Need some advice - Rooster w open mouth breathing while sitting/lying down

[Chicklalette]

Need some help here. I have a 5 yr old rooster. He is w 30 hens and 1 other rooster who is the dominant rooster. I have noticed over the past couple of months that Kenny - (the rooster I am concerned about) seems to be thin and weak. Brought him over to the house, thought I would give him an opportunity to build up his strength ( thought he was not getting enough to eat w other rooster). He seems good during the day, eating well however he does seem so sneeze often and at night when I have him in the kennel box and when he is lying down in the house, he has open mouth breathing. Any suggestions??? I have read that gape worm can be treated w Valbazine. 1/2 cc - but my question is how long to you treat for? And not sure this is what I am dealing with - help?

Oh and also when he is standing - there is no open mouth breathing. He is eating, drinking and seem alert, however I have noticed that he seems to sneeze a lot during the day.

My thoughts were to bring him over to the house to join 4 hens here, let him be the rooster here but I am concerned to put him w the other 4 hens.

The rest of the flock that he was with - 30+ hens and rooster are all in good health-no others are showing any kind of symptoms. I did not realize that he was in this kind of shape. There was nothing obvious until I brought him to the house to observe. It seems that he is struggling and I would appreciate any input or suggestions to help him and me out. I would like to keep him here at the house w the 4 hens - no competition and he would be the dominate male, but I don't want to bring anything in to my hens.

Please help and I welcome suggestions. Thank you!

 

[Eggcessive]

I doubt that he has gapeworm since he would be in a lot more distress all of the time, but it is easy enough to treat. Fenbendazole or SafeGuard can be given at 20 mg per kg (each 2.2 lb) for 3 consecutive days, or Levamisole can also be used in the water for 3 days. I can't find anything on Valbazen and gapeworm, although it is one of the best wormers on the market. Sneezing can be a result of dust in the feed or coop, or ammonia or mold. It can be a symptom of infectious bronchitis, but that is very contagious, and you would have seen others sneezing by now.

 

[cafarmgirl]

X2. If he has been with the flock up until now and has been showing these symptoms this long you would have seen other birds showing symptoms if this was a respiratory disease.

Has he or any of the birds ever been dewormed? If he is thin and weak he may just be carrying a crazy load of worms. That is certainly where I'd start. Of course it's certainly possible he has cancer or some other issue going on but start by ruling out parasites and go from there. Check closely for mites/lice as well.

 

[ten chicks]

Need some help here. I have a 5 yr old rooster. He is w 30 hens and 1 other rooster who is the dominant rooster. I have noticed over the past couple of months that Kenny - (the rooster I am concerned about) seems to be thin and weak. Brought him over to the house, thought I would give him an opportunity to build up his strength ( thought he was not getting enough to eat w other rooster). He seems good during the day, eating well however he does seem so sneeze often and at night when I have him in the kennel box and when he is lying down in the house, he has open mouth breathing. Any suggestions??? I have read that gape worm can be treated w Valbazine. 1/2 cc - but my question is how long to you treat for? And not sure this is what I am dealing with - help?

Oh and also when he is standing - there is no open mouth breathing. He is eating, drinking and seem alert, however I have noticed that he seems to sneeze a lot during the day.

My thoughts were to bring him over to the house to join 4 hens here, let him be the rooster here but I am concerned to put him w the other 4 hens.

The rest of the flock that he was with - 30+ hens and rooster are all in good health-no others are showing any kind of symptoms. I did not realize that he was in this kind of shape. There was nothing obvious until I brought him to the house to observe. It seems that he is struggling and I would appreciate any input or suggestions to help him and me out. I would like to keep him here at the house w the 4 hens - no competition and he would be the dominate male, but I don't want to bring anything in to my hens.

Please help and I welcome suggestions. Thank you!

Is he too warm in house? Is his sneezing just in your home? If yes,do you use any air fresheners or burn scented candles? Does he have a dark comb(tips)?

Has he ever been wormed?

 

[Chicklalette]

Thank you for your post. Kenny is this Rooster's name

1. Since he has been in the house - sneezing less.
2. Maybe you have experienced this also: when feeding them cracked corn - there is dust from the cracking. I have notice that times when the girls as well and the roosters will sneeze at times - I guess from the dust. Any way nothing that is out of the ordinary.
3. No candles etc
4. Dark tips - no

However he does have whiteish bumps on his comb and has for years.

When he is outside standing, I do not see any signs of slight open mouth breathing. It seem to be more so when he sits down.

5. Wormed? I think last year, but certainly not recently.

What I thought was happening was the other Rooster- whom by the way is the son of Kenny, has grown into the dominate male and does push Kenny around, chase his etc. My thinking was - enough of that- Kenny is a nervous wreck and can not get enough to eat and that is why he is so thin and nervous. Not until I brought him over to the house did I see the rest of the issues.

What my plans were was to incorporate Kenny into the flock of 4 girls I have here at the house. He would have his own flock, gain weight and build him up. NOW I am not sure what to do. I don't want to introduce anything to the 4 girls here and I am not sure he would survive long with the other 30.

Kenny was outside yesterday in a pen, he ate, pecked the ground etc. Standing tall - looking like a rooster. Though ok give him another day or so inside. I see no signs of running nose etc, just a little sneeze once in a while and when he lies down - open mouth breathing.

I have valbazine and antibiotics injectable.

Please let me know your thoughts - Thank you for your help and kindness. Kim