Rooster with a Respiratory Problem

[dharveymi]

I have a rooster, Nugget. He's a Rhode Island Red and a beloved pet. He and his two girls get locked up at night, but during the day roam the backyard (1 1/2 acres) with the pygmy goats. He's not quite 1 1/2 years old. He likes hanging out in the pygmy goat pen looking for spilled oats, etc. He gets held and petted and treated pretty much like a big baby.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter was holding him and became alarmed because he was breathing hard. When she tried to set him down, he didn't seem to be able to stand by himself, and his crop turned very dark. She held him in her arms for about 15 minutes and his breathing returned to normal and his crop color returned. The next day I noticed he had diarrhea, so I gave him a couple drops of imodium with an eyedropper and that seemed to clear up. We also added extra grit to his diet in case that was part of the problem. Since then, he's had a couple more of these breathing attacks that we've noticed. None as severe as the first one, but troublesome nonetheless. He also seems more complacent than normal. He doesn't try to get away when turned upside down and cradled in the arms like a baby, and he doesn't follow the chickens around as much as before. He's content to stay in pretty much the same area all day. The chickens don't seem to be having any problem. We're new at this. Does anyone out there have any idea what his problem could be?

 

[dlhunicorn]

holding a bird upside down is not good for them...
Also, your daughter may be holding him incorrectly...a bird needs to be able to move thier diaphram in and out or they will suffocate ...perhaps that is also part of the problem... it could very well be something else too (or in addition to this) but there are so many variables I have no idea from the info you gave what else might eventually be the problem...

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

What kind of bedding or shavings are you using?

 

[dharveymi]

My daughter holds him like she's cradling a baby. It's not continual, maybe a couple of times a week for a couple of minutes. She's not cutting off his air and he seems pretty relaxed when she's doing it. Sometimes after she lets go he still just lays there in her lap (not comatose-like, just relaxed and looking around). Since this whole thing started, I haven't let her do that, thinking it may be harder on his breathing.

The bedding in the chicken pen is dirt with a minimal amount of wood chips. They basically only use that area to perch and sleep. At about 9:00 in the morning, they're freed to roam the yard until dusk. The goat pen, however, has wood chips and leftover hay scattered around. He loves it in there, pecking around for spilled leftovers. Would hay or oats bother him? I saw something on here a few minutes ago about a surgery on a crop where they removed hay. Scared me!

I was just out there with him and saw him do something like a dry cough a couple of times. This is the first time I've seen that.

 

[hypnofrogstevie]

Is he on cerdar or pine chips? Pine is good for them but the cedar oil causes respiratory promlems

 

[dlhunicorn]

wet bedding/hay always carries with it a risk of fungus ... this can cause respiratory problems. I would try and keep him out of the goat pen. Has he ever been wormed?

 

[Wolf-Kim]

Is there any wheezing? Any discharge(dried or wet) from his nostrils? Is his face puffy or swollen beneath and around the eyes?

Mine had trouble breathing when they had a respiratory infection. It usually shows up in the roosters first. A couple of my roos(not any hens though) get a respiratory infection a couple weeks ago. If it is a respiratory infection, maybe being held by your daughter just made it that much more difficult to breath(like getting a good hug when you have a bad cold or asthma).

-Kim

 

[dharveymi]

hypnofrogstevie - I'm pretty sure the wood chips are pine. I wish it were that easy. That would be a wonderfully easy fix.

dlhunicorn - Wet bedding/hay could be it. The kids said the chickens have been knocking over their water every night almost right away when they go in. And the goats have a tarp roof that tends to let rain into the sides of the pen on 2/3 of it. We try to get all the wet stuff out the next day, but not sure if the kids always get all of it. How do you worm a chicken? The goats get wormed monthly, but I've never heard of worming a chicken. Do you get something special from the feed store for that?

Wolf-Kim - I haven't heard any wheezing, or seen any discharge, or puffiness. Are you aware if you can get respiratory medicine at the feed store? My daughter asked me about the holding him, too. She thought maybe she was causing it because he seemed worse after she held him. I told her the same thing. That it may be the added stress of being held, and that would be when you would tend to notice it.

I'd really like to get to the root cause and not just treat the results. I'd also hate to lose him. We have so much time invested into him. He's so tame and gentle mannered.

 

[dlhunicorn]

This is what many use as it is broad spectrum and one of the safest wormers around and gets many of the mites that also plague chickens...here is a link to it...I suggest you use the spot-on method (applying it to the skin)over putting it in the waterer ...
http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-iy&p=ivomec and your birds&type=

 

[Wolf-Kim]

If you have a TSC or a Southern States, you can find the antibiotics for a respiratory infection. You want either Terramycin or Aereomycin for their water.

I also use Tylan 50(cattle and pork injectable antibiotic) and that has been the best thing for me to use. I just inject them with .5cc and they cleared up very quickly. Tylan 50 is pretty affordable at about $10 for 100cc bottle.

If there is no wheezing or discharge, then it may not be a repiratory infection. Although it is good to have all round antibiotics like Terramycin, Aereomycin, and Tylan 50 around for your "chicken first aid kit."


-Kim