Advice needed on medicating sick roo.

[dandymandie]

It is 454 grams.@Wyorp Rock

 

[dandymandie]

My little roo has not made much progress. I've noticed a few more things going on with him. My partner contructed a little co-sleeper for my side of the bed and he slept there all night. I made a solution of probiotics with electrolytes and dripped it on to his beak for as long as he would let me. I also forgot to say he is 2 years old.

His crop: It has a small amount of hard something in it. Maybe a little smaller than a ping-pong ball. When I gently felt around it this morning, it was like one of those sand filled stress ballons, but a slightly larger substance inside. Probably the scratch I toss out in the mornings, but he has been inside since yesterday afternoon. I read that after four hours their cropts should be empty, but I also read that they should not be flat? After forcing more water to him this afternoon, I massaged his crop gently.

His head tilting to the right side and back towards his bottom: His head has been in a strange position all day. It is falling to his right and back.

He will eat small amounts of food but won't drink: I soaked some feed and offered it to him, he eats small amounts and the seems to "chew" on it for a while. But when offered water, he will not take it. He's pretty emaciated, his chest sticks out, and even for a silkie he feels very light. He eats in the same way he holds his head in the same position.

His droppings: are very wet, very little, and mostly urates. With a small amount of fecal matter. Which concerns me more about his crop.
I hope someone has some advice. I would realy appreciate it. I know it's hard to say what it is or even could be. He is my first sick chicken, so I don't have the experience.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

My little roo has not made much progress. I've noticed a few more things going on with him. My partner contructed a little co-sleeper for my side of the bed and he slept there all night. I made a solution of probiotics with electrolytes and dripped it on to his beak for as long as he would let me. I also forgot to say he is 2 years old.

His crop: It has a small amount of hard something in it. Maybe a little smaller than a ping-pong ball. When I gently felt around it this morning, it was like one of those sand filled stress ballons, but a slightly larger substance inside. Probably the scratch I toss out in the mornings, but he has been inside since yesterday afternoon. I read that after four hours their cropts should be empty, but I also read that they should not be flat? After forcing more water to him this afternoon, I massaged his crop gently.

His head tilting to the right side and back towards his bottom: His head has been in a strange position all day. It is falling to his right and back.
He will eat small amounts of food but won't drink: I soaked some feed and offered it to him, he eats small amounts and the seems to "chew" on it for a while. But when offered water, he will not take it. He's pretty emaciated, his chest sticks out, and even for a silkie he feels very light. He eats in the same way he holds his head in the same position.

His droppings: are very wet, very little, and mostly urates. With a small amount of fecal matter. Which concerns me more about his crop.

I hope someone has some advice. I would realy appreciate it. I know it's hard to say what it is or even could be. He is my first sick chicken, so I don't have the experience.

He more than likely has a crop issue instead of a respiratory illness.

What type of food/treats do you feed?
Do you provide poultry grit (crushed granite) free choice?

The head tilting to the side looks like it could be a symptom like Wry Neck, which can sometimes be caused by Vitamin E deficiency.

Give him some poultry grit, wet chick starter or poultry feed only. Eliminate any hard grains (scratch, corn, etc.). Give him poultry vitamins that contains Vitamin E and you can also give him some hard boiled egg for Selenium.

Crop issues and Wry neck are usually symptoms of underlying problems - nutritional deficiencies, worms, cocci and diseases. Have you added any new chickens to your flock recently?

Antibiotics usually will not treat either of these conditions. You need to try to get the crop functioning - if he has a blockage, that is more than likely the cause of his difficulty in breathing. I do recommend that you take him to a vet if you can. They have anti-fungal meds that they can give.

Here's some reading on crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

 

[dandymandie]

He more than likely has a crop issue instead of a respiratory illness.

What type of food/treats do you feed?
Do you provide poultry grit (crushed granite) free choice?

The head tilting to the side looks like it could be a symptom like Wry Neck, which can sometimes be caused by Vitamin E deficiency.

Give him some poultry grit, wet chick starter or poultry feed only.  Eliminate any hard grains (scratch, corn, etc.).  Give him poultry vitamins that contains Vitamin E and you can also give him some hard boiled egg for Selenium.  

Crop issues and Wry neck are usually symptoms of underlying problems - nutritional deficiencies, worms, cocci and diseases.  Have you added any new chickens to your flock recently?

Antibiotics usually will not treat either of these conditions.  You need to try to get the crop functioning - if he has a blockage, that is more than likely the cause of his difficulty in breathing.  I do recommend that you take him to a vet if you can.  They have anti-fungal meds that they can give.

Here's some reading on crop issues:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/impacted-slow-and-sour-crops-prevention-and-treatments

I have a bag of oyster shells that I leave for them to pick off of. They are free range in our entire yard, which is a pretty large area. I shut them in at night in the coop that is surrounded by a run. For scracth they get aboout a two cups spread around the yard daily of Nutrena Country Feeds Scratch Grains and in their feeder they get Nutrena Nature Wise Layer Feed. Other than that we don't offer more than greens such as lettuce or spinach with occasional dried meal worms. They forage a lot so we try not to over do it.

I will boil some eggs for him now. We have vitamin E capsules, I will add that to what he is eating.

I will do my best to get him to the nearest vet. In the meantime, I will follow your advice and thank you so very much!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Quote: Oyster shells are soluble - they are to provide laying hens extra calcium when needed. Poultry grit is crushed granite, this is stored in the gizzard and used to grind/process foods. Most likely he has been able to find suitable small stones/source of grit while foraging, but it wouldn't hurt to offer some grit free choice since he's been under the weather and probably not foraging much.

 

[dandymandie]

Thank you for that reminder. The shells were sold to me as grit and for some reason I continue to think it as so. I will pick up grit in the morning for him! It sounds like I did not provide enough grit while he was isolated. In the mean time, does it help for me to massage his crop? Thanks again for your help! It really means so much to us here. We are dropping the water on our fingers for him to take and he is accepting it, finally.

 

[dandymandie]

Also, we haven't had any additions to the flock. It has remained the same for over 8 months. The only addtitions were chicks hatched from which he was the father.

 

[dandymandie]

Thank you for your help @Wyorp Rock I so appreciate the time and advice you have given. My Blanco passed away about ten minutes ago.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm so sorry

From your photos he was a beautiful boy, I know you did everything you could for him.