Anorexic 7 wk old rooster

[rwwelco1]

Noticed Sunday my little guy Thor was not very active and had his feathers fluffed out. Thought maybe it was do to the cold front coming in. Checked on him yesterday still the same so I picked him up to have a close look at him and he has NO meat on him. Brought him inside, gave him wormer as a precaution and feed as he wishes. His crop was large and hard but gave him some olive oil/buttermilk soaked bread which he devoured. I massaged his crop a little while afterwards and it dramactially went down. His poo is slightly runny from time to time but not everytime or severe. He eats and drinks at what appears to be a normal rate but he literally is skin and bones. What should I for my liitle guy?

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

The standard fare I see recommended on here for sick chickens is "scrambled eggs and plain yogurt."

I don't have any experience with crop impaction or non-working crops, though.

I hope Thor feels better soon.

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

I think you did the right things by separating him so you can observe his eating and pooping and by worming him. From what I've read a chicken with worms may gain weight slowly or may lose weight even though it is eating normally. If you want to know for sure if your rooster has worms, take a sample of his droppings to a vet and have a fecal float done. To tell if his crop is working normally, examine it in the morning before he has eaten. It should empty over night and feel flat in the morning. If it is still enlarged, this may mean it is not emptying properly. I have no experience with this, but if you search impacted crop on this site you will find helpful information on what to do for this. I agree with the scrambled eggs and yogurt to assist with weight gain. Is it possible that he is toward the bottom of the pecking order and he is simply not getting enough to eat? Also, somewhere on this site is a link to normal / abnormal droppings. Have you seen this? If not you can search for the poop chart - or I can search for you!

Hope this helps, and good luck to you and your roo!

Found the poop chart link: http://www.chat.allotment.org.uk/index.php?topic=17568.0

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

You might also want to consider coccidiosis. Here is a link with more information: http://msucares.com/poultry/diseases/disproto.htm#cocci

Any bloody poop or any other of your birds experiencing symptoms?

 

[rwwelco1]

RIRF-thank you for the links! I reviewed the poo one and his poo is considered normal, no blood at all, just a little firm. We have given them all medicated food to protect against coccidiosis. We have 8 other chickens all the same age and none of them are presenting any of the symptons Thor has. I am keeping him inside the next several nights since it will at or below freezing. He has fresh water and crumbles and a heater. I will continue to feed him a warm mash of scrambled eggs and yogurt. Checking his crop after eating it is no where near as big as this morning. I am hoping it was just a little crop impaction and we have it resolved now. Thanks again for the help and support.

P.S.-he is wrapped up in a towel, sleeping beside me in bed as I type this...think he's just faking it for the attention?

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

I have had them as you describe and wormer fixed them up. They perked up over a few days and within a couple weeks packed weight on.

Chick starter certainly reduces the chances of cocci but it does not eliminate the possibility. If things don't improve after the wormer that would be my next suspect.

Having a crop malfunctioning can be a result of problems like worms or cocci lower in the digestive system.

 

[chickenzoo]

Coccidia can be present w/o blood in poo. Medicated feeds help prevent, but do not totally prevent coccidia. Corid or Sulmet is used for treatment. Separate him so he can eat peacefully and see what happens. Game bird grower is rich in protien to help gain weight, also corn base feeds, but make sure you give finely ground stuff till you know his crop is working good. A good wormer is liquid Safeguard, 3cc per gallon drinking water or 1cc per 10lbs of bird in the mouth or over food.

 

[IdealisticRoo]

Just a thought, since you said his crop was large - do they have access to grit or can they pick up grit outside?

If not, he may have eaten pine shavings or whatever else he got hold of and been unable to "chew" it. Your crop massage may have helped him pass whatever was in there.

I watch my chicks for hours on end and they love eating the pine shavings bedding! I had them on paper towel and old clothes until they were 1 week old, then I started giving them chick grit shortly after I put shavings under them and there have been no ill effects 4 weeks later.

I am pretty new to this, so I would love to hear advice on grit-giving from experienced chicken lovers!

 

[rwwelco1]

They have grit as well as free range in a chicken tractor. He refuses to eat scrambled eggs or yogurt. I got him some scratch mix and ground it up into small pieces. (Don't ask me why the coffee tastes funny) He is eating very little but drinking well. Pooping regulary with no runniness (is that even a word?)or blood. Guess I will just have to give it time now. Thinking of letting him free range in our isolation chicken tractor tomorrow.

 

[Miss Lydia]

when you decide to put him back outside, since he's been all nice an toasty inside I'd wait till it's warmer so he doesn't chill. like the warmest part of the day.