He could have injured himself or got into a fight and ran into something. If you do not see any injuries, place him by himself for a few minutes and offer a bowl with food. Walk away and see if he gets up to eat. Sometimes, swans will pout because they are inside and will refuse to eat or act normal, especially if the swan keeper is within sight. If you walk away, try to observe him and see if he tries to get to the food bucket or attempts to walk towards the other area where the remaining swans are housed. If he cannot or will not get up, he may have sustained an injury and you need to seek immediate veterinary attention. If there is no break or it appears to be a soft tissue injury, the veterinarian can treat with a simple pain killer/anti swelling drug such as Medicam.

If this is the case, you will need to ensure that he cannot get reinjured by or with the other swans and you will need to rehabilitate him by placing him in a small tub (do not let him enter or exit by himself), and letting him exercise the injured limb by swimming and moving the limb in the water. Again, it is critical that you do not allow the swan to enter or exit the tub by himself. You may need to repeat the rehab swimming twice a day until you can see significant improvement and the swan is able to get up and down on the limb as well as walk around. You cannot place him in the pond until he is able to walk or he can reinjure himself or leave him susceptible to an attack by a predator.

Additionally, all swans must be completely drenched in warm water for several days prior to releasing them into the pond so that they can oil themselves with the water repellent oil from their preen gland. If you do not perform this drenching, the swans can drown once they are placed onto the pond. All swans and waterfowl for that matter must have this drenching performed if they are held indoors for any significant amount of time. The Regal Swan