Purple/Blue Wattle/Comb roo... comes and goes. what to do?

[MissAllison]

This has been going on a while... getting worried, figured I'd reach out to the masses..

A couple of weeks ago, I picked up our roo to show him to a group of kids (I work on an educational farm) and he started going blue in the face and straining to breathe. Obviously, I put him down. He got better right away so I figured I just picked him up funny (somehow??) or something.

Then another week goes by and a child who comes to the farm regularly was trying to pick the roo up (a very relaxed kid, he wasn't being crazy, just walking behind the roo to pick him up)... and the same thing happened. But after he had a little time to relax, he was fine again.

I was just out feeding and cleaning out the coop and noticed that he was looking a little blue again. Seeing as the first times happened in conjunction with stressful-ish situations... I don't know. Since he was blue and straining a little without stress today, I'm extra worried. He was eating when I was out there, and doesn't seem sluggish or anything... he seems really normal besides the blue-ness and that he sometimes seems like he's struggling to breathe. I also have not heard him crow in at least a couple of weeks.

It should be noted that this rooster is about 2-3 years old, and he's been exposed to kids and people his whole life. All summer we have tons of kids around and they pick him up, etc... we've never had any issues. He's very calm and friendly.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Pathfinders]

Blueness in the comb, face, and wattles generally points to a cardiovascular problem of some sort. What breed of rooster is this? Is he very large and possibly fat? If he's carrying a lot of fat around his heart it might cause this to happen.

How many other chickens do you have? Can you separate him without a problem for a while?

Believe it or not, you can use regular aspirin to treat chickens with heart issues. It works on them as well as it does on humans. I generally use two generic aspirin (or Bayer, not Tylenol or Advil) per gallon of water. Try that for a week and see if it helps.

He may not get better though, just be aware of that. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't...

 

[MissAllison]

Hi, thanks,

He's a mixed breed. His life on the farm predates my working here, so I can't say much about his history. He is a large bird but I do not think he's fat... he seems pretty normal size-wise. We have 14 hens, but just the one roo.

I could definitely separate him, I guess I'd want to do that if treating him with aspirin to make sure he's treated. Do I need to crush the aspirin up before adding it to the water? Also, if it's not a heart-related problem, will the aspirin hurt him?

I am always prepared for the possibility of losing one of our flock... life on the farm, right? Thanks for being honest about the possibility of this being a life-threatening condition.

 

[Pathfinders]

Hi, thanks,

He's a mixed breed. His life on the farm predates my working here, so I can't say much about his history. He is a large bird but I do not think he's fat... he seems pretty normal size-wise. We have 14 hens, but just the one roo.

I could definitely separate him, I guess I'd want to do that if treating him with aspirin to make sure he's treated. Do I need to crush the aspirin up before adding it to the water? Also, if it's not a heart-related problem, will the aspirin hurt him?

I am always prepared for the possibility of losing one of our flock... life on the farm, right? Thanks for being honest about the possibility of this being a life-threatening condition.

You don't have to crush the aspirin up, it will dissolve, but it will dissolve faster if you do.

If it's not a heart-related issue the aspirin shouldn't hurt him at all. Aspirin is pretty magic stuff, really.

And yes, sadly, sometimes they just die on us, for no obvious reason than chickens just do that. I hope this helps him and he's back to his cocky, strutting self soon!