# Lethargic Rooster w/swollen wattles after minor injury.



## Sam K. (Aug 7, 2021)

About 10-14 days ago during a fight, our Alpha rooster sustained a minor injury to his comb area, initially he seemed to be fine, but after a few days he became very swollen in his wattles, he is mostly inactive, eating and drinking via assistance. He wants to eat food and drink water by himself but it's too difficult for him because his wattles are in the way. He stands up just fine. He can walk a little if he wants too, and flap his wings. He opens his eyes and is alert enough to observe what's going on around him without turning his head much. We help him out by giving him something to rest his chin on if he wants to sleep standing up. There is no vet on our island. He's been isolated in our care since.
We gave him approx. 44mg Amoxicillin Trihydrate/day orally, for bacterial infection, 11mg dosage 4x, 5 hr split, beginning about 7 am, for 4 days. We sterilized a mini sowing needle and punctured both wattles and nothing happened.

3 days ago another rooster pecked both his wattles, and punctured them when we had him in our breezway, both wattles drained quite a lot of clearish, slightly red/orange liquid, especially when we gently massaged/squeezed them, some of the liquid would turn slightly gel-like. We were nearly relieved until they filled back up with seemingly all gel-like substance that won't drain, when you squeeze the wattles you can feel it squishing around in there, feels like slightly firm gelatin or something.

There's also been whitish foam in his throat that he can't swallow down, but it seems to go away for a time when we give him garlic tea. We're also giving him fresh paw-paw leaf tea, fruit and seeds, and coconut water to keep hydrated. It's difficult for him to swallow due to the weight of the wattles.

The first 3 pictures are before he got pecked, the last 2 are from today.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's more than just his wattles. If there was ever a time for a vet to intercede it's this time. He either has a massive infection or some organ was damaged causing all of the swelling. 

A pic of the fluid might help us, but really a vet is your best bet.


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## danathome (Sep 14, 2020)

This looks very serious and Robin has given the best advice possible. The symptoms are that of Fowl Cholera and it's not something that should be ignored. You need to have a vet examine this bird so as to determine what is wrong ASAP.


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## imnukensc (Dec 5, 2020)

The OP stated that there is no vet on the island and if there were it seems that little can be done besides euthanizing the bird and disinfecting the coop/run as well as can be done.








Fowl Cholera - Poultry - Merck Veterinary Manual


Learn about the veterinary topic of Fowl Cholera. Find specific details on this topic and related topics from the Merck Vet Manual.




www.merckvetmanual.com


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## Animals45 (May 11, 2021)

Oh my.. Poor guy. Did he see a vet?


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## lovely_chooks (Mar 19, 2021)

Oh my.. that is scary I’m so sorry I hope he’s okay


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