I made a post earlier about my rooster and his frostbite (which is healing quite nicely - it happened 4 days ago), but now I'm not sure if his current condition is "normal" for how stressed out the poor guy has been, or if the frostbite compromised his immune system and he's sick. None of his symptoms match up with anything I've come across so far.
On top of the frostbite, he was attacked yesterday by one of his normally submissive coop-mates and is spooked to high heck - he's afraid of his water dish. Seriously. He'll drink out of a deep spoon if I touch it, but if I lay down a container or even put the spoon down, he won't drink. So, here's a breakdown, in case someone with more experience notices a pattern:
Wattles - swelling has gone down a bit, but they're still large enough that they cause discomfort and a weird resting posture (his walking posture is normal). They are warm to the touch, maybe a low fever - they're not hot-hot, though. Colour was originally bad - pale from the cold, then darker in splotches from frostbite. It's returning to normal, and the pallor is gone.
He has a wound on one wattle from his coop-mate. It bled at first, stopped on it's own quite quickly, and the wound appears quite small and is not infected.
Comb - Frostbite. Mentioned because it's still a physical symptom. He's healing well - looks horrid but the darker bits are regaining a healthier colour and he's now only black on the tip of only a few points. The part of his comb near the back was attacked by the same coop-mate who hurt his wattle - I'm not sure if this was a fight for rank, or a fight because of the sight of blood. These wounds bled so little that I only noticed them due to the change in colour between frostbitten skin and injured skin.
Eyes - look great. Clear, normal blinking, follows movement, still has excellent predator detection instincts.
Eating/drinking - Eating a lot less than usual. He's still eating, and with great enthusiasm, but it's definitely not as much as he used to. He's having a hardish time with solid food, so he's been switched to cooked cornmeal, yoghurt, and scrambled eggs. As I said above, I learned this morning that he's not been drinking because of fear of his water dish. Don't know how I'll deal with that later on, but for now, if I hold a container, he'll drink. So, he may be dehydrated - it's hard to tell with his comb being frostbitten. Up until this morning, he was pooping a lot (don't all chickens...) and it fell within the "normal" guidelines.
So, all that doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm a bit concerned because he seems to smack his lips a fair bit (didn't do that before), has stopped crowing, and seems like drinking/eating is perhaps painful. Does this line up with normal recovery symptoms for frostbitten and swollen wattles? He's been removed from the flock both to protect him while he heals and in case he is ill.
In any case, thanks for any help anyone can provide - I've seen info on frostbite, etc... in hens, but swollen wattles paired with my guy's symptoms don't turn up anything in particular. I'm hoping he just needs to heal and is suffering from dehydration at the moment.
On top of the frostbite, he was attacked yesterday by one of his normally submissive coop-mates and is spooked to high heck - he's afraid of his water dish. Seriously. He'll drink out of a deep spoon if I touch it, but if I lay down a container or even put the spoon down, he won't drink. So, here's a breakdown, in case someone with more experience notices a pattern:
Wattles - swelling has gone down a bit, but they're still large enough that they cause discomfort and a weird resting posture (his walking posture is normal). They are warm to the touch, maybe a low fever - they're not hot-hot, though. Colour was originally bad - pale from the cold, then darker in splotches from frostbite. It's returning to normal, and the pallor is gone.
He has a wound on one wattle from his coop-mate. It bled at first, stopped on it's own quite quickly, and the wound appears quite small and is not infected.
Comb - Frostbite. Mentioned because it's still a physical symptom. He's healing well - looks horrid but the darker bits are regaining a healthier colour and he's now only black on the tip of only a few points. The part of his comb near the back was attacked by the same coop-mate who hurt his wattle - I'm not sure if this was a fight for rank, or a fight because of the sight of blood. These wounds bled so little that I only noticed them due to the change in colour between frostbitten skin and injured skin.
Eyes - look great. Clear, normal blinking, follows movement, still has excellent predator detection instincts.
Eating/drinking - Eating a lot less than usual. He's still eating, and with great enthusiasm, but it's definitely not as much as he used to. He's having a hardish time with solid food, so he's been switched to cooked cornmeal, yoghurt, and scrambled eggs. As I said above, I learned this morning that he's not been drinking because of fear of his water dish. Don't know how I'll deal with that later on, but for now, if I hold a container, he'll drink. So, he may be dehydrated - it's hard to tell with his comb being frostbitten. Up until this morning, he was pooping a lot (don't all chickens...) and it fell within the "normal" guidelines.
So, all that doesn't seem like a big deal, but I'm a bit concerned because he seems to smack his lips a fair bit (didn't do that before), has stopped crowing, and seems like drinking/eating is perhaps painful. Does this line up with normal recovery symptoms for frostbitten and swollen wattles? He's been removed from the flock both to protect him while he heals and in case he is ill.
In any case, thanks for any help anyone can provide - I've seen info on frostbite, etc... in hens, but swollen wattles paired with my guy's symptoms don't turn up anything in particular. I'm hoping he just needs to heal and is suffering from dehydration at the moment.
