Sick Rooster, HELP

[dmangum]

Four days ago my rooster's crow sounded high pitched and weak (horse), other than that he was fine. This morning he is sluggish and his comb and whattles are purple instead of his brite red color. What could this be??? Is it contagious to my flock? I don't think he will make the next 24 hours!!

 

[Judy]

How old is he? A purple comb indicates reduced circulation. In an older bird this may be due to heart failure or heart disease. Tere are certainly other possibilities. If he has no other symptoms, particularly respiratory symptoms such as cough or nasal drainage, and the others are OK, I'd guess it is unlikely to be contagious.

 

[dmangum]

He is just 2 years and three months old. It does appear that he has trouble breathing. Is there something I can do for him?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Look into his throat.

Is he gasping? (Ruling out gapeworm, which is kind of rarish, I believe...haven't dealt with that.)

Does he have yellow cheesy areas in his throat? (thinking of Canker)

I have seen a purple comb with worms, but I didn't see difficulty breathing.

Another possibility is mold...do you think there is a moldy coop or moldy feed?

I have seen difficulty breathing and deaths from moldy feed and coop.
If you have a severe mite infestation, that could make him anemic, and that might make him have difficulty breathing.

 

[LILMaranLady]

Four days ago my rooster's crow sounded high pitched and weak (horse), other than that he was fine. This morning he is sluggish and his comb and whattles are purple instead of his brite red color. What could this be??? Is it contagious to my flock? I don't think he will make the next 24 hours!!

sounds like markans disease if he starts limping then it is for certain