Dying rooster

[whispurr]

He's just sitting there. He's alert but... I'll take him out today and see if he's getting any better.

 

[whispurr]

You need to check on him in case he's gotten himself into a pickle. Chickens aren't meant to be installed in a chicken chair to be left alone indefinitely in it. They're mainly so they can eat and drink. Usually, an hour is as much as they will tolerate before they try to extricate themselves.

As for being cooperative, no chicken is a pushover for being cooperative for medical treatment. They have jaws of alligators and you need a car jack to get them pried open.

I took him out to see how he was doing. He's no better. Still can't stand up. I put him in the chicken hammock again. He doesn't try to get out, he just sits there. I'm not sure what's going on with him. It seems like maybe his legs just aren't working.

 

[whispurr]

He's not getting better. I took him out to see how he was doing and he just can't stand up. I think it's his legs. He's back in the hammock. He's eating and drinking. He's alert but kind of passive. That could just be that he's a pet and he trusts me.

 

[azygous]

It's not possible to determine without a necropsy what is causing his paralysis. It could be something simple like an electrolyte/blood sugar deficiency or a vitamin B deficiency or an avian virus.

You can rule out the deficiencies as a diagnosis by treating with electrolytes with added sugar and B-complex. If it's the former causing his leg issues, you should see him improve in just a few days. If it's a B-vitamin issue, it will take about four to six weeks to see improvement or not.

Then, at the end of six weeks, if he hasn't improved or gotten worse, then you should think about getting a necropsy when he dies to determine if your flock is carrying either Marek's or lymphoid leucosis.

Two years ago, I had paralysis hit three pullets in my flock. I documented carefully what I did to try to treat them, which was everything under the sun I could think of. https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...update-now-another-pullet-going-lame.1432738/ In the end, a necropsy showed it was lymphoid leucosis.

 

[whispurr]

So keep treating him for 6 weeks?

 

[SmiYa0126]

I had a hen that was lethargic for 5 days, I had her inside, she at first got a little better, then worse and then better again. I think for your guy it will be longer, feed him a couple of eggs a day if he's not eating his food. Keep giving the b vitamins. I was also thinking maybe you could move his legs, kind of like physical therapy? I don't know what the others think of that.

 

[azygous]

It's up to you how you treat your rooster and for how long. You are, after all, the one who has to do the work, so it's your call. You might decide it's not worth his continuing suffering, although we don't know for sure he is, and euthanize him on Monday.

At the beginning of summer, I had a hen that had a paralyzed leg. Having lymphoid leucosis in my flock, I assumed it was curtains for her, but I decided to treat her for a vitamin B deficiency anyway. I treated her with one whole B-100 tablet each day for four weeks when she began to regain use of her leg. The treatment was so successful, I forget which hen it was, she's as normal as the others now.

 

[whispurr]

We've decided to kill what's left of our flock and start over. We've lost 6 of our 10 chickens and this rooster is dying, leaving us 3 out of 10. I'm guessing they have some kind of disease. Our new coop and run should be ready maybe next week, if the contractor doesn't take a bunch of days off like he did this week. I hate killing my only egg layers but I wanted more than 2 chickens - 3 roosters and 1 hen, 2 roosters have to go anyway. I don't feel comfortable moving them into the new coop. Having said that, what's the easiest way to kill a chicken??

 

[azygous]

Since you plan to cull, it would be wise to have a necropsy done on the remaining chickens to determine if/what virus is present because it has a direct bearing in how you treat your coop and run for any virus residue. If the virus is lymphoid leucosis, ordinary disinfectant can remove most of the virus particles. But if it's Mareks's, this virus is so tough, it will defy disinfecting and will require the contaminated facilities be dormant for up to one year to be sure any new chickens don't become infected.

If you elect to have the remaining chickens necropsied at an animal testing lab, they will euthanize the chickens for you and then do the tests. If you choose to euthanize yourself, cervical dislocation is the quickest, easiest method. https://the-chicken-chick.com/how-to-humanely-euthanize-chicken-by-dr/

 

[whispurr]

Thank you. This is going to be hard for us but I think it's what's best for future flocks. They are in our detached screen room where they've been since they were big enough to put outside. They do few range, hopefully that's not a problem! Our new chicken coop is ready to populate, just waiting on the run. I'm thinking, cull these so we don't take disease into the new coop/run, then get chicks and start over. We don't feel comfortable giving them away knowing they may be diseased. Even if people bought them to eat, is that safe? Not knowing what's potentially wrong with them?