Cold Chicken

[FluffyButtBabies]

I have a young Faverolle rooster who has several physical deformities (unusually small size, a cross beak, a lopsided walk, internal air sack issues, etc). Needless to say we have to take extra care to keep him healthy, but we do because he is the sweetest and funniest little bird we've ever had! However, due to his deformities he's always had this weird thing where he sleeps on his side. Even on a roost he has one leg stretched out and he leans almost entirely to the left, and sometimes you can almost see his tummy. He also can't fly and has a very low cold tolerance compared to the rest (now that I think about it, I have no clue how he's lasted this long). So we always have to be extra careful about putting him on the roost so that he had our big rooster to lean against. We try to keep the coop pretty warm too, at about 43 degrees minimum. Well I woke up this morning to find the poor guy lying on the ground all alone. I guess he fell of the roost and couldn't get back up and then froze. We rushed him inside and have been heating him up all day, giving him sugar water and mush. He's perked up a bit more and will eat from my hands, but he's basically been sleeping all day. He stopped doing the limp "death sleep" that they give when they're about to croak, but his lethargy is still pretty concerning. Does anybody know what to do with a hypothermic chicken? Do you think he'll survive? If he pulls through we decided to just let him sleep in the nest box to keep warm, but that won't happen if the poor baby dies...

 

[Starburst]

I have a young Faverolle rooster who has several physical deformities (unusually small size, a cross beak, a lopsided walk, internal air sack issues, etc). Needless to say we have to take extra care to keep him healthy, but we do because he is the sweetest and funniest little bird we've ever had! However, due to his deformities he's always had this weird thing where he sleeps on his side. Even on a roost he has one leg stretched out and he leans almost entirely to the left, and sometimes you can almost see his tummy. He also can't fly and has a very low cold tolerance compared to the rest (now that I think about it, I have no clue how he's lasted this long). So we always have to be extra careful about putting him on the roost so that he had our big rooster to lean against. We try to keep the coop pretty warm too, at about 43 degrees minimum. Well I woke up this morning to find the poor guy lying on the ground all alone. I guess he fell of the roost and couldn't get back up and then froze. We rushed him inside and have been heating him up all day, giving him sugar water and mush. He's perked up a bit more and will eat from my hands, but he's basically been sleeping all day. He stopped doing the limp "death sleep" that they give when they're about to croak, but his lethargy is still pretty concerning. Does anybody know what to do with a hypothermic chicken? Do you think he'll survive? If he pulls through we decided to just let him sleep in the nest box to keep warm, but that won't happen if the poor baby dies...

I'm so sorry you're going through this! I would recommend warming up a towel and wrapping it around him for a while, and then put him in a cozy cage or box with bedding (Pine shavings, staw, you could even use some old towels or blankets) And keep him by a heat source such as a wood stove, radiator, or a heat lamp. Is it possible for you to keep him inside for a few days, just so he can recover?
I'm not sure if he will live or not, it's hard with hypothermic chickens, because either they warm-up, or they don't. Regardless, I wish you the best, and that your precious rooster will get better soon!

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

He's looking a little better. He's still really tired and sleeping, but he'll drink when I put water next to him and will eat when I wave it on my finger. I have him in our brooder, and yea I'm planning to keep him in there for a good few days if he pulls through. He feels pretty warm though, so I'm surprised that he's still so sick. I put our other rooster in with him for the night, a) because he's really big and warm b) they keep each other company and c) he sleeps in the brooder at night anyways because my neighbors don't want to be woken up at 5 am. Hopefully he'll be doing okay by morning!

 

[chickenlover007]

He's looking a little better. He's still really tired and sleeping, but he'll drink when I put water next to him and will eat when I wave it on my finger. I have him in our brooder, and yea I'm planning to keep him in there for a good few days if he pulls through. He feels pretty warm though, so I'm surprised that he's still so sick. I put our other rooster in with him for the night, a) because he's really big and warm b) they keep each other company and c) he sleeps in the brooder at night anyways because my neighbors don't want to be woken up at 5 am. Hopefully he'll be doing okay by morning!

You probably already know this, it looks like you've been on BYC for a fair amount of time, and you seem like a very well-rounded chicken keeper, but I'm going to throw this out there just in case. Whatever you do, DON'T bathe him. No epsom salt baths to calm him down, just no water in general (except for drinking of course). @Starburst gave some really good advice. : ) Hope he gets better soon! Keep us posted. : )

 

[FluffyButtBabies]

Lol yes, don't worry. Baths are definitely a nono. I fed him some more mush this morning, and he made a really nice poop. But he still won't eat or drink on his own, and continues to sleep endlessly. It's not the dangerous looking sleep though, if that makes sense. It's just like he's tired but...continually. I pick him up and he'll twitter and walk around, I dip his beak in water and he'll drink, he looks up for a really loud noise, etc. But he just has NO energy! I'm really worried as I've never seen this before. I know how to deal with lethargic chickens that flop around any day, but a rooster that just wants to sleep? What's up with that?