Poorly Cockerel

[Cocokay]

Hello,

I was wondering if anybody could help with my cockerel.

I have been away for a few months and the chickens have been cared for by my father. When arriving back they are all okay but our cockerel Rambo is in a sorry state. Apparently he has been like this for a month or two!! He has developed this bizarre white fungal looking stuff on one side of his head, its quite extreme, the picture isn't great, sorry!




He has stopped going out foraging with the girls and lays in their run all day long. He doesn't crow and his appetite has shrunk massively! He has also stopped perching at night, he simply lays in the next box instead.

His comb and waddles etc are as red as ever and his eyes are alert but his tails down and he does look as if he is in pain.

At the same time as all of this he has started limping a lot, hese always had a funny leg since a chick (one legs shorter than the other I believe) but now it seems to really be bothering him.

I was thinking maybe I would seperate him for a day or two and give him some antibiotics (if I knew where to get them from) and clean his face/legs with salt water, would this help? I have been giving him raw garlic mixed in with scrambled egg to try and combat any infections.

Any advice would be much appreciated as I am worried sick about the poor sod!

Thank you in advance,

K

 

[Eggcessive]

The comb looks a bit like favus, which is a fungal infection. Lotrimin (miconazole) is good for it. Here is some info with pictures (post # 8) so that you can decide what to do: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/450401/my-rooster-has-favus-help-please

 

[Cocokay]

Thank you, would any athletes foot cream work? I just managed to catch him and hese got very bad mites, little red/yellow ones, could this be it rather than a fungal infection?

 

[BantamLover21]

Thank you, would any athletes foot cream work? I just managed to catch him and hese got very bad mites, little red/yellow ones, could this be it rather than a fungal infection?

I don't think that mites would cause the fungal-infection look to his comb, but they could definitely be what is making him look like he is in pain. Severe infestations cause anemia, and even death in the birds they infest. I would quickly dust him, and you other birds, with a good poultry lice and mite dust, such as 5% or 10% Sevin powder. Clean out the entire coop, spray it down with vinegar or a poultry mite/lice spray, and then put in fresh bedding. Redust your birds 7-10 days after the first dusting to kill any mites that hatched from eggs.

As for the Athletes foot cream working, I'm not sure. Hopefully Eggcessive will know better than me.