Rooster with swollen ear, won't stop drinking

[mountaingirl196]

Howdy, all - searched the threads, couldn't find this one addressed so am throwing it out for the brain trust.

My favorite roo (red sex-link, about three years old) showed up at my office door this AM making distressed sounds. It didn't sound like rales, more like he was crying if that makes sense. Was wet all down the front of his body and one of the lobes below his ear was very swollen. I caught him relatively easily and wiped him off a bit, put him in a pet cage in my office bathroom so I can keep an eye on him. Food and water with electrolytes.

He has been in there for about two hours now and hasn't stopped drinking. Literally. So far he's gone through most of a quart of the electrolyte water. He stopped making the crying sound pretty much as soon as I caught him, although (interestingly) I played a chicken video while searching for a solution to this and he started making that sound when he heard the hens in the video. His breathing is quiet.

None of his hens are showing any signs of trouble.

I have about 100 laying breed birds that free range on 20 acres and have free-choice access to food and water and anything else they can chase down. He is the oldest of my roos and has been the alpha in a coop with about 35 hens and a younger roo. There are about eight roos total in this group of birds that range together, out of three separate coops.

Ideas? He must be slightly depressed if I was able to catch him at all, he is NOT a cuddly chicken. But he is active enough in the pet pen for the moment, certainly isn't acting like he is at death's door.

Thanks for help. SUE

 

[Eggcessive]

If you have a vet locally, they can take (or you might collect it and take it in) to identify the yellow material. As said earlier, canker, a protozoan organism, smells bad. But fungus (thrush, candida,) virus (fowl pox,) or bacteria can cause yellow plaques in the airway as well. If you treat for fungus and do not see improvement, then consider treating for canker. Testing or identifying the organism under a microscope would save time and money for drugs. A small amount of plain yogurt with live cultures is good for probiotics, but there are better sources, such as Gro2Max granules or other probiotics for animals.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How is he this morning?
He drank all that water yesterday, did his crop empty?

Usually a chicken that is drinking that much water either has a blockage somewhere or they may have something stuck in their throat.
The swelling of the ear might be making him feel like he needs to "clear" something - I just don't know.

 

[mountaingirl196]

Great idea. Wish I'd thought to preserve a sample.

I"m about to pack up and go to a farmer's market... will treat our patient again this AM before I take off. He's still pretty much asleep just now but made it through the night OK.

What we've done should get him through until I'm back home, as long as my hand keeps the food and water in front of him. I'll cook him another egg this AM so he has something delicious after we treat him. I can't imagine the bleach solution will taste good. Yuck.

 

[Eggcessive]

Iodine or Betadine is also a good way to disinfect water.
http://www.high-altitude-medicine.com/water.html
Acidifie copper sulfate (1/4 tsp per gallon of water) is sometimes use to help the spread of canker, and can be used 3 days per month for prevention.
https://www.jefferspet.com/products...w3eN4aOt6VEE7k3vjsNKvfaX1TVVA37BoCU_0QAvD_BwE

 

[mountaingirl196]

Thanks to everybody who helped with this. I learned a lot and hopefully other folks did, as well.

 

[mountaingirl196]

There are three widely spaced water access points as well as puddles and snow banks, not likely that he was denied water. No additives.

The swelling is firm. Not bony but you definitely have to push a little to dent it.

At no point has he exhibited pain, including when I was pushing on his ear lobe.

None of the hens appear to have scabs on their combs, etc, just a couple of Roos. Figured it’s from fighting, although I did look up fowl pox when I was trying to figure this out. I have no way of ruling it out but it doesn’t explain the sound or drinking.

 

[mountaingirl196]

It’s so hard to say.

I just opened my office window to give him some natural light to wake up to. Crop is empty. Not much poop overnight, he didn’t eat much yesterday. What there is is normal.

Swelling seems to have gone down somewhat.

His breathing is quiet but every once in a while he makes a little noise like he has some congestion.

I will let you know if he starts up with the drinking again when he wakes up a little.

I’m going to trim the broken feathers today so at least those won’t be hurting him, and check again for injuries. I didn’t see any yesterday but this guy is all plumage/not much bird. He is the biggest bad-ass I have and he weighs maybe 2.5 lbs.

 

[Eggcessive]

Bloody mucus from the beak can be a sign of ILT, so I would keep an eye on that. The only reasons for excessive drinking I know of are crop disorders, hot weather causing thirst, and a brain disorder called diabetes insipitus. The swollen ear could be from a respiratory infection, an ear infection, a peck to the earlobe, and insect stings. Here is a good reference on common diseases including ILT (infectious laryngo tracheitis) :
https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044

 

[mountaingirl196]

He smells bad, but I figured that was from all of the wet feathers.

Will look into canker. Thanks for the link.

Edited after reading: We don't see a lot of wild doves around here, but plenty of starlings.

Am going to go grab my husband out of the greenhouse, he's been out there long enough.

Edited again: It is definitely one of the two (thrush or canker). Obstructive growth quite visible with a headlamp and somebody else holding the thread. Will keep doing some research to see if I can determine which it is.