Pale comb and droopy Roo

[lfoose]

Hi all,

I have a roo that is about 6 years old. I've noticed that the last few days he's been down in the dumps, his tail droops and his comb is pale. He shows no signs of being ill. No mites. No injuries. No funny poo. I am wondering if the real hard winter we've had hasn't finally taken it's toll on him.

Can anyone offer ideas/suggestions?

I don't have much else to add since he's pretty much fine....except for the pale comb and what seems like chicken depression.

Thanks!

lisa

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Pale comb could be anemia...check for worms and also check your coop for red mites (just live in the coop) - they come out at night - or you can just treat your coop just in case.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Standing around acting depressed and droopy actually ARE signs a bird is ill. They are extremely good at hiding any illness until they just can't do it anymore. By the time you see a bird acting visibly off or ill they are usually petty sick birds. I agree with ChickensAreSweet re possbile worms and/or mites. At least that is the first place I would start in trying to figure him out. If your birds are not on a regular deworming program then I'd deworm everybody with Valbazen or Safeguard. Repeat in 10 days.

 

[lfoose]

Is Valbazen or Safeguard something that can be bought at Tractor Supply?

 

[lfoose]

Could it be Coccidosis? Is it possible to treat him for both at the same time?

 

[cafarmgirl]

You should be able to find Safeguard at TSC, I get the liquid for goats, it's easy to administer. They may also have Valbazen, I ordered mine on Amazon. You might also want to pick up some needless syringes to measure and administer it.

At his age I really wouldn't expect a case of coccidiosis unless he was new to your property or unless you've brought in new birds. BUT any bird at any age can come down with it if their immune system is stressed.

I wouldn't treat for both worms and coccidiosis at the same time, I just personally don't like loading them up with to many treatments all at once. With deworming you need to do a repeat dose in 10 days so I guess if you want to rule out coccidiosis you could do the first wormer dose, wait a couple days then run a 5 day course of Corid. Then you'd have a few more days yet before the second dewormer dose is due.
It's worth a shot, I kind of think he has something else going on but it never hurts to rule things out.

Good luck with him.

 

[lfoose]

Thanks for the info! I'll try the deworming first. I guess I'll do the whole flock.

Just to be sure...I can put 2 tsp of the Safeguard in a gallon of water and give that to the flock in their waterer?

 

[cafarmgirl]

Safeguard liquid goat dewormer or Valbazen need to be given to each bird orally, not in their water. The dose would be 0.5 ml/cc per standard size bird.

Deworming birds via their water is always a little hit and miss since birds will drink more or less depending on the weather and they will definitely drink less if they are not feeling well. If you dose each bird orally then you know it got exactly the dose it needs to do the job.

 

[lfoose]

Thank you for the advise on my Roo. I wanted to wait to see how he does before I replied. I gave him a dose and the next day he looked great. Right around day 10 he was looking bad again so I gave him another dose. He perked up for a day but again is back to looking droopy.

Any suggestions, ideas, thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Thank you for the advise on my Roo. I wanted to wait to see how he does before I replied. I gave him a dose and the next day he looked great. Right around day 10 he was looking bad again so I gave him another dose. He perked up for a day but again is back to looking droopy.

Any suggestions, ideas, thoughts?

Thanks!

What does his poo look like?

Still OK?

I would feed him scrambled eggs to boost him up.

Then I would give him a round of Corid as cafarmgirl recommended...that is just what I would do if he were in my flock. I am not saying I think he has coccidiosis but I have seen with my own eyes, my flock suffering from coccidiosis at the same time as worms. So you may be right that it could be coccidiosis, and it may help him get over the hump.

The wormers are very hard on them. If he did have worms, trying to recover from it and clear his system out can be tricky and he can use a nice boost.

Just my opinion!