Rooster shakes his head

[MaeM]

So I'm kinda worried...

1) What type of bird age and weight?

Plymouth rock, around 8 months, IDK how much he weighs but he looks good.

2) What is the behavior, exactly?

He's been shaking his head like something's bothering him. And I saw him drooling after mating, IDK if it's related.

3) How long has the bird been exhibiting symptoms?

2 days.

4) Are other birds exhibiting the same symptoms?

No.

5) Is there any bleeding, injury, broken bones or other sign of trauma?

No.

6) What happened, if anything that you know of, that may have caused the situation.

No idea.

7) What has the bird been eating and drinking, if at all.

Funnily, he likes drinking dirty water from puddles and such (he free ranges), even when he's got tons of clean water in the run.

8) How does the poop look? Normal? Bloody? Runny? etc.

Not utterly solid but I wouldn't call it diarrhea either.

9) What has been the treatment you have administered so far?

None.

10 ) What is your intent as far as treatment? For example, do you want to treat completely yourself, or do you need help in stabilizing the bird til you can get to a vet?

If I can treat it myself, I'm down. Unless it's too complicated... then I'm willing to find a vet, it's just that I don't have easy access to a bird vet.

11) If you have a picture of the wound or condition, please post it. It may help.

12) Describe the housing/bedding in use

Wood shavings, but I used hay to cover the floor of the run before finding out it's not good for the chickens

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He's been shaking his head like something's bothering him. And I saw him drooling after mating, IDK if it's related.

Photos of him and his poop?

Check to make sure his crop is empty in the morning before he's had anything to eat/drink.
Do look inside his beak for any mucous or lesions.
Do look him over for lice/mites and inside his ears for infection, debris, bugs or discharge.

If his crop is not empty in the morning, then use this article to determine what your next steps should be.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

 

[MaeM]

Photos of him and his poop?

Check to make sure his crop is empty in the morning before he's had anything to eat/drink.
Do look inside his beak for any mucous or lesions.
Do look him over for lice/mites and inside his ears for infection, debris, bugs or discharge.

If his crop is not empty in the morning, then use this article to determine what your next steps should be.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...w-to-know-which-one-youre-dealing-with.73607/

Thanks for the reply, I'll check him out as soon as he wakes up.
I'll also try to take a picture of his poop, currently there's a lot of poop and I'm not sure which is his. I saw him yawning and I think the inside of his mouth is normal, but I'll find help to open his beak and double-check.

For now, I'll leave this recent picture of him, harassing me as always. As I said, he looks and acts normal, except for that.

Can lice and mites grow anywhere? I just know the leg version of that thing and he doesn't have it.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Thanks for the reply, I'll check him out as soon as he wakes up.
I'll also try to take a picture of his poop, currently there's a lot of poop and I'm not sure which is his. I saw him yawning and I think the inside of his mouth is normal, but I'll find help to open his beak and double-check.

For now, I'll leave this recent picture of him, harassing me as always. As I said, he looks and acts normal, except for that.

Can lice and mites grow anywhere? I just know the leg version of that thing and he doesn't have it.

He's handsome!

Leg mites are microscopic and live under the scales of the legs. There's also mites that live in coops/housing and come out at night to feed on birds and some that actually live on the bird. Lice live on the bird - Soooo, look through his feathers, especially around the vent, under his wings, head/ears for any crawling bugs.

 

[MaeM]

So I checked him out and he doesn't have any bugs, but I did see some dirt in his ear. Looks like wax. How I clean it without hurting him?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

You can use 1 drop of Peroxide in the ear to help remove the wax.

 

[MaeM]

You can use 1 drop of Peroxide in the ear to help remove the wax.

Thanks, but it's not working so far... How many days in a row should I do this?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Can you get some photos of what's in his ear?

 

[MaeM]

Can you get some photos of what's in his ear?

I tried, but I can't. He moves a lot!

Also, he keeps drooling... What does this mean?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I tried, but I can't. He moves a lot!

Also, he keeps drooling... What does this mean?

Is his crop emptying overnight?
No lesions or yellow/white pasty material inside his beak?