Roo with crusty skin and swollen red watery eyes

[luvmycitychckns]

Hello...we just got chickens a week or so ago, and would love some input about an issue we are already having. This roo just showed up at my brother's--and since were were on the verge of getting some pullets, and our coop was ready, I said we could take him in. He came with some black marks on his comb and waddle, and an itchy crusty patch near his left ear, which now has progressed into also having swollen, red, watery eyes. Here's a couple of pics of the miserable little guy....any suggestions as to what he is dealing with? He was pretty slow-moving today during the heat, but perked up a bit tonight and was eating and drinking plenty. I did quarantine him from the hens we got last weekend, and began him on Oxytetracycline today. Some of the pullets we got have developed diarrhea (some of it looks orangy/bloody, but have read that they shed their intestines at this age? so maybe that's all?) and a couple of them seem to be letting out little coughs. I have given them Oxytetracycline today as well as
recommended by the farmer we got them from.


Thanks for any input you may have!

 

[Eggcessive]

He has a pretty swollen ear and face around his eye. Does he have a bad odor around his face? These things can be hard to differentiate, but one must always consider a respiratory disease such as MG or coryza. It is risky exposing your new chickens to this fellow withoutf first getting him tested. If he is not drinking enough of the tetracycline, I would just go ahead and treat him with Tylan 50 injectable given by mouth or as a shot. Dosage is 1/4 ml for bantams, 1/2 ml for under 5 lb., and 1 ml for over 5 lb. given daily for 5 days. I would check him over for evidence of lice or mites which could have caused the itching and scratching. Look into his ears, and check with a QTip for any mites or gunk which could be an infection. You always need to quarantine any new chickens from your flock, and placing him in your coop where your new girls will be wasn't good. I would remove him, and disinfect the facilities, and isolate him elsewhere. Many respiratory diseases such as MG and coryza will only survive in the environment for a few days, but others can last for months. Here is a good link about common respiratory diseases as well as a thread where Dawg53 tells how to treat for an ear infection:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/919235/ear-infection-in-rooster#post_13987945
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/735553/inner-ear-infection

 

[luvmycitychckns]

Thankfully, he doesn't have any odor. I did check him over for lice and mites earlier today, but didn't see anything. However, he does have white flaky skin which I can see on his outside feathers sometimes, and he preens often, as do the new chickens. Is this a routine behavior of chickens? I am a newby to all of this, so he could have them and I just don't know what I'm looking for. I will keep an eye on that, posting a pic below that I took today--look normal to you? Would it hurt to go ahead and delouse the flock to be sure? I don't want to overstress him though. I will watch to make sure he is drinking plenty of the tetracycline as you mention, and if not move on to the Tylan 50. He is a little guy, under 5 lbs. so I appreciate the dosage amounts. I'll check his ears tomorrow as well. This evening he did seem much better--active and not sleepy, no trouble keeping his eyes open, tried to crow a few times. I called the farmer I got the pullets from earlier today, and he thought he probably has sinusitis and to keep him away from the new ones. I had shown him pics at the time of picking up his hens last week b/c I was nervous to have them around the roo since I already knew he had issues. He chocked it up to a fight and didn't mention quarantining at that point, so I just didn't know. I can ask around to see about where I can get him tested, but if he shows real progress quickly, is that necessary in your opinion?

Not exactly what we had envisioned as our first experience with owning our own chickens....more of a learning curve than we thought. Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, and for all of the info!

 

[luvmycitychckns]

 

[Eggcessive]

I can't tell if that looks like there could be lice eggs there at the base of feathers or not. Pictured below is lice eggs on a feather shaft. When you part the feathers fast moving tiny tan bugs can be seen moving with lice. Since respiratory diseases can make carriers of the whole flock for life when they are exposed to a carrier, testing would be recommended. Testing could be done by contacting your state vet by the links below for state vets and testing centers:
http://www.usaha.org/Portals/6/StateAnimalHealthOfficials.pdf
.usda.gov/animal_health/nahln/downloads/all_nahln_lab_list.pdf

 

[luvmycitychckns]

Roo is crowing this am for the first time in 4-5 days and is alrert, eating and drinking. On eye looks better, the other worse, almost swollen shut--but on a good note, his poop looks great, which is good to know. I didn't know if he had diarrhea as well, but now that he's been separated, I know it's just the hens. I've contacted one of the places you mentioned to see about testing, haven't heard back so will contact the Purdue Extension as well. Might even test the hens since they seem to cough and I've noticed one has a runny nose.

Really appreciate your feedback! Thanks so much!