Rooster shaking and shivering, weak legs - Help!

[islandchooks]

Hi all,

this is my first post, I've read many threads on this forum, but tonight I have an emergency!

I went to close the chicken coop for the night and found my 8 mth old Australorp rooster on the floor of the coop. Right away I was concerned, as he never sits on the ground at night, always up on the roosts with the hens.

When I went to check on him, I found him slumped forward, and shivering violently! His feathers are in excellent condition, so I can't imagine he would be cold. None of the other hens looked cold. It is only about 2C out here, not very cold at night.
His breathing was a bit raspy, he seemed to be breathing very quickly.
His legs were too weak for him to stand up on, his feet would curl and his legs buckled under him.
I'm not sure what to do with him!
I read through several posts, but his symptoms seem different from any of the diseases I read about

If this sounds familiar to you, please give me some advice! Thanks
Robin

 

[islandchooks]

By the way, his eyes were bright and clear, and his comb and wattle were bright red as usual. His feathers are full and shiny.
So outwardly he looks very healthy! But is shaking all over, shivering.

 

[Em]

Have you brought him in for the night, I would start with that.

 

[islandchooks]

Yes, I brought him in to our mud room, which is not heated, but a few degrees warmer than outside and no drafts (we live on Vancouver Island so we have very mild winters) I put him into a 'banana box' with the lid off, stuffed with hay, to create a cozy 'nest' for him.

This morning I found him laying on his side, dead

It was all so fast! He was fine yesterday morning, and I heard him crowing through out the day yesterday....... then he looked striken last night

Do you think he ate something poisonous?

 

[pwand]

Yes, I brought him in to our mud room, which is not heated, but a few degrees warmer than outside and no drafts (we live on Vancouver Island so we have very mild winters) I put him into a 'banana box' with the lid off, stuffed with hay, to create a cozy 'nest' for him.

This morning I found him laying on his side, dead

It was all so fast! He was fine yesterday morning, and I heard him crowing through out the day yesterday....... then he looked striken last night

Do you think he ate something poisonous?

Sorry to hear about your roosters dieing. Welcome to the forum, I'm also on the island. Great site. Its possible that something might have scared him somehow and went into shock. Its possible he got into poison, however, I almost sounds like he was in shock.

 

[islandchooks]

Do you think he could die of shock? The rest of the flock appeared calm, everyone was in for the night already, I just went to close the door to the coop when I found him. There was nothing unusual inside or around the coop, all was quiet.....

I would think that if something scared him that bad, the hens and ducks would have noticed it too!
Are there any diseases that progress this quickly? aka overnight!
Most of the symptoms I read about seem to appear over the course of days and it is possible to observe a decline in health. With my rooster, he was healthy one day, dead the next morning.

I am observing the rest of the flock closely, to see if there are any signs of illness.
My mission now is to somehow figure out what happened, so I can at least learn from this.

What do you think about opening him up? What should I look for?

Thanks for your help!

 

[pwand]

It's possible he may of had a stroke if he wasnt scared somehow. maybe he also hit his head. i have gone out and have found one of my chickens dead while having a dust bath. I'm not aware of any diseases that work that fast. If it was a quick acting disease, you would have seen that in the other chickens. If your up for opening him up and having a look, it's a great idea. Lots to learn that way. I haven't done that before. It would be interesting to see if you see anything unusual. Do a google and you could probably find sites that would help you figure it out as you go. Let me know what you decide.

 

[Tips with James]

Hi all,

this is my first post, I've read many threads on this forum, but tonight I have an emergency!

I went to close the chicken coop for the night and found my 8 mth old Australorp rooster on the floor of the coop. Right away I was concerned, as he never sits on the ground at night, always up on the roosts with the hens.

When I went to check on him, I found him slumped forward, and shivering violently! His feathers are in excellent condition, so I can't imagine he would be cold. None of the other hens looked cold. It is only about 2C out here, not very cold at night.
His breathing was a bit raspy, he seemed to be breathing very quickly.
His legs were too weak for him to stand up on, his feet would curl and his legs buckled under him.
I'm not sure what to do with him!
I read through several posts, but his symptoms seem different from any of the diseases I read about

If this sounds familiar to you, please give me some advice! Thanks
Robin

I just noticed my rooster is going through this right now both legs are shaking like tremors . Trying to figure what to do to help him . He’s almost 2 years old quite young still . I just noticed this

 

[yuli2024]

the same thing to my rooster and we all love him I am so scared if something can happen to him