Buff orphington rooster

[kaylad1993]

I have a 3.5 buff orphington rooster that has been acting drunk and off balanced for the past two weeks. He is separated from the flock. I was concerned about mareks until I saw his poop and looked like worms. Would worms cause a chicken to be off balance and wobbly? I got two others from a local lady and the other two are acting fine. He has been eating and drinking, bright comb. And what would I treat for the worms? Attached is a picture of his poop.

 

[FeatherTay]

I would like to know too. This happened to be with a polish cockerel. I put him out of his misery.
@Wyorp Rock @DobieLover

 

[JustBabyMargo]

@azygous @Eggcessive

I would probably just worm anyways. If that is the number one lead then I would start with that. Safeguard dewormer is what I (and many others) use. It kills most worms and works pretty fast I believe.

 

[JustBabyMargo]

Is he 3.5 years or months?

 

[kaylad1993]

Is he 3.5 years or months?

Months. Sorry forgot to add that.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

@azygous @Eggcessive

I would probably just worm anyways. If that is the number one lead then I would start with that. Safeguard dewormer is what I (and many others) use. It kills most worms and works pretty fast I believe.

Valbazen is, I believe, more effective.

 

[Fluffy Lambs]

I have a 3.5 buff orphington rooster that has been acting drunk and off balanced for the past two weeks. He is separated from the flock. I was concerned about mareks until I saw his poop and looked like worms. Would worms cause a chicken to be off balance and wobbly? I got two others from a local lady and the other two are acting fine. He has been eating and drinking, bright comb. And what would I treat for the worms? Attached is a picture of his poop.

When was the last time you wormed him? If he had them bad enough, he probably cold be acting like that because of them.(I am definitely no expert though) Valbazen 11.36% dewormer is 0.08 cc/ml per pound.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 3.5 buff orphington rooster that has been acting drunk and off balanced for the past two weeks. He is separated from the flock. I was concerned about mareks until I saw his poop and looked like worms. Would worms cause a chicken to be off balance and wobbly? I got two others from a local lady and the other two are acting fine. He has been eating and drinking, bright comb. And what would I treat for the worms? Attached is a picture of his poop.

Looks like Tapeworm proglottids, treatment would be with Praziquantel. I would treat asap. You can find Equimax at TSC or similar feed stores. Dosing and other products that can be used to treat tapeworms are in the link below.
Safeguard and Valbazen, while both are good dewormers, will not effectively treat Tapeworms.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-tapeworms-under-construction.1220309/

I would make sure he's eating his chick starter and drinking well. Get some poultry vitamins into him too. He may benefit by giving him a little buttermilk with white cooked rice once a day as treat too. (All this in addition to de-worming)

You've checked for lice/mites too?

Oh and if the 2 you got came from the same place, I think I would de-worm them too.

 

[kaylad1993]

Looks like Tapeworm proglottids, treatment would be with Praziquantel. I would treat asap. You can find Equimax at TSC or similar feed stores. Dosing and other products that can be used to treat tapeworms are in the link below.
Safeguard and Valbazen, while both are good dewormers, will not effectively treat Tapeworms.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-tapeworms-under-construction.1220309/

I would make sure he's eating his chick starter and drinking well. Get some poultry vitamins into him too. He may benefit by giving him a little buttermilk with white cooked rice once a day as treat too. (All this in addition to de-worming)

You've checked for lice/mites too?

Oh and if the 2 you got came from the same place, I think I would de-worm them too.

No lice or mites. I gave the 3 a dose of the equimax. He seems to have improved a little bit. Still a little wobbly but eating and drinking perfectly fine.

 

[FeatheredFriends&Horses2]

A bad worm infection could definitely cause him to be a little off balance. The worms are taking all of his nutrients, so it’s kind of like if you’ve ever been super hungry or had low blood sugar and felt a bit woozy. I would treat first as @Wyorp Rock suggested, and if after he’s treated and has had a little while to re-nourish himself he’s still a bit wobbly, then start looking at other possible causes.
Edit: while I mostly agree with @Wyorp Rock, Safeguard (specifically that for goats) and Valbazen are both effective against tapeworms in poultry.