Rooster Coughed Up Spit?

[ChickAsThieves]

I'm concerned about my 11 month old rooster. He's eating, drinking, and makin' sweet love to the hens, but his feathers are not looking so hot and this morning after drinking water, I observed him have a thick, foamy spit come out of his mouth. I observed the whole flock for a good 20 minutes after that and none of the hens seem to have any problems. The rooster did make one noise that seemed a bit wheezy, but other than that he seemed alright.

The girls are kind of tough on him, and I have lately observed him fighting with one of the hens. And I mean like chest bumping, wing flapping, brawls. He wears a No Crow collar which I think may be causing some damage to his hackle feathers. Also, the girls have plucked out his tail.

Things are rough for the poor guy lately!

Main concern is the spit. Is it likely a respiratory infection? How do I go about treating that? I'm including pics I took of him this morning that show his feather damage, just in case it's relevant. He's an FBCM, and as you can see, his copper hackle feathers are not looking so hot.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm concerned about my 11 month old rooster. He's eating, drinking, and makin' sweet love to the hens, but his feathers are not looking so hot and this morning after drinking water, I observed him have a thick, foamy spit come out of his mouth. I observed the whole flock for a good 20 minutes after that and none of the hens seem to have any problems. The rooster did make one noise that seemed a bit wheezy, but other than that he seemed alright.

The girls are kind of tough on him, and I have lately observed him fighting with one of the hens. And I mean like chest bumping, wing flapping, brawls. He wears a No Crow collar which I think may be causing some damage to his hackle feathers. Also, the girls have plucked out his tail.

Things are rough for the poor guy lately!

Main concern is the spit. Is it likely a respiratory infection? How do I go about treating that? I'm including pics I took of him this morning that show his feather damage, just in case it's relevant. He's an FBCM, and as you can see, his copper hackle feathers are not looking so hot.

Thanks for any input!

Check to see if the no crow collar it too tight?
How does his crop feel? Hard, soft, squishy?
Since you observed the water/foam coming out of his beak after he just drank water, then I would suspect he may have some crop issues. Accompanied by the no crow collar, he may be having trouble getting/keeping water and/or food down. If he sounded a little wheezy after you notice his "spit up" water, then he probably aspirated some water.

Check his crop tonight when he goes to bed - it should be full or have food in it. Check it again first thing in the morning before he has had anything to eat or drink - the crop should be flat or empty. If it has not emptied, then most likely he has a crop problem.

Provide him with some poultry vitamins and give him some extra protein like egg or tuna. Make sure he has a source of poultry grit(crushed granite) so he can process his food correctly. If he is still sounding wheezy, you may want to take the collar off of him to see if he improves.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[ChickAsThieves]

Check to see if the no crow collar it too tight?
How does his crop feel? Hard, soft, squishy?
Since you observed the water/foam coming out of his beak after he just drank water, then I would suspect he may have some crop issues. Accompanied by the no crow collar, he may be having trouble getting/keeping water and/or food down. If he sounded a little wheezy after you notice his "spit up" water, then he probably aspirated some water.

Check his crop tonight when he goes to bed - it should be full or have food in it. Check it again first thing in the morning before he has had anything to eat or drink - the crop should be flat or empty. If it has not emptied, then most likely he has a crop problem.

Provide him with some poultry vitamins and give him some extra protein like egg or tuna. Make sure he has a source of poultry grit(crushed granite) so he can process his food correctly. If he is still sounding wheezy, you may want to take the collar off of him to see if he improves.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

Thank you, this is all very good advice. Probably a silly question, but would chick grit be sufficient for him? I already have a bag of that at home. I legitimately do not know why it didn't occur to me that his collar might be the problem!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thank you, this is all very good advice. Probably a silly question, but would chick grit be sufficient for him? I already have a bag of that at home. I legitimately do not know why it didn't occur to me that his collar might be the problem!

More than likely the chick grit would be too small since he is 11months. He may likely find sufficient grit in the soil if your run has small rock or pebbles. Mine do find a few small rock in their run, but I like to offer grit free choice "just in case".

How old are the hens that you have? You mention that he is fighting/chest bumping one of the hens. His feathers do look a bit rough. If your girls are plucking out his tail feathers, then you may want to observe them and see if you can correct this behavior. Sometimes it can be boredom - provide them with something to scratch in (pile of leaves/pine needles, straw, etc. hang veggies, fruit or greens for them). Also take a look at diet and see how much protein is in your feed - they may benefit from extra protein like egg, tuna, mackerel or meat and some poultry vitamins once a week.

Let us know how he is doing.