Glendaroost
Chirping
- Apr 8, 2021
- 53
- 40
- 93
Hi everyone, I have a five year old Orpington rooster who had been displaying some odd symptoms over the past month and a half. He had a bacterial infection as a chick which caused joint swelling and severe lameness but he recovered fully from this with antibiotics (possibly Mycoplasma synoviae) and the current symptoms don't seem to match. He is still keen to eat but seems to be losing weight. His primary symptoms are as follows:
1. Red comb with a very pale face (the contrast is quite striking)
2. Shaking - his whole body and wings shake when he is standing or he tries to move. He is able to walk about and even tries to mate with the hens but he walks very slowly as if it takes a lot of effort to do so
3. He has some odd behaviour in that he will shove himself as hard as he can into small spaces and will often lie on the ground. It is like he wants to prop himself up and take the weight off his legs
His faeces appears normal and he hasn't been drinking more than usual. He had one incident of what looked like overheating in the summer when he was panting a lot but it didn't resolve with us cooling him down and it just went away the following day. The vet trialled him on antibiotics and pain relief in case it was pain related behaviour but there was no difference. The symptoms have slowly gotten worse. I am getting to the stage where I am considering having him euthanised, he was interacting with his girls and sunbathing etc before but this past few days he has been more withdrawn. I just wanted to check if anyone had seen anything similar in case there is anything else I can try before putting him to sleep. I suspect there isn't much we can do but he is very loved and the whole situation has been incredibly sad. I wonder whether there is a degree of heart disease going on causing weakness and the pale face but the neurological component is strange.
Unfortunately I have sought advice from two different vets who don't seem to have an idea on what is happening with him.
1. Red comb with a very pale face (the contrast is quite striking)
2. Shaking - his whole body and wings shake when he is standing or he tries to move. He is able to walk about and even tries to mate with the hens but he walks very slowly as if it takes a lot of effort to do so
3. He has some odd behaviour in that he will shove himself as hard as he can into small spaces and will often lie on the ground. It is like he wants to prop himself up and take the weight off his legs
His faeces appears normal and he hasn't been drinking more than usual. He had one incident of what looked like overheating in the summer when he was panting a lot but it didn't resolve with us cooling him down and it just went away the following day. The vet trialled him on antibiotics and pain relief in case it was pain related behaviour but there was no difference. The symptoms have slowly gotten worse. I am getting to the stage where I am considering having him euthanised, he was interacting with his girls and sunbathing etc before but this past few days he has been more withdrawn. I just wanted to check if anyone had seen anything similar in case there is anything else I can try before putting him to sleep. I suspect there isn't much we can do but he is very loved and the whole situation has been incredibly sad. I wonder whether there is a degree of heart disease going on causing weakness and the pale face but the neurological component is strange.
Unfortunately I have sought advice from two different vets who don't seem to have an idea on what is happening with him.
