Help! Rooster won't stand.

[chickenlady]

Because of the 'sudden death' you are describing and being such a young age, I would lean more towards coccidia or eating something toxic (botulism) as a place to start. Dont rule out bad feed, decaying plants/leaves, standing water, decaying animals, wild mushrooms, just to name a few.
Most places this year have had an over abundance of rain which leads to alot of problems, one being fungal infections. They take over a chickens body quickly.
I sure hope you dont lose any and can figure out what is going on here. Best of luck to you.

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

I think that Botulism has similar symptoms to Marek's....?? You might look it up.

 

[chickenlady]

Here are some others that have the same symptoms of Mareks;
Lymphoid leukosis(very rare in young birds), botulism, deficiency of thiamine, deficiency of Ca/Phosphorus/Vitamin D, especially at the start of lay.

If you want to try and treat look into doing an epsom salt flush and get the birds on some good vitamins for starters. I remember some posts on here from threehorses and Glenda Heyward that describes what to do.


Found this from Glenda Heyward, very trustworthy.


BOTULISM IN BIRD/ COMB DARKENING
Glenda L Heywood

Botulism in chickens needs to be treated by detoxifying the birds system immediately
Keep the bird seperated so it can get well faster. No stress from other birds.

THE DARKENING OF THE COMB DENOTES THE BODY IS FIGHTING IT SELF WITH LESS BLOOD FLOW TO EXTERIOR PARTS OF THE CHICKENS BODY

to share with others here
It is best to flush the chicken with
5 tbsp of epsom salts
1 qt of warm water

also give that as only drinking water for 5 days then regular water with acv in it

also get on the probiotics for the bird

3 TBSP OF DRY CRUMBLE FEED
4 TBSP OF MILK
1 TBSP OF YOGUART
when mixed put tbsp of apple sauce on the wet mash
I would do this twice a day for two weeks

this is an inexpensive and very effective way to detoxify the bird for botulism

 

[Julie_A]

Thanks, y'all, for the suggestions. The more I've read, the more I think he has a case of botulism. It's been raining here nearly every day. He's my "big eater" in that pen, so it stands to reason that he'd ingest more than the small chicks. He is eating and drinking tonight. Still can't stand, though. As long as he's eating and drinking, we're going to do what we can for him. Will keep you posted.

Thanks again for the input, ideas and kind thoughts!

Love my BYC folks!

 

[Julie_A]

Great news! He's up, eating and drinking. The other chicks act fine. I think it must have been some wet food. Thank you so much for the advice!!!