My silkie rooster is yawning and shaking his head (in that order.) to the point where he almost fell down. He seems to be eating well and drinking well, he’s about as active as the other chickens. He’s been sneezing some but more in the morning when I’m letting them out of the hen house. When I got him a few days ago he was a little lethargic, closing his eyes some and standing there. But he seems to have perked up some since then. What should I do? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.
Do you have any photos of him? You mention you got him a few days ago - is he new to your property and flock? Look in his ears and inside his beak for infection, pus, lesions, etc.
You stated that he seems to be sneezing more when you let him out of the hen house in the mornings. The possible causes could be soiled bedding emitting ammonia fumes, build up of dander or improper ventilation. It would be best to clean out the coop and replace bedding. However you also stated that you got him a few days ago. Is he a newly introduced bird into your existing flock? If so, and you didnt quarantine him away from your existing flock for at least 4-6 weeks, it's possible he may have a respiratory disease. Putting a sick bird with healthy birds without quarantine is very risky. Birds with respiratory diseases quickly spread the disease to other birds. I recommend that you inspect him closely for external parasites and treat as needed, worm him, and give him Poultry Nutri drench to boost his immune system and observe your other birds for similar symptoms.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have an existing flock to add him to. (Lost all the ones I had left to predators at one time.) All the chickens I have now came from a place where they were kept either in the same coop, or only separated by a wire fence.
He is new to me, but given I had lost all my birds I had before, and all the birds I have now came from the same person and relatively the same coop. He isn’t new to the flock. Here’s some pictures. I checked him for bugs, lice, mites and things. Couldn’t find any. He’s missing some feathers that I’m pretty sure were plucked by the other roosters he was kept with before I got him. But I checked they all seem to be growing back fine.