Illness in RIR rooster

[LKF]

Hello, everyone! It has been a long time since I last wrote but I still have my rooster, Mo. He is now 5 1/2 years old and has lately developed some sort of throat trouble, wheezing as if something is closing up his windpipe. I thought it could be an obstruction so we took him to an avian vet but he was unable to find anything wrong with him. Have any of you had such a problem and can you offer some help? We would certainly be grateful. The vet put him on an antibiotic but I still hear congestion and wheezing. Thanks in advance for any help you can offer.

[robin416]

Did the vet listen to his heart?

What does his comb look like? If its dark red I would suspect he has some heart failure going on.

[Altair]

Aw I think I remember Mo so I'm rooting for him. How's his other general health besides the respiratory issues?

[jungle]

Without more information it is impossible to make even basic suggestions. First, how long has the birds been on antibiotics? It can take a while for them to work, IF they are going to work. Does the vet you took the bird to treat POULTRY? While an avian vet is certainly a step in the right direction, they may not be familiar with the myriad diseases that can affect poultry, specifically. Did they do any diagnostics, i.e. cultures, bloodwork, etc... in order to find out if the antibiotic they sold you would have an effect or did they just sell it to you to make you feel better? Regarding other possibilities, you would really need to provide a full flock history and even then we are still not there to see the bird, nor are we vets. Have you added any new birds recently? Have you visited other farms/flocks or county fairs where there are poultry? All of those are potential sources of diease as well. There are several respiratory diseases that antibiotics will not touch which leads me to question the competency of the veterinary exam you received, especially by an avian vet.