Rooster standing around with wings down and sluggish

[HeatherMarieR]

I have him on a working schedule. He's standing now, and doesn't appear to be having any problems with standing. He just seems to not want to. I tried to briefly check him for mites earlier, but I'll try to check again without disturbing him too much.

 

[HeatherMarieR]

His skin looks good.

 

[HeatherMarieR]

He's not looking any better, and his breathing is really rapid. I don't know what else to do for the poor guy.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is he inside where it is cool enough, or does he seem stressed by being apart from his flock? If that is making him upset or worse, maybe he could stay with them? Is he taking water?

 

[HeatherMarieR]

Right now he's outside in a cage under some shade trees, but I was thinking about bringing him in. I can't get him to drink. When I went out there a couple of hours ago, his water dish was almost empty, but I'm guessing that he probably just tipped it over because there's no way he drank that much in the couple of hours I wasn't there. I'm starting to worrying more and more that he does have Marek's. I'm also not seeing any poop on the ground in the cage.

 

[HeatherMarieR]

Is it just me, or does his ear area look odd? It looks swollen to me.

 

[HeatherMarieR]

And he just pooped. It looks pretty runny compared to the other birds. His crop is also full, but I'll check it again in the morning.

 

[Eggcessive]

You would need to compare the ear with the opposite side. Ears can be swollen from ear infections from mites or bacteria or fungus, from respiratory infections, and from a cyst or tumor. I would add a lot of electrolyte water to some feed--that way he has to take fluids if he eats.

 

[HeatherMarieR]

The other ear looks the same so maybe it's just normal for him. He was up walking around some when I went out there a few minutes ago, and his breathing didn't appear labored anymore. He didn't want to touch the food that I soaked in electrolyte water for some reason.

 

[HeatherMarieR]

He's not as eager to eat today as he was yesterday and his comb is turning darker, almost purplish. I'd wonder about a respiratory problem, but he's not wheezing or coughing.