very slowly. There is no sign of injury and to be completely honest, i have no clue on what to do. Please help, I’m extremely worried and feel a bit helpless.

 

[sylviethecochin]

Welcome to BYC.

It sounds like he's very sick. Since your flock has already been exposed to him, they may contract the sickness as well.

Can you give us pictures of the cockerel in question? Especially of his face and vent area, and also of his poop and stance?

@casportpony, @Wyorp Rock @rebrascora @azygous may have better answers than I do, but from your description, I suspect a respiratory infection. Your area is unlisted. If you live in Canada or the UK, you may have to get a vet prescription to use antibiotic medication.

 

[Ms Clucky]

No one beating him up?

 

[Omgbelenz]

Sorry it took me a while to get him out of the coop. I uploaded pics of both his eyes, a full body one, and his poppy vent.

 

[Omgbelenz]

No one beating him up?

No one is beating him up, my young hens have respected him from day 1.

 

[Omgbelenz]

Oh and I live in South Georgia. The weather has been temperamental but nothing lower than 40s

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He also is breathing quite deeply and salivating a lot.

He moves really slow, when i let my flock free range for an hour as I supervise, he doesn’t want to get out of the coop and I have to get him out

He does eat food and drink water but very slowly.

Can you get some better pictures of his eyes - both of them?

Look inside his beak for any canker or lesions.
What's the crop like - empty in the morning?
Does he seem like he can see well? You mention that he eats slowly, does it seem like he is having to concentrate to find the food/water, do you notice if he has a hard time picking up pieces of food?

 

[azygous]

Did you ask at the feed store what his background is - where he was hatched and raised and immunization record?

Have you checked his crop? Full, empty, lumpy, spongy?

Have you inspected him for parasites - lice , mites, or leg mites?

Does he have rattly sounds when he breathes?

As @Wyorp Rock suggests, please get a good look inside his mouth. It should be pink and smooth, not full of plaque or what looks like un=swallowed food.

 

[Omgbelenz]

Ok so I finally got to him again and I looked inside his mouth and it’s pretty smooth and pink. I saw nothing that looked bad in there. After i took pics of his eyes again, i noticed that he más mucus coming out of his nose. All the feed store said was that they got their chickens from auctions, nothing about immunizations. As for breathing sounds, i don’t hear anything. Sometimes he does this small weird sound that makes me think he is cleaning his throat. I have inspect him for lice or anything of the sort and nothing that i can see. His crop feels empty, is that how it’s supposed to feel?

 

[azygous]

Your location and general climate would be helpful to us and might give us important clues.

If his crop is empty and you can feel his chest wall, this would be normal first thing in the morning after he's been asleep all night. It would be well to check it in the morning so we'll know he hasn't got a crop disorder. It's always good to rule out the simple things.

Do you have a vet where you could take a stool sample from him to be tested? A simple inexpensive fecal float test can tell us if he needs worming and what kind of worms they are. It will also show if he has a high count of coccidia oocysts. That would be the next in the line of simple to the complex to rule out.

From there, we would likely assume he has a bacterial infection and might think about starting him on an antibiotic. It's possible he caught something from the other poultry at the auction. Many chicken diseases are spread on the air currents via dust and dander.