I think I may have messed up

[Jupiterfog]

*I am so sorry for the novel in advance, if you decide to read the whole thing, thank you for your time and patience*

My rooster i had noticed about 3 weeks ago his wing on one side looked as if it was dislocated or somehow lower than the other? I had just assumed that it was maybe one of the neighbor kids messing with them or maybe i had picked him up wrong at some point in time and not noticed, he never seemed in pain he was still moving this wing but never at the same time as the other one, i just thought he was flapping it?
About 3 weeks went by and eventually my husband had noticed him limping on the same side his wing was messed up, i wasn't there so the next day i had a look at him and picked him up to see if anything was wrong with his feet or legs, everything checked out but i had noticed when looking at him yet again, on the same side his eye looked swollen and so i went to take a picture and then it turned out that it was just closed, and it constantly kept shutting and opening back up. He was also seeming like he was almost forgetting what he was doing? The best way i can describe it is he would be eating when i let them all out, and he would kind of freeze up almost? And then continue what he was doing and lastly the leg he was limping on he would lift up occasionally as if it was hurt as well as breathing heavily with his mouth open.
He was still eating and drinking normally as well and holding his head up fine unless you held him he would relax a bit, and he was at least trying his best to walk.
I had a few people tell me it sounded a lot like botulism and everyone kind of panicked, we were scared of the girls getting it as well but they have been perfectly fine. In fear of everyone getting it, i was told to cull him would be the best thing to do at that point due to there being no cure and the treatment if any wouldn't cure him it would just keep it from progressing..And of course, i couldn't bring myself or anyone else to hurt him regardless if he was already hurting and regardless how quick and painless it was supposed to be but i also did not want him to suffer, We decided to take him out to the vet and put him down yesterday instead because i had a breakdown over culling him (but thats also my fault for wanting chickens and knowing there were limited ways of putting them out of their misery).

I am now seeing other people saying that stuff like this could also have been a vitamin deficiency. Did I mess up? Should I have waited it out?

 

[Kiki]

Sounds more like Marek's disease to me.

What exactly had you been feeding him?

 

[Jupiterfog]

Sounds more like Marek's disease to me.

What exactly had you been feeding him?

Cluck & CO. Organic layer blend, but i feel that could have been it too? Ive been told that they aren't supposed to eat the same stuff as the girls but nobody ever told me what exactly to give him. Is that something he could have recovered from? I just feel extremely guilty not knowing 100% what happened and not having the funds for the vet to run tests and everything else, it was cheaper to euthanize him and i was under the impression it was better for him, but now i feel like I've murdered him without good reason...

 

[Kiki]

Cluck & CO. Organic layer blend, but i feel that could have been it too? Ive been told that they aren't supposed to eat the same stuff as the girls but nobody ever told me what exactly to give him. Is that something he could have recovered from? I just feel extremely guilty not knowing 100% what happened and not having the funds for the vet to run tests and everything else, it was cheaper to euthanize him and i was under the impression it was better for him, but now i feel like I've murdered him without good reason...

Is it a pelleted of crumble type feed or a whole grain type feed?

Do you ONLY feed that or did you feed treats too?

 

[Kiki]

IF that feed is not a pelleted or crumble type feed i would highly recommend switching your flock to a pelleted or crumble type feed soon.
When offering a whole grain type feed it gives the birds an option to pick and choose which of the grains they want to eat and some may not eat them all which could cause problems.



Did all of your birds come from the same place at the same time?

 

[Tonyroo]

For reference, roosters should be eating commercial high protein feed like Purina flock raiser 20% protein or nutrena meatbird feed 22% protein.

Feeding layer type feeds can cause a rooster to build up to much calcium in there body which in turn starts to destroy there kidneys and liver. Having internal failures trickles down to other organs.

 

[Jupiterfog]

For reference, roosters should be eating commercial high protein feed like Purina flock raiser 20% protein or nutrena meatbird feed 22% protein.

Feeding layer type feeds can cause a rooster to build up to much calcium in there body which in turn starts to destroy there kidneys and liver. Having internal failures trickles down to other organs.

Thank you!

 

[Jupiterfog]

Is it a pelleted of crumble type feed or a whole grain type feed?

Do you ONLY feed that or did you feed treats too?

I believe its a whole grain type feed (screenshot of the ingredient list on TSC Site included)
We did feed treats every now and again, corn every once in a while and mealworms from the Flock Party brand, we bought grasshoppers once but only the girls liked them, he wouldn't touch them.

 

[Jupiterfog]

IF that feed is not a pelleted or crumble type feed i would highly recommend switching your flock to a pelleted or crumble type feed soon.
When offering a whole grain type feed it gives the birds an option to pick and choose which of the grains they want to eat and some may not eat them all which could cause problems.



Did all of your birds come from the same place at the same time?

My Buff Orpington did not, she was the first i got she came from a farm, and the others came from auctions that provided very little detail about the birds

 

[Kiki]

I believe its a whole grain type feed (screenshot of the ingredient list on TSC Site included)
We did feed treats every now and again, corn every once in a while and mealworms from the Flock Party brand, we bought grasshoppers once but only the girls liked them, he wouldn't touch them.

Unless he was just eating the treats then it is highly unlikely that he had a nutritional deficiency.

Did your vet mention sending him to the state lab for a Necropsy?

Are you aware you can send dead birds for a Necropsy to get an answer as to why they died instead of guessing? Having a necropsy can be life saving for other birds...if the death was caused by something that could be prevented.