Roo has purple comb, is lethargic and wheezing

[Ivy061]

This morning I found my rooster in the bushes, hiding away from everyone. When the hens saw him they started to chase him and peck at him so I brought him inside. I then noticed his comb was a very dark purple and he was gasping for breath. He has been in isolation until I can figure out what's wrong with him.

-His comb is gradually getting darker, and feels cool to the touch.
-He is wheezing and panting with his mouth open. ( I checked his throat for gapeworms, didn't see any)
-He refuses to eat or drink, even treats.
-He walks for a little bit after I set him down but within a minute his wings droop and he lays down to sleep
-His stool is very loose. He has it all over his butt feathers.

-No swelling
-No bad breath
-No blood in poop
-No external injuries or plucked feathers so I doubt he has internal injuries

I hope whatever is wrong with him isn't contagious.

 

[Ivy061]

He just convulsed and flapped his wings and legs for several minutes and then died.

His legs, wings, and neck were all stretched and very stiff like rigor mortis right before he died but he was still breathing.
Botulism?
I really hope my other chickens don't have it, whatever it is.

 

[StealthMouse]

Is it really hot today there? I'm really sorry, first of all, but some birds have issues with the heat. Could have been many things, with heat making it worse. One of my own roosters has a serious issue with heat and loses his own breath, turns dark in the comb, etc.

 

[jnjmanning]

Sounds EXACTLY like what happened to my roo. From everything I have read, heart failure!

 

[speckledhen]

My main flock rooster, Isaac, a Delaware, had a serious fungal lung infection last summer in a protracted extra hot and humid period that lasted two full months, very unusual for our elevation here in the mtns. His lungs have dimished capacity so he is very susceptible to heat and humidity. He turns dark, struggles to breathe, sometimes wheezes horribly when he has exerted himself, etc. He has almost died a few times and we had to quickly cool him off. I may lose him this summer (he's 3 1/2 now) so am growing out one of his sons, not a pure Delaware, but a Delawegger (Del x EE) that I hope will be more heat tolerant than poor Ike and his Dellie hens.

At first, we thought it was his heart, and it could very well be involved, too. Roosters often do drop dead of heart attacks. They have a very high stress job.

 

[CMV]

There is a condition called flipover/flip, which is when a bird (usually a roo) is walking along and suddenly flips over onto its back, convulses a few times and dies. It is essentially a heart attack. There is usually no warning whatsoever. And there is nothing that can be done about it.

I am sorry for your loss.

 

[LaynaDon95]

He just convulsed and flapped his wings and legs for several minutes and then died.

His legs, wings, and neck were all stretched and very stiff like rigor mortis right before he died but he was still breathing.
Botulism?
I really hope my other chickens don't have it, whatever it is.

I know I'm a little late, but I found this and wanted you to know that it was probably a heart problem. I had 2 ducklings die the exact same way, after failing to grow and keep up with their siblings. We autopsied one of them and she a very tiny, very unhealthy heart. The other died while we were not around, so we did not get to autopsy her, but she displayed the same symptoms as her sister. They also had aspergillosis, but that was a secondary infection we are pretty sure. It doesn't cause all the symptoms they had. The first one (my favorite) died in my arms. She all the sudden started flapping and twitching. I could tell she wasn't doing it on purpose. Then she stretched her head back, so the back of her head was laying on her back, and she died. Your rooster probably didn't have a heart defect from birth, just a heart "attack" or a a fluke something go wrong. I'm so sorry you lost him.