Help!! Is my Chicken dying??

[carolina chicky]

I need help again with my Cornish X Rooster. I have posted before about his being sick when he was 8 weeks old but he got over that and was great until yesterday. He is 15 weeks old now and yesterday he started just falling asleep every few minutes. He will be standing up, running around, then just stop and go to sleep. Today it is much worse. He will stand in one spot for most of the day and sleep. He isn't eating much which is weird for this type of rooster. I put him in a dog kennel and brought him in and he is just laying there asleep, almost looks dead. He will stand up and walk around for a minute or 2 then just fall back asleep and rest his head on whatever he can. He isn't gasping for breath and he looks great, but he can't seem to stay awake. I did get him to eat and drink a little but he just wants to sleep. Is he dying or is this some type of disease? I know these breeds aren't very easy to keep as pets but I have cried all evening over this rooster

Oh yes, I also have him on an aspirin regimen per the advice of another BYC user and that has worked wonders until now.

 

[threehorses]

If he's not ill from before, don't give him more aspirin. It's a blood thinner. that might be part of the problem - anemia. Stop the aspirin, please.

Also, can you please post the link to your previous post so we can catch up on the previous illness? Those often play a very important part in future illnesses.

Thank you.

 

[carolina chicky]

I was giving him aspirin, once a week or so because of his breed and their being succeptable to heart disease because of their quick growth and heavy weight. He seems better this morning so I hope he makes it.

Here's the link from before
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=174750

Thanks

 

[horsejody]

Has he perhaps grown too large for his heart to function properly?

 

[threehorses]

The trick with broiler mixes or broilers, straight, is that you have to monitor their food intake. Unlike other breeds, it's a good idea to give them food part of the time and not the rest of the time - the rest of the time they should have exercise and be able to peck at stuff to keep them busy. Bits of shiny chain hung from their cages if they're caged, things to entertain them if they're in a run, or preferably grass range when they're old enough.

And if you want them to be pets, definitely don't use broiler grower.

They're not really designed to live past the few months it takes to slaughter them. Even if mixed, that comes through into the mix until you breed it out. So you have to take special measures and know that you might still lose them.

I raise the turkey equivalent, Broad Breasted Whites - definitely not meant to live past a few months. But stupidly I've become attached to them (grin) so I have five pets. They're the same - grow fast, their systems run out soon, they have leg issues, etc. So mine are totally free range with grains and crumbles available and lots of exercise.

As for aspirin, it's a blood thinner. So it's not what you want to use long term or he will just wear out. Instead, let's see if there's another way to keep him fit and moving about.

What does he have available to eat, where is he kept (range, coop, run, etc), and what is his general life like?

 

[carolina chicky]

He is outside and recently has started eating less feed and is pecking and scratching at the ground like the other chickens. He is in the run with the others and does a lot more running and stuff than he used to. I don't give him the aspirin very often, I just wanted to try and protect his heart if I could. I am a pharmacy technician and perhaps I was thinking that aspirin helps my patients so why not my chicken? lol I definately have become more attached to this chicken than I should have, knowing that this breed doesn't generally live very long. I grew up raising this breed on a commercial farm, but I was too young to know what was going on. I hate to see him suffer because he is my favorite of all my chickens. At least he seems better today than yesterday, maybe he will make it a little longer.

 

[threehorses]

Mine have gone through periods like that, too - my turkeys - and my geese. They're definitely a little different and need an eye on them and their way of walking.

If he's walking better, that's a good sign. Sometimes I even let them get a little lighter rather than a little too heavy. BUt it's a trick as you can't fast them as they just gobble down their food afterwards.

Don't feel too bad for loving the ones that you shouldn't get attached to. I do the same. Glenda has mother-henned me about it, and I act like I don't hear her (grin) but I do and she knows I do (I hope). Still my heart gets all caught up with them.

You never know - he might be just fine! I really do think that a lot of being out and having to work for their meals is the best thing for them.