Rooster lost his mojo

[quickles]

My new Orpinton Rooster arrived and on the first day was king of the castle. Day two to five has been a different story. He seems to have trouble swallowing and seems to have saliva in his beak which he is unable to stop. He hasn't eaten much only mashed potatoes. He isn't very active and avoids other hens and the sun. Lost all energy and he just walking around slowly. he seems to have something wrong with his neck. Any ideas?

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. A crop problem may be a problem, and coccidiosis when arriving on new soil can also be a possibility. Do you hear any noisy breathing, or see any eye or nasal drainage or crusting? How does the crop feel first thing in the morning before he has eaten? I would not give him mashed potatoes. Try putting water into some chicken feed and making a mush. What do his poops look like? Does he have diarrhea or stand puffed up?

 

[quickles]

The rooster seems to be wanting to throw up. He is pooping normal though only seen that happen once. No mess on his butt if that is a sign of no diarreah. He doesn't sound like he is breathing poorly and stands slightly hunched when still. Today he seems a little brighter and has ventured out into the scartching yard. When he arrived he crowed and chuckled a lot. I had two other roosters which were in cages ready for delivery to pet shop and he seemed to be showing them who was boss. Since they have gone it seems like he had either strained his throat from all that first day action or injured his neck/beak or throat. His crop is normal but hard to tell on an Orpington with all the feathers. Could he have a blockage somewhere due to a different diet. I use a mixture of seeds/grains and laying pellets.
This morning he at least made a chuckle noise for the first time all week. He wants to eat but seems unable to hold some food in his beak. I gave him spinich leaves which he would pick at but then not eat. Ill try soft food tomorrow morning.
Thanks for your interest and help. I have a passion for Orpingtons and will eventually try breeding more of them. I have two Buff hens and a black hen. He is a Blue/grey and I got a friend to pick him up from another town. I think he may have been a caged bird not used to a large space. No proof of that but just a gut feeling. His mate, the black hen who came with him, has settled in without a problem. Thanks Les

 

[Outpost JWB]

Welcome to BYC. So sorry you are having troubles with your new rooster.

I would quarantine him away from your other birds asap. A rule on our farm is to never introduce new chickens into my flock until at least a 30day quarantine period. You can wipe out your whole flock if you don't practice quarantining.

Eggcessive has mentioned some good points for you to check out. You need to see what his poop looks like. That can tell a lot about your birds.

Another question: Is he drinking well? You need to make sure he is hydrated.

 

[quickles]

The rooster is drinking and today eating soaked chicken mash. Seems to be a bit more alert today.

 

[Outpost JWB]

Glad he is eating and drinking a bit better. Maybe it is what you said about him possibly being caged all the time. Possibly he was extremely underfed and now is trying to compensate for the lack of nutrition. Hope he continues to get better.

 

[quickles]

Thanks. I checked his beak closer today. He was much livelier and hard to catch for a change. The inside of his lower beak had some kind of gunk stuck to it. Looked like it had been building up for a while. It scraped out easily and has had no effect on his eating thus far. Hopefully all will continue to improve. Regards Les

 

[Eggcessive]

Thanks. I checked his beak closer today. He was much livelier and hard to catch for a change. The inside of his lower beak had some kind of gunk stuck to it. Looked like it had been building up for a while. It scraped out easily and has had no effect on his eating thus far. Hopefully all will continue to improve. Regards Les

What color was the gunk inside his beak? Hopefully it was just food. Canker and wet pox can cause infectious gunk inside and outside the beak, which may look like yellow or grayish patches, and canker smells bad.

 

[quickles]

I wouldnt say it stank and it was just in the bottom inside of the beak but he has improved so much over the past two days, it is really pleasing to see. He is eating and drinking normally, even starting to defend his food supply from other chooks. Ill be happy when I hear him crow again. Hopefully fertilising some eggs for me soon as well. Thanks everyone for you help.