Why would a chicken lose his voice?

[PunkinPeep]

I found my 20 week old cockerel standing on my porch in the dark a few minutes ago.

He was standing there completely still, and kind of maybe gasping for air every 3 to 5 seconds. Also, his voice isn't working.

He actually voluntarily showed me his throat, opened his mouth toward the flashlight and everything (that's how you know they're really sick...when they get cooperative

), but i couldn't see anything in his throat.

His crop was full because he recently had a big meal, and i massaged it for a while until he stopped gasping for air and started to breathe more normally. But his voice didn't return.

This all came on very suddenly, so i don't believe there's an illness.

But i'm just very curious what could be stopping his voice and if any of y'all have experienced that before. It's definitely a new one on me. How can the crop affect the breathing and the voice? As it appears is happening.

 

[Zoey]

He has a respiratory infection affecting his lungs and air sacs, can't get enough air to crow ... any chance his comb is a little blue ?

I would treat with Tylan injectable, for a full sized chicken I usually give 1/2 cc a day for 7 days . Can inject into the breast muscle at an angle, (avoid the crop!) or under the skin at the back of the neck, or alternate between the 2 sites ...

OR, LS 50 works well in the drinking water, just be sure to follow package directions, and be sure this is the only water he can get into for the treatment time ...

 

[savingdogs]

Hope he feels better!

 

[PunkinPeep]

Zoey, Thank you for responding. I'm just sure you're incorrect. Massaging his crop improved his situation in a few minutes. This was very sudden onset. I do not believe he has any kind of infection. When i inspected him with a flashlight, his comb was normal red in color.

savingdogs, thanks for the good wishes.

 

[Zoey]

I may be wrong,... just that it happened to me .. 3 years ago, my 12 pound Golden laced Wyandotte rooster started to squeak instead of crowing , the following day his voice was gone . No other symptoms ...

After 4 days of Tylan 50, he was loud and crowing again...

I have had 70 chickens for 4 years here in Hawaii, and have learned so much, that I am a moderator on another chicken forum...

We get 120 inches of rain a year avg. goes from 80 to 400 inches , and the year round temp AVG. is 74*F ( goes from 58 to 86) You learn really fast in such an environment , I've encountered nearly everything , LOL I have a good avian vet, who sees poultry, and have had a good relationship with them...

I also have 38 ducks , and 13 Geese . ( Now 42 chickens )

I do hope your guy is fine ...

I noticed all the posters you have here and thought I'd lend a hand ...

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

Glad the crop massage helped. But if he's lost his voice, i would suspect some type of respiratory infection. If his voice doesn't come back to normal in a day or so i would give the Tylan a try. Alternately, you could bring him in the house for a day or so and put a humidifier near his crate. Heat lamp wouldn't hurt, also. i just always routinely bring any chicken in distress into the house and put a heat lamp on them.

Hope he gets better real soon.

 

[PunkinPeep]

Thanks for your help, everyone. I really appreciate it.

This little guy, ironically, is scheduled for slaughter this weekend, so i won't be applying antibiotics, but i don't want him to be sick for the last few days of his life either. Hopefully he's back to normal this morning.

Thanks again!