Rooster dropping head and constantly swallowing

[SkyAJK]

My roo will not recover from his ill health. He has swollen head N throat, but he keeps on crowing and loudly as well. His voice is breaking, that throat is never get a chance to recover. I am so mad at him.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My roo will not recover from his ill health. He has swollen head N throat, but he keeps on crowing and loudly as well. His voice is breaking, that throat is never get a chance to recover. I am so mad at him.

Is he getting in his medication?
I wouldn't be mad if he's able to crow, he's doing his chicken thing even if not feeling up to par.

 

[SkyAJK]

Is he getting in his medication?
I wouldn't be mad if he's able to crow, he's doing his chicken thing even if not feeling up to par.

He has his antibiotic x 2 a day, and he crows and crows. He has swollen head & throat. His crows are aggravating his swollen throat. His crows are not normal, they sound like a human speaks with a bad sore throat.

When I put him inside the house, he crows so I thought he wants to see his flock. I had him outside with some distance, but still able to see and hear his flock, still he crows.

I assumed with a swollen throat he would feel uncomfortable enough to be quiet, or not crow so much. He barely eat anything today. This afternoon I put him inside a closet and closed the door so that it is dark inside. He stopped crowing, I think this is the only way to get him to rest his throat. I took him out after a few hours so that he eats and drink, still trying to crow. I have not experience difficulty caring for a sick chicken until this rooster.

 

[SkyAJK]

Update:
A follow up visit to the Vet and had my baby roo to sleep forever yesterday morning. We buried him in our backyard near the chicken run so he can hear his girls. I feel that I have lost a magical being in my life.

He was on antibiotic since last Thursday and it was twice a day treatment for Coryza.
Yesterday I asked the Vet is it definite that my roo suffer from Coryza? The answer was that my roo had symptoms of it and to know for certain a test needed to be done by sending a sample to government agency that managed agriculture, and this costs between $250 - $300.

My rooster did not show improvement, still had swollen head, throat and head dropped. He was just crowing or lay flat on the ground.

The Vet says that there is no further medical can help my roo, I have a choice to take him home to nurse him, he can get better or not.

I could take him home to nurse him and decide what later, but he is constantly crowing is not going to help him. I decided to put him to forever sleep.

The Vet did not do it right first time, it took him 2 injections to finally work. It pains me to see that, I don't know whether my roo suffered or not, his eyes were moving as my hand can feel it. He also made a chock sound, a tiny twist of his body. The vet says it was normal. I don't think that it is as I previously had my sick hen send to sleep with a bird VET and it was very peaceful journey from what I saw.

His comb still some part pale red. I waited until it was in dark colour with the rest before I buried him.

Aftermath, I felt it was a wrong decision to do, I might still can do it, but later instead of yesterday. I reviewed when did his condition started and remember his face and comb were a bit swollen for many months now. I cleaned his eyelids and it was harder to do it. So it has been sometime until he dropped his head, that was when it became serious. I do not think my roo had coryza because if he had my flock would have been infected by now.

My hens are heart broken I am sure of it, they love him and I have lost a magical being in my life. I will never intentionally get a rooster as I live in an area where rooster is not allowed. I adopted 6 baby chicks and she turned out to be a rooster, the bond was build so I could not part with him and he was sweet.

Thank you so much for your help and support. I have learned a lot from you both. I will keep this knowledge for the rest of my life with chickens.

 

[Eggcessive]

I am sorry that you lost your precious rooster. At 7 it may be that he just wasn’t strong enough to fight off the infection. Did you check with your vet to find out if they recorded any results of the different swabs they took to look at under a microscope? It would be good to know if there was coccus bacteria or rods, or if they thought it was gram positive or negative. Sorry that it was so ridiculously expensive to send off sample to the government. Roosters are very entertaining and I like to have a good rooster in my flock, but I can understand your not getting another.

 

[SkyAJK]

I am sorry that you lost your precious rooster. At 7 it may be that he just wasn’t strong enough to fight off the infection. Did you check with your vet to find out if they recorded any results of the different swabs they took to look at under a microscope? It would be good to know if there was coccus bacteria or rods, or if they thought it was gram positive or negative. Sorry that it was so ridiculously expensive to send off sample to the government. Roosters are very entertaining and I like to have a good rooster in my flock, but I can understand your not getting another.

The Vet says the swaps were for checking for canker bacteria. He is not a bird vet, but seen a few chickens. I will call them this afternoon and ask what the Vet recorded. I will ask the question that you wrote, I did not know much to ask, just focus on the illness the Vet says what my roo suffered from. I think I won't be going to this Vet for serious stuff, too much guessing and not definitive. Might be just for antibiotic I need then I go there. I will go to different Vet if any of my chicken needs to. It is hard to find Vet that treat chickens, and those that are not Avian Vet are not experience and do not have the tool to do the things that they need to.

My rooster was raised when he was just a week old, and it was my first flock of 6 so I was fussing all over them, we spend a lot of times with our flock, we build their house while they hoover over us doing it, the rooster was special in many ways. He attacked us here and there, but rare. He was mostly his sweetness self.

Early this year, one of my hen was very sick with swollen tummy, I treated her naturally as best as I know how. In the end I took her to the Avian Vet, they told me they need to do an ultrasound to know what is wrong with her, so she had an ultrasound and they told me that she was internally laying and there were many eggs inside her tummy and it is kinder to let her go. I let her go then and I cut her open when I got home, there was no internal eggs anywhere in her tummy or her organs. Her intestines were swollen and leaking liquid. I send off the photos to the VET,she replied that it was reproductive issues.

 

[SkyAJK]

I spoke to the Vet office, they said the 5 tests done were for looking into microscope for Trichinosis. It was non seen, but can not be absolute certain that isn't there, that what the receptionist read the file on my rooster told me.
Avian Vet has better tools? I have no idea... when it comes to chicken, it is very hard to find a Vet.

 

[SkyAJK]

What I have learned from this experience with my dear rooster is that:
Take note of any change of condition of my flock
Do more research, go on BCF for more information and ask for help,
Treat at home, one treatment at a time, wait for result before advance further. Be patient
I have Meloxicam, and CBD oil, these will keep my chickens comfortable.
Last resource, when all else failed, find a Vet that treat chickens regularly and go from there. From my personal experience with Avian Vet, I would give them a pass unless they are the last resource, but then they will tell me what I already been told by many sources.

 

[Eggcessive]

Trichinosis is a disease from undercooked pork. Trich or trichomoniasis is canker, a protozoan disease that affects poultry, which is what you were looking for. Just from posts I have seen here, a lot of the time, the best and sometimes cheapest way to get a diagnosis is through your state vet after a necropsy unfortunately.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry to hear about your rooster.