Sick or frostbite?

[kuhnse51]

I have a rooster that has frostbite on his comb and wattles that has become lethargic. This morning I found him laying on the ground and he was very limp when I picked him up. He doesn't want to stand but when he does he's got a bit of a limp. His feet don't look frostbitten to me but I'm sure it's a possibility. I have him laying on my lap to warm up a bit. He tries to eat but would rather sleep. I got him to drink a little bit of water, is there anything else I can do for him?

I also tried to give him a little baby aspirin which he normally eats from me no problem but he would not eat it today.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

How severe is the frostbite? Has the area that was damaged become infected or gangrenous? Mild/moderate frostbite with no complicating infection should not lead to the symptoms you are seeing. How long has it been since you noticed the frostbite for the first time and what had his behavior been prior to that? I think there is an underlying issue at play aside from the frost bite (one may be the result of the other and arguably that could go in either direction as to which is which). Is there any discharge from the eyes,vent, beak or nostrils? You mention he usually takes aspirin readily - how often, for how long, how much have you been giving and for what reason? What sort of droppings is he expelling? How old is the rooster? Is he in a flock setting?
What you need to do for now is to put him in supportive care - move him inside to a warm, quiet place; provide hydration (most important) and nutrition (secondary) -- you can accomplish both by feeding soaked feed once he has an interest in eating. As he is taking a bit of water you can boost him by adding electrolytes, simple sugar, etc in the water that he is taking in to give his system as much benefit as possible from what he takes in.
Isolation in a hospital unit will also better enable you to monitor things like intake of feed/water and output as you will know any droppings you find are his.

 

[kuhnse51]

The frostbite is pretty bad, he's had it for a while now since the temperature has dropped drastically. I was giving him a baby aspirin/day for 4-5 days in row to help with the pain from frostbite then stopped because I didn't want to give him too much. The back of his comb is white and crusty. No discharge coming from any orifices. He doesn't seem to want to use his right leg at all, I'm thinking he may have injured it and this may be the problem. I was able to get him to eat some food and aspirin after I brought him inside. Not sure about his droppings at this point. He is in with 4 other roosters and he is at the top of the pecking order. I will try to keep him isolated and get him to drink some sugar water. Thanks ol grey mare!

 

[kuhnse51]

He seems to be doing better now. I gave him electrolyte water and he ate a little more. He was resting all day and now he was able to get up on his own to get more water!

 

[kuhnse51]

I brought him in tonight to give him a bath because he had feces all matted on his feathers from laying down all day. After getting his feet cleane off it does look like he has some frostbite.

I'm assuming this is why he's been lethargic and not wanting to stand. Is there anything else I can do for him at this point or is it just going to take time for him to heal? Is this something besides frostbite?

Should I continue baby aspirin every day?

 

[Eggcessive]

It does look like his feet are a bit frostbitten, and I'm sure sore. His toes that are very dark will probably lose there tips, but hopefully his feet will heal. I would keep him inside for a few days. Let us know how he gets along.

 

[kuhnse51]

I checked on him this morning and he seems to be having trouble controlling his head/neck. He's got it tilted backward and seems like he is dizzy or just out of it. He fell over sitting down. It seemed like he was getting better yesterday now he's even worse than before.

 

[kuhnse51]

It looks like "stargazing" and this just started this morning. I've been giving him water with vitamins since this weekend. Any ideas what's going on with him? Treatment?

 

[Eggcessive]

Is he drinking well The vitamins and electrolytes should help if he is dehydrated. For wry neck you need to give vitamin E and selenium, and selenium is found in egg, tuna, salmon, nuts, and sunflower kernels. How is his food intake? Do you have him inside where it is warm?

 

[kuhnse51]

He is eating and drinking on his own. He had a partially full crop when I came home from work today so I'm assuming he's eating fine. He actually seemed okay this afternoon when I got home, no issues with his neck or acting dizzy. I honestly thought I was going to find him dead after how he was in the morning, but he was doing better. I'm not allowed to keep him in the house he is separated in a tiny coop by himself with lots of bedding. Hopefully he'll be okay in the morning and I'll give him some scrambled eggs!