? about a sick meatie

[Milliemay]

I have a meatie that has peck wounds on his head. We moved him into a seperate pen. They are 7 weeks old and just over 5 lbs. He doesn't seem to be doing very well, won't walk, and he has green poo. He is still eating and drinking but not moving around very much. Is it safe to butcher him or just watch him for a few more days and see if he turns around? I don't know what's causing the green poo...

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[cassie]

The best thing to do with a meatie that isn't doing well is to process him ASAP. As for whether the meat is safe, how could it possibly hurt you? You aren't eating him raw.

 

[jaku]

My question would be if he's acting that way because of the peck wounds, or he got pecked BECAUSE he was sick? I'd say that if he wasn't acting that way until after the pecking, absolutely butcher him ASAP. If he was sick, butcher him and take a look inside- if it's full of fluid, trash it. Otherwise, it's a judgement call. As far as the poo, I can never tell anything based on that, unless there's blood. My birds ALWAYS have runny poo, and it often has a greenish tint to it.

 

[Milliemay]

I'm thinking he is having leg problems, which led to the pecking...You are correct on the poo, we had just moved the tractor, so they had fresh grass again....It is not runny. We'll see how he is in the morning, and give processing a try for the first time.

 

[jaku]

Quote:
Yeah, that could very well be- if they go down on their legs, the others tend to start pecking. That, combined with the fact that it's still alive (I've found that chickens don't tend to stay "sick" for long without dying,) leads me to believe it might just be a leg issue, in which case, eat up!

 

[saddina]

Sounds like he's injured not sick, injured birds head to the stove, sick birds are disposed of here.