5 yr old Rooster cant balance

[MoffatChicken]

Hi, I have a rooster that just turned 5 yr this past spring and I just noticed he has been having a hard time standing up, putting his head down, and roosting at night. He seems to be able to stand, and he can run if needed, but mostly when he bends down to eat he loses his balance and stumbles a bit, sometimes he lies on his belly and eats that way. He has also has a hard time keeping his balance on the roosting bar at night. Once he is on the the bar, and squats on the bar, he seems ok but I have seen him fall off the roosting bar trying to get balance and settling. He is also having a hard time coordinating his way down the ramp from the coop. I don't see any injuries, he did have some lice that has been treated, so I don't know if this is old age and/or an old week heart?

 

[3KillerBs]

You might want to put this into the medical section instead of the chick-rearing section.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi, I have a rooster that just turned 5 yr this past spring and I just noticed he has been having a hard time standing up, putting his head down, and roosting at night. He seems to be able to stand, and he can run if needed, but mostly when he bends down to eat he loses his balance and stumbles a bit, sometimes he lies on his belly and eats that way. He has also has a hard time keeping his balance on the roosting bar at night. Once he is on the the bar, and squats on the bar, he seems ok but I have seen him fall off the roosting bar trying to get balance and settling. He is also having a hard time coordinating his way down the ramp from the coop. I don't see any injuries, he did have some lice that has been treated, so I don't know if this is old age and/or an old week heart?

You might want to put this into the medical section instead of the chick-rearing section.

It's not really necessary to make yet another thread for the ER section, if the OP wishes it to be moved, then they can hit the report button and request staff to move the thread.

@MoffatChicken can you post some photos of your rooster and his poop? A video of his actions may also be helpful - upload video to YouTube and provide a link.

What do you feed?
Do you feel he's able to see well?

What did you use for treatment of the lice?

Gather him up and give him a good going over - look at the bottom of his feet, feel his joints, check for any bruises/wounds that may be hidden under his feathers, look inside his ears for pus or debris, check to make sure his crop is emptying overnight, re-check for lice/mites and consider getting a fecal float to rule out worms as a contributing factor to his symptoms.

It won't hurt to provide him with some extra protein either through chick starter/all flock feed or you can give him some eggs, meat or fish. Give him some poultry vitamins like Poultry Cell for a few days as well (direct dose at 1cc per 3 pounds of weight).

Look forward to the photos and information.