Black comb lethargic

[Trixe123]

RIR rooster roughly 6 months old. When we went in the the coop yesterday he was just standing there looking weak. He is very lethargic and was not moving much. His comb was dropped and partially black/blue. We brought him inside right away and mixed some hyro-hen because we feared he was dehydrated. We kept him inside over night. He drinks water but did not have much interest in food. We mixed some corn syrup with water and that perked him up to eat. We fed him a mix of eggs, yogurt, and his feed. We felt a hardness in his crop this morning but after having some liquid we were able to massage it out. He continues to be lethargic and just stand around closing his eyes periodically. He is also periodically shaking his head for no apparent reason. He has clear diarrhea.

Other notes: he had worms 2 weeks ago that we treated and we were just about to start the 2nd round yesterday.

We are first time chicken owners and I am stuck with what to do next. Are we going to lose our only rooster? Please help!

 

[aart]

What kind of worms and with what and how did you treat them?
Hydro Hen is an electrolyte? Did he also have plain water available?
Don't over-do the electrolytes, one application is enough for a few days.

I would keep him isolated so you can monitor his intake and output.
Pull feed at night, check his crop, then check crop again in morning before giving feed again.

 

[Trixe123]

We treated worms with safe guard. As for electrolytes we let him drink some yesterday and the made sure he had plain water for the rest of the evening and the morning them gave him access to a bit more electrolytes but continue to give access to plain water.
We checked crop this morning and it felt hard so we had him drink plain water and we massaged it and it felt fine.

 

[Eggcessive]

I would mix a teaspoonful of yogurt into some egg or wet chicken feed, and feed it to him to lubricate his digestive system, in case of a crop or gizzard impaction. Or refrigerate a tsp of coconut oil, and chop it into small pieces and feed it to him. Hold a scoop of water up to his beak often to get him drinking. Keep massaging his crop throughout the day if it is hard or doughy. Is he pooping? Does his comb pink up at times? Hopefully, he is just dehydrated, but a heart problem could be possible as well.

 

[MagpieDucks]

Are we going to lose our only rooster?

I’m afraid you already did. That’s a very nice female (pullet). Hope she gets better!

 

[Trixe123]

I’m afraid you already did. That’s a very nice female (pullet). Hope she gets better!

Really!? She has been mounting the other birds and has layed no eggs. Could it be an impacted egg then?

 

[Trixe123]

I would mix a teaspoonful of yogurt into some egg or wet chicken feed, and feed it to him to lubricate his digestive system, in case of a crop or gizzard impaction. Or refrigerate a tsp of coconut oil, and chop it into small pieces and feed it to him. Hold a scoop of water up to his beak often to get him drinking. Keep massaging his crop throughout the day if it is hard or doughy. Is he pooping? Does his comb pink up at times? Hopefully, he is just dehydrated, but a heart problem could be possible as well.

Thank you. We have tried all of these but coconut oil, so we could try that. The comb has not picked back up with anything we have done. He does poop but it is clear diarrhea.

 

[Eggcessive]

Here is a good article about impacted crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

 

[Trixe123]

T

Here is a good article about impacted crop:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...ntion-and-treatments-of-crop-disorders.67194/

Thank you for the article, it was very informative. I believe he may have a doughy crop. His condition continues to worsen and I'm not sure if he will survive the night. We will cross our fingers and start again in the morning.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can take him to a vet first thing in the morning, they could give him fluids under his skin. They can also do crop surgery. I would give him electrolytes orally. I hope that he makes it.