Cornish Cross: Diabetes theory.

[VanUnamed]

Hello,
I wanted to share my thoughts on something. I spend a lot of time with my birds, basically hanging around all the time, I have a batch of cornish cross that are about 9 weeks (almost ready for processing) and other "normal" chickens. they hang around in my front and back "garden" I have land but it's planted. One of the cornish is a hen I called gimme and that I will keep as a normal hen. More on that later.
I noticed this patter on most of the cornish.
They drink huge amounts of water, and poop watery, which causes the feathers near the vent and belly to become dirty (not their belly. Their bellies are almost clean as they hang out)
They are quite sluggish
They are very itchy. I noticed they would do the preen thing when I caressed them on the back, so I gave them scratches on their tail and back, and they were super itchy, at first I thought it would be because they’re fat and cant reach there, but also other parts that are reachable to them were really itchy.
One large roo that I processed already had fluid build up in his leg joint,
and of course as everyone knows, they eat a lot
The cornish hen I want to keep, she acts like the "control group" aka the other chickens. Her butt is fluffy and clean, she isnt super into feed, she eats a bit, normally and then goes around foraging like the others.She doesn't drink as much, and isn't not even 1 tenth of the itch.

Now Let's see common symptoms of diabetes in people.
Increased urination, excessive thirst
Hunger
Skin problems
Fatigue
I can't tell these in chickens:
Blurry vision
Tingling or numbness
Tingling and numbness in the hands and feet, along with burning pain or swelling, are signs that nerves are being damaged by diabetes.

I may be of course wrong because these are just mere assumption.
wanted to know what you think

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

There's only one big flaw in your plan. Real diabetes, AKA type 1, there's always substantial weight loss because insulin is needed to convert food to energy and fat. Type 1 diabetics produce no insulin. Without insulin a body can't use any food, and sugar is excreted in the urine.

I unfortunately am a type 1 diabetic since age 10, so I'm a bit familiar with it.

Type 2 is where the body is producing insulin but it isn't using it correctly, generally because fat can interfere with the effectiveness of insulin and makes a person resistant to it.

I have read that chickens don't suffer from diabetes like people do. I don't know why though.

Cornish breeds are bred to grow rapidly and produce more meat. That causes hunger, feed is usually in the form of dry feed, which than causes thirst. I think I read one member waters down her feed to help them balance it more.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

"itchyness" is likely due to their age and related to feather growth. At 9 weeks, they are still feathering in, most young birds that age (regardless of breed) preen a LOT.
It may also be a good idea to check for lice or mites.