Rooster's Life on the Line: From Fine to Fatal

[Rielka]

My 2 year old Rhode Island Red rooster has suddenly fallen incredibly ill. Just four days ago I noticed he was laying beside the coop, a behavior I believed was okay seeing as he would still get up and move, it just seemed as if he was slightly lethargic. Overtime his conditioned worsened, even as I was trying to syringe feed him water, a high calorie/vitamin supplement and offered him boiled eggs alongside his feed. I separated him yesterday in a small pen and now moved him inside as I believe he was suffering much worse due to the suffocating heat. His symptoms are what I believe to be gapeworm, although I could be very wrong since I know it's quite rare. He no longer chooses to stand or walk (he can, but it is very difficult on him) and has his neck outstretched in front of him, gasping with no other signs of respiratory infection. He's been eating on his own quite well (I just need to put it in front of him and he eats, but has to take pauses in between to lay his neck down, close his eyes and take deep breaths), but has issues drinking. It's as if drinking is a lot harder to swallow than food for him- he'll drink sips, but gets tired very rapidly, so I have to prop up his head, rub his neck and make sure he swallows it... If not, he lays his head back down and begins this harsh gurgling noise that bubbles from his beak and immediately starts stretching his neck, gasping. I'm so worried about him, seeing as he is my favorite rooster due to his kind disposition and sweet attitude toward the girls, so I can't help but be concerned for this boy who seems like he's just in so much pain.

What I've done so far: I've just given him a dewormer and have gathered as much stuff as I could to at least make things easier for him: put grapes (for the sugar) in a small bowl of his feed with minced garlic, a slightly crushed boiled egg and a high calorie/vitamin liquid that stirs right in, offered him oatmeal with honey, and water with a small amount of Rooster Booster, honey and a small piece of garlic. He's at room temperature and has a heater next to him that I later turned off as the warm air seemed to make it a little harder to breathe. He seems to do a lot better in here and can actually fall asleep without having to gasp. I'm monitoring him every so minutes now and he's begun to make incredibly weak coos every once and awhile, so I'm not sure if this is a sign of improvement or worsening symptoms... I think he may be too far gone, but I'm not going to stop trying until he decides he wants to. He's just been so strong, giving up now seems so unfair.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Hi, I'm sorry about your rooster. I won't be able to help you much, but I can ask some questions and then call upon some of our most knowledgeable helpers who will be able to assist with the information from your answers. It will save time, I believe.

How is his poo? Can you post pics of it? How often does he poo in a day? How is his crop? Does it empty overnight? Feel it first thing in the morning before offering food or water, it should feel flat and empty. If not, what does it feel like? And also, at night, how does it feel? Hard? Gritty? Soft and fluid like a water balloon? Mushy like oatmeal? Other? Don't squeeze or massage it or try to make him vomit. Is there any odor coming from his mouth? If so, describe it. How many other chickens do you have? Everybody else okay?

Could this bird have suffered an injury, a predator attack, perhaps? Could a dog have gotten hold of him briefly? Check him over all over for signs of trauma, especially under his wings. Flex his wings and legs to be sure they're not injured. OP, those pics of your bird's poo are especially important.

I can't think of anything else. @Eggcessive, @Wyorp Rock, @azygous, what does this sound like to you? I hope you can help.

 

[Eggcessive]

What did you use to worm him? Can you look inside his beak and throat for any obstruction, yellow plaques, or cankers? How does his crop feel—empty, full, hard, doughy or puffy. If you can have a vet see him, that would be best.

 

[azygous]

It sounds as if he might be in organ failure, lungs, heart, etc, from cancer. Do you have other chickens and is this something that has happened before with any of them?

The key to his condition is that despite your care, he's getting worse. That's not encouraging for his prognosis.

Since the only symptom is difficulty in breathing, you should check inside his mouth as @Eggcessive suggested. If this is something treatable, a mouth canker would be the only thing I can think of.

Where are you located? If the weather is hot and humid, he may have coccidiosis and you would treat that with a coccidiostat containing amprolium. (Corid in the US)

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Photos of his poop would be good.

Any chance he ate something rotten, toxic or moldy?

 

[Rielka]

How is his poo? Can you post pics of it? How often does he poo in a day? How is his crop? Does it empty overnight? Feel it first thing in the morning before offering food or water, it should feel flat and empty. If not, what does it feel like? And also, at night, how does it feel? Hard? Gritty? Soft and fluid like a water balloon? Mushy like oatmeal? Other? Don't squeeze or massage it or try to make him vomit. Is there any odor coming from his mouth? If so, describe it. How many other chickens do you have? Everybody else okay?

Could this bird have suffered an injury, a predator attack, perhaps? Could a dog have gotten hold of him briefly? Check him over all over for signs of trauma, especially under his wings. Flex his wings and legs to be sure they're not injured. OP, those pics of your bird's poo are especially important.

I can't think of anything else. @Eggcessive, @Wyorp Rock, @azygous, what does this sound like to you? I hope you can help.

