Part 2: Rooster with eye problem, lethargy and loss of appetite

[JennaT]

Hi everyone,

It's been about two weeks since I first posted about Hunter my rooster and now for some updates.

SUMMARY

Age: 18 months approx
Breed: Mix bantam (signs of inbreeding in his genetics)
Symptoms: Severe lethargy, moulting around neck only, right eye grey/cloudy with zero function, not eating or drinking, stopped crowing, raspy voice, feet with suspected scaly leg, mites present, droppings bright green with white fluid
History: Came from very abused background. Rescued in March 2016.
Biochemistry Results: Low in calcium, low parathyroid function, high bone and muscle density, all other functions normal
Treatments: Mite bath, avian multivitamin (in water), wormed (24th Nov), Spirulina for calcium, baby food high in protein and potassium, Apple Cider Vinegar in water.


UPDATE

• He's now maintaining a weight of 1.28kg
• He has (finally) begun to eat seed on his own again as I'm feeling a full crop at the end of the day and the pile clearly picked over
• I have placed him back outside but in an old rabbit hutch so I can monitor his food / water
• His voice seems to be coming back to normal - very little croak or rasp anymore - though still no crowing
• About 50% of his poops are mini balls of brown and white as a normal hen would produce. The rest are the same white/green.
• He has begun preening again, though it's not 100% accurate yet


CONCERNS

He is the king of jumping over to a whole new set of symptoms so here's the latest..

• In the past 24hrs he has begun walking on his hocks and wants to sit down. He didn't do the hock walk in the two weeks I had him in ICU.

• His balance has never been 100% since coming into care, however I'm noticing it deteriorating a little i.e. he will preen then start to tip over. He wasn't that bad!

• His comb has become crusty with a few black patches. I'm not sure if Avian pox or not just to add to his bag of tricks.

Possible Causes:

Since putting him outside 48hrs ago and seeing him eat seed again, I have reduced the amount of syringe-feeing (i.e. baby food) to only one feed a day. This only amounts to approx 9ml of vitamin per day. Perhaps I'll need to bump this back up?

There has been a heat wave for the past 48hours so I'm hoping some of these problems are the result of this stupid weather.

I also can't tell if the scaly leg is going or not. His legs seem to show bare patches and a little bit of bruising, though the scales and crusty bits are still present. I want to bathe his feet again on the weekend to see if it improves more.

I'll attempt to take a multitude of photos to show his feet, comb etc.. and see what you guys think.


Refer to original thread here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1142316/rooster-with-eye-problem-lethargy-and-loss-of-appetite

 

[Isaac 0]

Can you post a pic of his eye.Could be a cataract.Whitish eye can be a early sign of fowl pox.Pics of his legs too?

 

[JennaT]

Photos so far...

More to come when he cooperates about his eye!

 

[Isaac 0]

Thats definitely scaly leg mites.I would try to treat that and then see how he feels mites will drain the energy out of the chicken.Try prying his eye open,does it look like this?

 

[JennaT]

Thanks Master - his eye is a darker grey all around the eye so you can't see the pupil.

I'm really starting to consider euthanasia. It's been almost a month of merry-go-round treatments as his symptoms keep changing and he's achieved very little progress. I'm physically and emotionally exhausted on top of my partner pushing for him to go back outside for good and 'let him go' (ie no support just stick him back in the coop). He's not a chicken person..

 

[Isaac 0]

Its your choice. Scaly leg mites is very hard to cure.It seems he is getting attacked by a lot of problems.

 

[JennaT]

Ok, so I discovered last night that the worming treatment I have is 'off' which might explain his lack of improvement!

I just bought ivomec and will dose him shortly. Hopefully this blasts most things off him.

If this doesn't work I'm going to have to euthanase.

*edit*

Just found evidence of tapeworm in his poop. Seeing the vet tomorrow to get more medication. As frustrating as this has become I have to hand it to this rooster. He is bloody tough.

 

[JennaT]

Final post.

We took him to the vet this morning and, after going over his long list of symptoms, we decided it was better to euthanise. The vet strongly suspected he had cancer given the slow decline in health despite ongoing feeding/medication etc to boost his levels.

However, we didn't realise just HOW tough this little guy was. For a bantam cross weighing just over 1kg, it took the same amount given to an 18kg dog to send him into the next life! The first dose he simply shook off like it was nothing.


Thank you to everyone who posted. I just wished you all could have seen what he was like in the few months before he became ill: a small little ball of fluff who crowed proudly, ascended the Australorp ladies as if climbing a mountain - and not realising he was still a good 20cm too short to successfully mate... while it was a pity he wouldn't let us go near him while he was healthy, I'm glad he at least trusted me in the end to allow plenty of cuddles.