Rooster with 'slime' in mouth.

[PoultryGirly]

Hi. Yesterday I noticed that my year old (almost) rooster had clear 'slime' coming out of his mouth. He then sort of shook his head and 'sneezed' and I didn't see anymore of it. Today when he opened his mouth to eat he has some of that 'slime' in it, also. Otherwise, he seems fine (eating, drinking, crowing, scratching around, etc). Well, actually, I haven't seen him drinking but I'm pretty sure he does. Their water is in their chicken coop. Also, I had a hen pass away a few weeks ago from what we think was a respiratory infection. He isn't sneezing (except that once) or coughing and he doesn't have any discharge from his eyes or nose. And if this helps, it's been about 95* here for the past few days.

 

[PoultryGirly]

Anyone?

 

[PoultryGirly]

Please, anyone?

 

[Haunted55]

Someone...I'm not sure what is going on but want to help. Can you post pictures of him? Can you go into more detail about the hen?

 

[PoultryGirly]

I'll try to post pictures soon. He is a GIANT Partridge Cochin rooster with huge feet. He's pretty nice but is getting a bit 'frisky'. His feathers are nice and shiny and the slime isn't always coming out of his mouth. (I didnt see it today.) Also, he has always slept on the floor of the coop and not on the roost. The hen I had was also a Partridge Cochin. She had been sneezing and had loud breathing for months. I thought she had allergies because I kept trying to treat her but it wouldn't go away. I just let her be and we found her dead in the run. And also, she was broody at the time she died.

 

[Haunted55]

Here's what I could find with the symptoms given. I would really like to see pictures of him and also know anything else you could tell.

Fowl Cholera
Synonyms: avian pasteurellosis, cholera, avian hemorrhagic septicemia.
Species affected: Domestic fowl of all species (primarily turkeys and chickens), game birds (especially
pheasants and ducks), cage birds, wild birds, and birds in zoological collections and
aviaries are susceptible.
Clinical signs: Fowl cholera usually strikes birds older than 6 weeks of age. In acute outbreaks, dead
birds may be the first sign. Fever, reduced feed consumption, mucoid discharge from
the mouth, ruffled feathers, diarrhea, and labored breathing may be seen. As the disease
progresses birds lose weight, become lame from joint infections, and develop rattling
noises from exudate in air passages. As fowl cholera becomes chronic, chickens develop
abscessed wattles and swollen joints and foot pads. Caseous exudate may form in the
sinuses around the eyes. Turkeys may have twisted necks (see Table 3).
Transmission: Multiple means of transmission have been demonstrated. Flock additions, free-flying
birds, infected premises, predators, and rodents are all possibilities.
Treatment: A flock can be medicated with a sulfa drug (sulfonamides, especially sulfadimethoxine,
sulfaquinonxalene, sulfamethazine, and sulfaquinoxalene) or vaccinated, or both, to stop
mortality associated with an outbreak. It must be noted, however, that sulfa drugs are not
FDA approved for use in pullets older than 14 weeks or for commercial laying hens. Sulfa
drugs leave residues in meat and eggs. Antibiotics can be used, but require higher levels
and long term medication to stop the outbreak.
Prevention: On fowl cholera endemic farms, vaccination is advisable. Do not vaccinate for fowl
cholera unless you have a problem on the farm. Rodent control is essential to prevent
future outbreaks.

From what you said the symptoms match but the diseases that chickens get are all very similar at first and it is the little things that set them apart from each other. He's obviously has something going on, but seriously, this info I've given you is shooting from the hip. You said the hen seemed like she had allergies, please explain further. Why did you think that? What did you do to try and treat her? How many other birds do you have and are any of them showing any type of symptoms, no matter how slight? What is their feed? Any suppliments? Are they cooped and penned, or are they allowed outside to range freely?
​

 

[PoultryGirly]

Now I'm wondering if he had the slime in his mouth because it was so hot and he didn't drink enough. I think I've read that before, but I'll answer all of your questions. Also, if chickens have fowl cholera, are they carriers for life?

Question 1: Why did you think your hen had allergies? I thought my hen had allergies because she was sneezing and had loud breathing. I tried to treatitand nothing worked so I figured it was allergies. She ate and drank fine and layed eggs.

2. Ht did you try to teat her with? I tried treating my hen with VetRX, Duramycin 10, and SafeGuard (in case I was gape worm).

3. How many other birds do you have and are they showing symptoms? I have 4 other chickens living in the same chicken coop with my rooster, but I also have 3 ducks in a coop next to them and 3 teenage chicks next to the ducks. (I have 2 ducklings and 6 chicks inside my house, too.) I haven't noticed any symptoms from my other poultry except for an occasional sneeze.

4. My chickens eat Purina layer pellets and scratch. (No supplements.)

5. My chickens have 6x4 chicken coop with a 7.5 x 7.5 run attached to it. I don't let them free range because we are next to the woods.

 

[Haunted55]

http://www.ask.com/wiki/Fowl_cholera

I found this for you and it seems to have some good info in it. I've never seen fowl cholera or at least don't believe I have. Like I said shooting from the hip. From the description of the hen it could have been coryza that took her. I am going to show this thread to another BYC member and see if they have any experience with the symptoms. I don't want to waste precious time guessing at this.

 

[PoultryGirly]

Thank you. It seems that a very common symptom of fowl cholera is green diarrhea and great swelling if the wattles. My roo doesn't have that. If you want, here is the link to the forum of when my hen died: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/782867/i-lost-a-hen-today#post_11275209

 

[Haunted55]

"For the past several days she had been broody along with another hen. This hen that died, Clover, had been acting weird for the last months. She had had an off and on "cold" where she would sneeze a lot and have loud breathing. Actually, she had the loud breathing almost 24/7 but the sneezing was once in a while. I, at first, thought it was just allergies to all of the pollen that has been falling. This morning when I saw her she was on her nest and I got to pet her. I noticed also that her breathing was loud and raspy. Since she had been like this for months I didn't think any thing of it. The other hens, when they eat, will hiccup loudly when they eat and shake their heads. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with it? This hen was just a little older than a year....."


I am going to assume something here.....If your hen had these symptoms I believe you have one of the respiratory diseases going on in your flock. How long a course of the Duramycin-10 did you give? At what dose? Were the other birds treated, including the roo, at the same time? I think there maybe some symptoms missing. Sometimes it's hard to catch everything going on.

When a bird shows symptoms, no matter how slight, it is always better to be safe and remove them from the others. It will need to be in a warm place and quiet. Antibiotic can be given, but you need to figure out symptomatically what they may have. You need to know this...if one is sick and has been with the other birds, then they're all sick. It just depends on how sick they are going to be. I always treat the one with the symptoms and the others at the same time. If you wait for thier symptoms to show up, you could have a real mess on your hands. Another thing to keep in mind, not every bird is going to show all of the symptoms listed under a particular disease listing. Some and once in a while you might get them all. With out a Vet and blood work done, it's all guess work. Most of the time it's an educated guess made through experience, but in the end, still a guess.

Here is what I would do...if you still have some of the Duramycin-10 left, I would give that at 1/2 tbls. per gallon of water, for 7 - 14 days. Everyone in that coop gets it. this has to be made up fresh every 24 hours as it loses it's effectiveness after that. If the water gets dirty, spilled, whatever, mix a new batch even if it's not a whole day since the last time you did it. Without separating the sickest from the others, you will have to decide by his symptoms which time frame it will be. If he seems completely better at 5 days, then you could stop at the 7th day. If he is improving, but not completely well, go the 14 days. If after 4 days, he doesn't seem to be getting better, the antibiotic may not be working and will need to be changed.