sick chicken

[chickfan]

My banty rooster has suddenly started keeping away from the rest of the flock...at least part of the time. He sits with feathers a bit ruffled. He is tame, so I can pick him up easily. He is eating and pooping normally. Something is not quite right, but I have no clue about what to look for. My husband thought he was twisting his head oddly at times.
We have gotten a rare coldfront here, and temps have been as low as 20, with not above freezing during the day for 3 or so days. He stays with the others at night....in an area that is partially enclosed to protect them from the north wind. (working on a coop and run, but not finished yet). He is in the house now, and walking around, but still has his feathers fluffed. I'm hesitant in taking him from 75 degrees in the house, to 21 outside, now that he has gotten warm in the house. Is that a problem? I also felt like his feet are hotter than normal....they were hot when I brought him inside. Do chickens have fever?
I didn't see this unusual behavior until the cold front came in. I wonder if the cold might be getting to him. The others seem OK.
If he had worms, would his poop still be normal? Hubby brought two new chickens in a couple of weeks ago...the hen developed a prolapse right after we got her (!!!) and I thought she might have some infection. Using hints from BYC group, I got the prolapse back in place (took two tries on different days), gave her Pen. G for 4 days, (Thank you Speckledhen!!!) and one squirt on her neck, of Ivermectin. Something worked. She laid an egg today (we threw it away of course, because of the Pen.) with no prolapse. I guess we should give all of them the Ivermectin just in case they have gotten worms. But....I am just wondering what could be wrong with my little rooster. He is a real favorite of mine.
Thank you!

 

[purpletree23]

He might not be as strong as the others and the cold could be taking a toll on him. If he is easy to handle pick him up and check ALL OVER his body for any problems. Look for mites and lice and any injuries or sores that his feathers might be hiding. How is his weight? Can you feel his keel bone(breast bone)? Look at the bottoms of his feet to make sure there are no sores and feel his crop to see if anything is unusual. Look him over really well and report back.

If he is not easy to handle gently wrap him in an old clean towel or cover his head and he shouldn't put up too much of a fight.

Because ther is such a temp fluctuation between the house and the coop I would keep him inside until it really warms up outside. Guess you have a house chicken this year. Just as a precaution I would treat him with Ivermectin also. Can't hurt and if you can't find anything wrong it just might be worms.

Keep us posted

Speckled hen is great isn't she?!?

 

[chickfan]

Thank you Purpletree23. I will most certainly do what you suggest. I had him in the house for awhile, and he seemed to be OK, so put him back out until I could get a place fixed for him in the house. While he was on the porch, our big rooster came over and really tore into him. I heard it and rushed out and got the rooster away. I didn't check him as carefully as I should, so will do that. I didn't see any blood though.
And we do intend to give all some Ivermectin. Just haven't done it yet. He is in the house tonight....had to put him in a dog taxi since our only smaller size cage contains the chicken that had the prolapse, still in the house. That one is telling me she wants out, but I can't move her until it gets warmer, and that won't be until sometime next week. It sure is nice to see her seeming to be nice and healthy, when she was pretty pitiful before. She can get awfully loud in the house though! LOL
I'll go ahead and give the banty some Ivermectin tonight. We had some on hand...injectable and sold for large animals. But the feed store owner is a friend, and he said he gives it orally to his dogs. Hubby got it for that..no shots. But I think it is OK to just put it on the skin too. At least yesterday, when I was at the vet with one of my dogs, I told him about the fiasco in trying to figure out doses of meds, with instructions being for large animals and I'm looking at a 5 pound chicken! LOL I told him I had put the Ivermectin on the skin, and he nodded. So I guess it is OK.