Thank you so much for asking and even offering to get more help for my boy. Surprisingly his poop seems rather good- although he may be a little constipated- pooping just about 6 or more times a day I believe and just today he started to get up for longer periods of times. He is no longer gasping to an extreme degree (yesterday he was fully outstretching his tongue and extend his neck as far as he could) and now only breathes a little heavily after doing something strenuous like pooping and getting up to do it. He's also drinking a lot more water than he was yesterday, so it's a slight, but progressive improvement. His crop has definitely been emptying out and, I just felt it now, is a little mushy, but has some firmness to it. It's actually a little emptier than I thought it would be, so I'll definitely monitor that. I don't seem to smell an odor from his mouth, but may I ask if there is any smell I should look out for just in case? I have three other girls and a pairing of one silkie and silkie rooster separated from the rest of the flock, but they all seem to be doing well apart from one of the three hens. However, she has definitely been perking up and did not show the same symptoms as him apart from slight lethargy. I'll be sure to check her again just in case though, as well as the others. As for animals attacking, he had no visible injuries and we just have an aussie, rough collie and two puppies that never mess with him. I've picked him up quite a few times and it seems like the only thing hurting him his how much energy everything takes for him...

(The long white strands poking out are just dog hair, my dogs are in shed right now, so the towel underneath him got some strands on his feces.)

 

[Rielka]

What did you use to worm him? Can you look inside his beak and throat for any obstruction, yellow plaques, or cankers? How does his crop feel—empty, full, hard, doughy or puffy. If you can have a vet see him, that would be best.

My mother had driven to the feed store to fetch him these worming tablets specifically used to treat every worm type, however she unfortunately couldn't remember it's name... His throat already sounds clearer though and he's definitely starting to breathe much easier now, so I believe they're working to some degree. I'll attach a picture of a tablet in case you may know the brand of course, however I cannot recognize it. I just checked his mouth and there seem to be no cankers, obstructions or plaques, just a clear open mouth... It's very strange indeed. His crop feels relatively full, but is a little more of the empty side, but as we speak he is eating progressively, so the slight squish I felt from it should hopefully pass. I'll definitely keep providing updates on it though, but I do know he has been emptying it. And I would absolutely love to take him to the vet, however they are all stocked to the brim with appointments and the wait time would be several weeks from now, so I'm trying to do the best I can beforehand.

 

[Rielka]

It sounds as if he might be in organ failure, lungs, heart, etc, from cancer. Do you have other chickens and is this something that has happened before with any of them?

The key to his condition is that despite your care, he's getting worse. That's not encouraging for his prognosis.

Since the only symptom is difficulty in breathing, you should check inside his mouth as @Eggcessive suggested. If this is something treatable, a mouth canker would be the only thing I can think of.

Where are you located? If the weather is hot and humid, he may have coccidiosis and you would treat that with a coccidiostat containing amprolium. (Corid in the US)

I was concerned it was organ failure as well, especially heart failure since I know it's quite common in roosters, but his comb and wattle are still very much red and haven't drooped at all. Even with his severe breathing issues, they never tinged blue or collapsed- something I read that was apparently a common sign of failure or breathing problems. Although I definitely am not ruling it out, there is a possibility, but oddly enough, he showed progressive improvement today, so even I'm not so sure anymore. I was so certain I was going to find him passed away this morning, but he seemed like he had more vigor than ever. He still can't stand for very long, but at the least, it's much longer than before and he took some steps today and responded quite well before drooping his head and closing his eyes after awhile, prompting me to gently lay him back down before tiring himself out any more. He takes a few deep breaths, but nothing extreme like yesterday, so I'm just baffled and confused. This is definitely a first in our coop, so I don't believe we've had a problem with it before... However we did have a problem with coccidia before in our dogs and cats, so I'm trying to find some ways to rule it out and so far there's been no diarrhea or blood in his poop, but I'll definitely keep checking and keep some medicine for it on hand (plus, I live in Texas, and he got ill after the entire snow escapade, so it's only getting warm now.) Thank you so much for the advice, this truly means so much to me during this time, I can't thank you all enough.

 

[Rielka]

Photos of his poop would be good.

Any chance he ate something rotten, toxic or moldy?

Just posted a picture of it replying to @BigBlueHen53 , I had totally forgotten to include it, so thank you so much for reminding me! It seems relatively normal, but perhaps a little smaller and harder today.. I believe this is because he didn't drink nearly as much water yesterday since he was at his worst, but other than that he's pooping maybe every two/three or so hours. I never considered if he ate anything toxic or moldy, but it's most definitely a possibility since it's just snowed and it was rather muddy since it melted. In addition, with the wild birds migrating, I found a couple that somehow snuck into the coop while they rested their wings, eating the leftover grain on the floor. Is there any possibility they could have left something behind that he caught? Again, thank you all for guiding me through this, I sincerely appreciate it.

 

[azygous]

You mentioned he began this crisis after the winter storm savaged your state. Hypothermia can mimic more serious disorders - weakness, lethargy, even balance issues and paralysis. Unfortunately, people overlook this as a possible cause of their chicken's sudden serious illness. It's treated as you would treat shock, in addition to warming the body.

If this was a factor in this fellow's health crisis, your ministrations somehow stabilized him, and he may be on the mend. You can continure to give him electrolytes and keep him warm, offering carbs and proteins to further aid his metabolic functions. And by the way, his poop appears to be splendid. I see no issues there.