[brenda]

hello everyone hope somebody can help me!
I have a lovelly japenese pecan rooster he is about 5 to 6 years old, we have discovered that he has a lump inside his mouth, it is yellow and curdy looking. I have treated him on an antibiotic a few weeks ago for 10 days but it didn't seem help he is a little depressed looking although he is eating and drinking but he cannot crow anymore. He is in a pen on his own.
any advice please?

Another query is it normal for hens to have mucky bums? all my hens at the moment have dirty bums and feathers including the rooster. I have about 26 hens and 1 rooster free range and they were all wormed in January.
any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks

[Foxy]

Hi sorry to hear your rooster is poorly, I am afraid it sounds very much like canker, and if he cant crow he may have lesions infiltrating his throat/crop.
You will have to get to the vet ASAP  for an accurate diagnosis though. The treatment "flagyl" or its other name Metronidazole takes a while to work. Keep him isolated and give the whole house/run a good clean, keep a close eye on the water and make sure only fresh water is available daily. Check all your other birds for signs of infection.
Canker is a nasty protozoa called trichomoniasis transmitted through stagnant water carried by wild birds, pigeons etc. To get the best advice it may be worth going to a avian specialist, one that specialises in parrots etc. Good luck and keep us posted!

[brenda]

Hi all
Has anybody ever had a rooster/hen recover from canker. Im treating  my wee rooster with flagyl, he's not eating that much and is drinking a wee bit.
Im hoping he will recover just wondering has anybody had the same expience
 :)Brenda

[SnooziSuzi]

HI Brenda,

also, the mucky bums might be that they have lice or worms or both.

Take a thourough look through the feathers right down to the skin.  You might see little beasties running away but make sure you check around the vent area.  If you see clusters of hard, grey lumps these are most likely to be a certain type of louse.

Here is a pic of egg clusters on one of my girls (Now R.I.P. because I didn't recognise the symptoms in time)


The mucky bum is because the clusters of lice eggs mean they can't move the feathers far enough away before pooping and it ends up on the feathers and becomes crusty and will need to be washed off in warm water.

By the way, after you've bathed your chooks in the house, they love to be hair dried!

[SnooziSuzi]

Continued...

also, you will need to dust the chooks with a recognised powder like diatom, Battles Lice Powder or similar when the feathers are dry in order to kill the lice, but this needs to be done once a week for 3 weeks in order to catch any babies that hatch because the powders cannot penetrate the eggs and the cycle is about 7 days.

[brenda]

Thanks snoozisuzi

Ive checked them all, they've been wormed and I trimmed up their bum feathers, they all look nice and clean now, just gona keep an eye on them see, will it happen again.
Brenda

[brenda]

Hi everyone.
I've been treating my wee rooster for canker, somedays he seems livelier than others and I think he's getting better then theres days I think mybe I should put him down. I don't know what to do for the best, if I thought that he would pull through it I would persevere for what ever lenght of time it took.
Has anybody had a bird that recovered from canker?
Brenda

[cathangirl]

What does your vet say about recovery prospects, Brenda? 
I've not had to deal with canker yet, thankfully.
cathangirl

[brenda]

Hi cathangirl
I didn't bring him to the vet, Foxy advised me what to get and said that it was a long process.
I live in a rural area in Northern Ireland, the vets here are more interested in big animals like cows sheep and horses, thats where they make the big bucks!.
When I asked the vet for the flagyl he had to look it up in a book that was about twenty years old to see how to administer it to a small rooster. He said that most vets here don't stock it anymore, but he was good enough to phone round the other vets and got me some.
Brenda

[Foxy]

How does his mouth look now? Is he able to crow? 

[brenda]

Hi foxy
His mouth is a little better I think but my hubby says theres no change. No he dosen't make any noise at all.  Today you would think he ate to much and its sort of stuck in his throat he tends to keep his beak open as if he's trying to get air, but he still eating and drinking. I lift him out in the evenings and feed him wet meal and make sure he gets plenty of water. I brought him up to the dust bath yesterday and all he wanted to do was eat lots of fine grit and dirt.
Brenda

[Foxy]

OK brenda I am going to have a little think and do some research. I know that canker takes a long time to recover from, bear with me on this one!
have you got some ACV? I am presuming he has been wormed recently? Just to eliminate anything else as well. Will get back to you tommorrow.

[brenda]

Thank- you Foxy
Whats ACV?
Brenda

[nzdunn]

Is it Apple Cider Vinegar         nicky

[GrannieAnnie]

Hi Brenda, I hope you get your rooster sorted. 

I've deleted the other thread you started as it was a duplicate of this one.  Could be confusing to people if they start answering on separate threads.  Best to keep them all togeter, easier for you too!

Good Luck with the rooster!!!!