Rooster is not looking good :(

[LestersFlat]

My poor rooster was attacked by some unknown critter 2 or 3 months ago. He was in bad shape and we didn't think he would survive. He couldn't hold his head up for about a month after that.

He seemed to be recovering, started crowing again, was having his way with the ladies and all the normal rooster things, but he just never got back to looking healthy. His feathers have been growing back twisted and he just doesn't look like the healthy strapping Roo he used to be.

Then I just noticed today that he has really taken a turn for the worse.

He is foaming at the mouth and has foamy stuff in his eyes as well. His comb started looking off-color last week some time, but he otherwise seemed fine...until today.

I called my vet to see if they had any ideas, and they will call back later, but I was wondering if any of you recognize these symptoms?

 

[Eggcessive]

He seems to be showing symptoms of a respiratory disease such as mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG or CRD.) Foamy eyes can be a sign. Does he have any bad smell from his head, or any blood-tinged mucus? I would start him on Tylan50 injections 1 ml into his breast muscle daily for 5 days. Hopefully your vet can teat him for MG. This disease would make him a carrier to the rest of your flock. If he has a bad odor, he may has coryza, but swollen eyes or face is usually present. Here is some info on MG: http://www.thepoultrysite.com/disea...ction-mg-chronic-respiratory-disease-chickens

 

[Wyandottes7]

I agree with Eggcessive, he definitely appears to have some sort of respiratory disease. Isolate him from the other birds, if you haven't already. Give some electrolytes and probiotic (but don't give probiotics while using antibiotics) to help him with any stress. Definitely try some Tylan50 -- its a great antibiotic for respiratory diseases in chickens.

 

[LestersFlat]

Thanks so much Eggcessive and Wyandottes! I very much appreciated and used the information you gave, but had no time to respond and let you know what was going on.

At the same time that I posted the photos here, I was able to send them to one of the vet techs where I take my dogs. The vet office doesn't have e-mail, but Kim the tech was able to get the photos on her phone and show them to the vet.

He said exactly what you said, respiratory infection, but thought it was too far along for the rooster to recover, even with treatment. So I was all set to put the rooster down, with help from my neighbor, but when I came into the coop for him, he had the girls all around him and was eating and drinking just fine.

Because you both said he could transmit it to the others, I did separate him and put him in Chicken Hospital (a crate in our garage). And the next day I went to the vet and picked up a sulfa drug mixture to add to his water, and to the water of the others in case they had caught anything from him. The vet said to make it the only water they drink for 10 days. My hens were not showing any symptoms, and because they free-range, I had a hard time making that their only water, but Roo only had the medicated water with some Gatorade mixed in (for the electrolytes).

He made it 8 days and appeared to be improving slightly (no more foam) but then we checked on him in the morning and he was fine, came back a few hours later and he was dead.

I am, I think, happier that I did not have to kill him. I just hope he wasn't suffering too much while I was trying to cure him.

The vet said the infection was probably unrelated to the attack on him in June, but only I know how bad that attack was since we did not take him to the vet at the time. He was lucky to have survived at all. I have no idea what got to him, only that it was the middle of the afternoon, and there were LOTS of his feathers in about 7 different places outside the coop, all pretty far apart. He was in the coop, face down on the floor, and barely breathing. I think he must have had some sort of internal injuries that prevented him from recovering fully, but he did rally to the point of strutting his stuff and crowing again after about a month. I had hopes he would recover completely, but he just never looked good after that.

And the true sign that there was something wrong with him was that he never kicked me again. My Stinker Roo ALWAYS attacked me when I came in to give him food or water. I miss him!

Thank you again for your helpful information.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry for your loss. Thank you so much for the kind words and for letting us know how things turned out. I hope your hens stay healthy.