Rooster acts like it is choking

[cricketsfarm]

RIR rooster
His eyes look somewhat glazed
He makes a chicken gargle light noise as he stretches his neck out . He also closes his eyes as he stretches his neck out.
He does this continuously
The bottom of his waddle is turning black.
He has had unlimited water supply.
I just noticed it this morning.

Any ideas?
A sickness?
choking?
disease?

 

[GoldenSparrow]

cheek for gape worm.

I really dont know, but he is sick.

Iam sure someone with more experince will help you.

 

[fishnet1971]

I had a hen like this. Ende up she had a full size grape stuck in her down her throat. she could breath a bit, but did like what you are saying. I flipped her upside down and massaged it out. I dont know HOW she got it down. It was choking her coming up. all I could do to get it out of her beak.

good luck with yours.

 

[cricketsfarm]

hmmm.

It is a new coop. Dirt floor with a little hay. I haven't fed them scraps or fruits. He is 14 to 15 weeks old. Fed Chick starter and chicken scratch. I will try to catch him and check him out much closer. My husband fed the chickens this morning. He normally doesn't do that. I don't know if he ate or watered today.

Thanks for the ideas.

Do chickens get sore throats?

 

[blueskylen]

mine does that all of the time, but i think it is too much feed in his crop - try massaging his crop lightly and see if that eases it.

 

[Judy]

And take a Qtip with you to swab his mouth and throat. If he has gapeworm, which he can get from eating earthworms, you will see them, very thin red threadsy looking things. You can do a search and find pics in here, I'm sure.

 

[cricketsfarm]

I caught the rooster and inspected him closer. He never put up a fight. But then again, they all just stand there when I walk up....raised them from a chick. There was nothing in his throat. No knots down the outside of his throat. Crop felt empty. I tried to make him drink some water but he only took one drink with my nudging him to . I put him in a 2x3 cage by himself with fresh water and food. He is just sitting there doing his weird breathing thing. No noises currently. He is the oldest rooster in his coop and the first to try his voice at crowing. That's why i was wondering if chickens can get a sore throat. Maybe he was trying too hard?
There is a mature rooster in the next coop beside him and on the other side are 5 young turkeys.
I saw a hen doing that neck motion thing too with her beak open as her neck stretched out. But she is eating and acting normal.
I don't know what to think about the rooster. It's abnormal. sigh.

 

[cricketsfarm]

And thank you for mentioning gape worms. I have not fed them earthworms but they did eat a few snails and rollie pollies and lots of crickets.
I will check them out and see about buying some ACV and giving everyone some worm meds.

 

[cricketsfarm]

well...I ran a Q tip down the throat of two roosters who seem to have the same problem. The Q tip came out clean.
Since the chicken coop is new, they must of eaten something infected with the nematode worms (gape worms).
And yes, I have been reading all day long and now I have a headache.
The only thing I know to do now is sweep the coop clean of all litter every day to make sure no new infections happen and keep the infected chickens away from the healthy ones. And read to give the chickens some apple cider vinegar. I was already going to make homemade ACV, so now i have more reasons to make it. Til then, I guess I better buy some at the health food store.
I found this link about the gape worms ====happy reading.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gapeworm

 

[cricketsfarm]

A few weeks ago, I bought some Ameraucanas. The rooster kept making the gurgling sound. I thought it was normal. He seemed to be ok.
A week later I put all my young roosters in a coop next to the Ameraucanas. Now, a week after that is when my young roosters started making
the same gurgling sounds but they were actually acting like they were grasping for air. So from what I read, the mature chickens will survive the
gape worms much longer than young chickens. Two roosters died this evening.===suffocated.....4 more are sick. Coughing, runny noses, breathing heavy.
I have seperated all the sick chickens from what should still be in good health. Tomorrow , I will go hunt down some meds.
Luckily, I did not have all my eggs in one basket.......... All my hens are in another coop far away from the coughers.... I read the coughing can spit out the eggs
and thats how others can become infected. While my young roosters were introduced to the older rooster in the coop next to them, they would do their man thing
at the fence but never hurt one another///so to speak.. I guess he won after all.