Lethargic Roo (poo picture)

[Island Roo]

My roo has been lethargic for about 3 days.

Had bubbles on his eye yesterday but gone today. No signs of trauma, lice, mites etc.

He seems somewhat interested in food when I put it in front of him but the crop is never getting close to full. I'm sure he's lost weight.
Opens and closes his beak as if he's eating peanut butter but seems to be breathing ok.

He is isolated with heat and water with electrolytes.

I have ivermectin and tetracycline on hand but I don't know which way to go.

Any ideas?

 

[Island Roo]

No takers, eh?

I started him on antibiotics last night. I don't like to administer drugs without a diagnosis but I wasn't prepared to watch him go downhill another day. He's running out of strength.

I added the tetracycline to his water and helped him drink some with a syringe. Syringe drinking again this morning and he followed the syringe to get more.

He seems more alert tonight but certainly not normal. Crop is half full of food and he's drinking like a fish from his waterer. Hopefully that means the antibiotics are having an effect and he's well enough to rehydrate himself.

Poos still don't look like what I'm used to. Greenish and watery but also better than yesterday.

He is still isolated and the rest of the flock is not showing any symptoms.

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

I am sorry to hear your roo is having issues. I am not an expert ... can you hear any wheezing or rattling when breathing? Put your ear to his chest. I had one gal that had something similar and I gave her duramycin in the water. Have you tried boiled egg yolk or meal worms to see if he will eat? Have you checked for gapeworm in his throat?

Not sure what else it can be.

Hopefully someone with more experience can help you.

Good luck

 

[Island Roo]

I just checked again. No gaping. No trouble breathing or noise.

He just "pee'ed" out some of that water he was drinking.

I think he's on the mend - from the (slighlty) improved behaviour / energy.

I'd still like to know what's causing it - maybe we never find out on some of these...

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

I just checked again. No gaping. No trouble breathing or noise.

He just "pee'ed" out some of that water he was drinking.

I think he's on the mend - from the (slighlty) improved behaviour / energy.

I'd still like to know what's causing it - maybe we never find out on some of these...

One day at a time. Is his crop empty in the morning? If not, maybe he may have an impacted crop. If he does, then you can syringe feed some olive oil. You then massage his crop upwards from the bottom to loosen up anything in there for about 5 minutes, a few times a day.The green poo and watery sounds like he may not be passing the food from his crop. If that is the case, I would give him scrambled egg and maybe some yogurt with meal worms.

 

[Island Roo]

I did not expect it after 8 days of isolation but there was blood in his poo this morning - the first occurrence and I have been watching closely. There is more fresh red color mixed in with the watery poo than I would expect from intestinal shedding.

I also treated for worms 5 days ago.

Here's my plan
I'm going to pick up amprol now. If the treatment is effective I will probably treat everyone even though the hens show no symtoms.

Any other suggestions given this new symptom?

I started tube feeding a couple days ago and he has not lost more weight since

 

[Island Roo]

He's eating again on his own - the crop is filling and emptying normally! The Amprol seems to be taking care of the coccidiosis - improvement was visible after 18 hours. Tail is held higher and I get stink eye instead of sad eyes when I check on him.

Maybe someone else can learn from my experience...

I thought coccidiosis was mostly a disease for chicks / adolescent birds so I over-looked the hunched posture and ruffled feathers. Also the lack of bloody poo caused me to ignore coccidiosis as a possibility at first. Next time I'll know better.

If I get a problem like this again that I can't diagnose, I'll probably take a fecal sample to the Vet to look at under the microscope.

Were just happy he's getting better - he's a good roo. Also no one else got sick. The early isolation probably helped with that.

Mama Hen Chris - he did appreciate the scrambled egg but not the yogurt.

Not getting much feedback - anything else to learn here?

 

[Mama Hen Chris]

He's eating again on his own - the crop is filling and emptying normally! The Amprol seems to be taking care of the coccidiosis - improvement was visible after 18 hours. Tail is held higher and I get stink eye instead of sad eyes when I check on him.

Maybe someone else can learn from my experience...

I thought coccidiosis was mostly a disease for chicks / adolescent birds so I over-looked the hunched posture and ruffled feathers. Also the lack of bloody poo caused me to ignore coccidiosis as a possibility at first. Next time I'll know better.

If I get a problem like this again that I can't diagnose, I'll probably take a fecal sample to the Vet to look at under the microscope.

Were just happy he's getting better - he's a good roo. Also no one else got sick. The early isolation probably helped with that.

Mama Hen Chris - he did appreciate the scrambled egg but not the yogurt.

Not getting much feedback - anything else to learn here?

Glad to hear he is getting better and ate the scrambled egg.