What is wrong with this dang rooster!? Multiple Choice.

[happymorrows]

SO...I have this rooster. 1 year old, EEgger, pine shavings, eats and drinks normally, frisky and active. BUT he opens and closes his mouth a lot to breath and his crow is kind of wimpy. I treated for worms (in case it was gapeworm). But I didn't use Wazine which appears to be the wormer of choice around here. Is it possible the wormer I used didn't work? I used Prohibit. But dissolved in 1qt then add 1tsp to 1gal of water. And gave that for 2 days.
http://www.valleyvet.com/ct_detail....rce=froogle&utm_medium=free&utm_content=16572

He is still gaping and his crow is still wimpy. SO...either I the wormer didn't work, or it is an upper respiratory viral infection (more likely because that's what 5 of my hens have right now). But the hens that are sick are lethargiv and snotty. He is neither. He is a newer addition to the flock. Yes, I did quarantine him. Don't berate me, but he was doing the open mouth thing in quarantine, I just didn't know what it was. I am new to chickens and that wasn't on the list of things to look for that I read. It said "signs of respiratory infection" but I just thought he was doing that because he was scared of me. I feel pretty stupid in hind sight. So, here is what I am thinking

A: He still has the worm, and I need a different wormer.

B: He has the same infection as the hens (brought in by wild birds or something), but just isn't as affected as the hens for some reason.

C: He is a carrier for an infection. He has had it in the past, so this second time around he isn't as sick, but he made my hens sick.

Unfortunately, I think the answer may be C. What do ya'll think?

 

[Jenski]

Sorry about your roo. This is a tough time of year for our birds' health. Cold, damp, etc. just begs for things to rear their ugly heads in our coops and pens.

I personally think birds can carry lots of funky stuff, but trying my best to keep their immune systems strong through proper nutrition, good housing, and reducing general stress is an excellent way to allow my birds to naturally ward off as many pathogens as possible. That said, before asking about what your birds could be exposed to, I would ask how they are kept now. What is your coop like? Artificial heat source or natural? How is the coop ventilation? How many birds per square foot, and what breed/s? How large is the pen/free range space?

What are they eating? Is there sufficient water supply?

Once you have hashed out the basic husbandry, you can look more closely at narrowing your roo's symptoms. Gaping can be caused by several things, and frankly I have found very few folks who still have problems with gapeworm on this forum. Insufficient ventilation and lots of coop dust could cause similar symptoms. If it is indeed a respiratory infection, that is a different course of action . . . if there is nasal discharge, what is the color (if any)?

Pics would help too, if possible. Any further info would help us pitch in with what we know.

 

[Sueg4332]

Had a rooster doing that. It got to where he couldn't crow. He seened to eat but got pretty thin. I thought he'd die but is well and fine now. crowing up a storm. it took a month at least.
I am a wait and see gal. It seems if I enterfear to much the bird always die..

He is putting weight on and happy again. It was a BC marans and they don't seem to be real hearty. Knew to Marans couple years now.

 

[happymorrows]

Well, lack of ventilation is not a problem. Here is a picture of my coop

If anything I worry about too much ventilation, ie draftiness. For the winter I put up thick vinyl over the screen. It cuts down on wind and keeps out wet, but is not air tight. I keep a heat lamp in the corner that their roost is in. There are 10 birds in 80 square feet (8x10 coop). I have about 600 sq ft of yard, plus they get out to free range in the evening. Their diet is layer feed, BOSS, and scratch, and they always have fresh water. I use pine shavings which I just cleaned out the old and put in new 2 weeks or so ago. The breeds are SLW, BR, BO and EE.

The nasal discharge (not seen on the roo) is clear, and has no odor I can detect.

Can having a "drafty" coop be part of the problem. I live in the foothills of NC, and our winters aren't very cold, but it does get below freezing. I see ice on the outside water bucket, but not on the one inside. When I stand in the coop when the wind is blowing, I can feel it some, but it is greatly diminished from the actual wind.

 

[Jenski]

happy, good to hear your roo's discharge is clear. That bodes well for his recovery, in my experience.

All your breeds are large fowl then, and are pretty cold hardy. Plenty of room (nice!) and it sounds like they are warm enough at night if your water isn't freezing. Hmmmm . . . have you ever stuck your head in at night to see if it feels drafty? I can't picture how the vinyl screen covering is. Are any openings near the roof? As long as any breeze is circulating near the ceiling and not directly on your birds, it should not be a problem. You could always check in with patandchickens to be sure.