Ninja`s return Help needed

[Mr H]

Hi everyone five and a half years ago I joined here to try and save a small black chick I found on the side of the road, with help from you all I found it had Gag worm and an infection, you recommended the treatment and I managed to save it, He grew to be a Pekin Bantam cockerel and became an indoor member of the family, I called him Ninja.
Having had a lovely problem free five and half years Ninja is unwell at the moment and yet again my local vets know nothing about chickens accept to guess.
If I describe symptoms can anyone help me ?
He is eating but not much, it is passing through but small dryish poo`s, his red wattle and crown are quite pale compared with normal and breathing is heavy and strained, he stopped crowing 4 days ago and all this has come on gradualy perhaps over a period of 7 days.
He has never had parasite treatment because he rarely leaves the house (he can but chooses to go in garden only in summer)
Any help appreciated to try and save him because I fear the worse regards Steve

 

[Eggcessive]

At his age he is approaching older age for a rooster. Living inside might also expose him to a dry environment that might dry out his airway, or expose his to allergans. You say he had gapeworms when you found him. I would get a fecal test done by a vet to test for those and other worms. It could have been a chronic respiratory disease that might have been dormant, and has now become active.

Check his crop in the early morning when it should be empty, and tell us if it is empty, full, hard, doughy or puffy. Hard droppings might be from not drinking enough, or a crop or gizzard disorder. You can offer some chilled coconut oil 1 tsp that has been chopped into slivers to help soften his droppings. Do you feed him a balanced chicken feed, and offer him grit to take to help his digestion?

Look inside his beak and throat for any growths or yellow patches that might block his airway. Try giving him a good poultry vitamin for awhile to see if it helps.

 

[Mr H]

At his age he is approaching older age for a rooster. Living inside might also expose him to a dry environment that might dry out his airway, or expose his to allergans. You say he had gapeworms when you found him. I would get a fecal test done by a vet to test for those and other worms. It could have been a chronic respiratory disease that might have been dormant, and has now become active.

Check his crop in the early morning when it should be empty, and tell us if it is empty, full, hard, doughy or puffy. Hard droppings might be from not drinking enough, or a crop or gizzard disorder. You can offer some chilled coconut oil 1 tsp that has been chopped into slivers to help soften his droppings. Do you feed him a balanced chicken feed, and offer him grit to take to help his digestion?

Look inside his beak and throat for any growths or yellow patches that might block his airway. Try giving him a good poultry vitamin for awhile to see if it helps.

Thank you for the reply
We had been trying to think of anything in the last couple of weeks that may have contributed;
Central heating season started?
Our garden was flooded for weeks perhaps bringing in toxins and parasite eggs?
Damage from his Gag worm experience when young haunting him as a senior chap?

His crop is empty this morning and he had seven poos in the night (albeit small ones) he then had three of the gooey type this morning that he has once a day normaly.
We have now found a vet who understands chicken matters some distance from us but will be over there this afternoon.
Thank you again, I love this little fella and it would be awful to lose him if we could have done something not to Steve

 

[Eggcessive]

Let us know if the vet has some thoughts. If you can offer some watery chicken feed, and some treats of cooked egg or canned tuna, those are usually tempting.

 

[Mr H]

Let us know if the vet has some thoughts. If you can offer some watery chicken feed, and some treats of cooked egg or canned tuna, those are usually tempting.

Thank you Eggcessive I am afraid the news is not good, the vet wanted to do a bank of tests inc throat probe and Xray but thinks that Ninja was too weak to withstand the stress, she has warned us that he may not make it through the night but we have started a regime of antibiotics and anti inflammatories in the hope that he can rally and it may be possible to do those tests.
It seems that his airways and air sacks sound like they are full of fluid and the vets suspects the cause to be liver failure, his age does not help at this point.
We have been getting him to eat wet pellets, chopped grapes and boiled egg yolks and will try him on Tuna too, anything dry seems to be too uncomfortable for him at moment and although its quite a selection he has not eaten much volume but I feel that whilst something is going in and coming out he could find the strength.

 

[sourland]

Good luck. I hope that he rallies.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds like your rooster is in grave condition. Air sacculitis and liver disease is either one very serious. I do hope he rallies, so that you don’t lose him for some time. Glad that you could see the vet. Let us know how he gets along.

 

[Mr H]

It sounds like your rooster is in grave condition. Air sacculitis and liver disease is either one very serious. I do hope he rallies, so that you don’t lose him for some time. Glad that you could see the vet. Let us know how he gets along.

Quick report on progress, Ninja is still with us and although he is eating very little his colour keeps coming back and then leaving him again so he is fighting hard, just grapes and sweetcorn going down at the moment but he is up and about, wandering around the house before settling down in front of the fire at the moment, fingers crossed

 

[Eggcessive]

Will he eat a little wet chicken feed? You cans spike it with buttermilk or a spoonful of plain yogurt for probiotics. Is he drinking water?

 

[glassdragonfly]

Hoping for recovery!