NEED HELP......ASAP (sick rooster, not mine) UPDATE as of 5/24

Barnyard

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12 Years
Aug 5, 2007
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Southwest Georgia
I have a friend that has a rooster that is very sick... I payed her a visit the other day and my dd loves to see the chickens. So off we go to look at the chickens. As soon as I saw this roo I knew that something was wrong......he was just standing there with his eye's shut, moving his head slowely from side to side. She said that he was just sleeping. So me being the animal person that I am new better...... I told her that they don't sleep during the day, not like that anyway. So I decided to check this fellow out. I go in the pen and he don't even open his eye's, nor does he move. I wasn't gonna take any chances of him "getting" me, so I take the end of a fishing pole and nudge him just a little, nothing. So I nudge him again and he did manage to walk a little way's but very slowely. He only opened one of his eye's. He has some major runny poo, I didn't notice any blood at that time. His comb and wattles were still bright red. (keep in mind that was Monday). I told her that he was sick and he needed some medicine, and should be kept away from the hens and everyone else (3 hens in the pen with him). She really does not know her a** from a hole in the ground. Anybody got any ideas what this could be and what I should do to help.......



Edited to say: she is not a very hands on person so, I know the roo is gonna die if I don't help.
 
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Does she have any idea if he got into anything?
Are the hens acting odd yet?
Are there mice or rats around?
Can you post his pic?

Iwould seperate him and try a few days of Tetracycline. Maybe like 5-7 days to start.
 
I am pretty sure he hasn't got into anything. She keeps him and the hens together in 1 pen. They do not free range at all. The hens are acting fine so far. 2 of them are broody. As far as rat's go, I am sure there are rat's because she lives right in front of a field that has been plowed and replanted.
I talked to her this morning and she said that she got some teremicicn(sp)
from the feed store, and that she had already cleaned the waterers and put it in there. She also said that she didn't know if he was eating or drinking, and I told her she may have to feed him by hand and she said that "You can come and do that, I am not". She really does not need these birds, JMHO.

She also said that hre dh had already removed him from that pen and he is by himself.......
 
Well I am glad he is seperate. Maybe she should totally clean out the pen. If there is any contamination like rat feces then it needs to be removed as it will make her hens sick as well.

Sounds like you may need to go back over and make sure that the Roo is getting the Terramycin in his water and that he is drinking it as well.
 
I plain on going over there this afternoon to check things out again. I already know that I am gonna have to give him his med's. Maybe while I am doing that I can clean up a bit!! The cages are nasty, I will say that much so who know's what is wrong with him...... Thanks for your help so far
hugs.gif
 
If there has been rat or mices feces left in the cages and he ate them he could have Salmonella. Make sure she does the Terramycin for at least 10 days.
 
Well I went to check on things and this is what I found........ The rooster still is not doing good. It is almost like he is drunk...... He staggers around and just moves his head back and fouth. I took it upon myself to wrap him in a towel and get him out and give him the water with a syring. I then checked him over....... he has mites and lice really, really bad. You could see them crawling all over the place. I don't think he has been eating much either he is super thin. Another thing I noticed is that he will only open one eye. I checked both of them 1 looks normal and 1 was just a little cloudy, so now I am wondering if he is blind in that eye..... I didn't try to dust him because he is super week I didn't want to make matter's worse. I told her to do that in a couple of day's. I put him back up and he walked around a little bit and then went to the water bowl, kinda layed down by it and went to drinking, so that is a good sign. I am really worried about him, but I know that he can not come to my house with my birds...........
 

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