Lethargic Rooster, pooping normal, crop is emptying normal, refuses to eat/drink

[monoditri]

I have a beautiful rooster I've had for a few years that looks healthy other than wanting to lay down and he has thick saliva. He struggles to keep his eyes open/is very sleepy.

I forced some water with a small, thin syringe directly into his crop last night, and this morning his crop was empty so it seems to not be an impacted crop. His vent is clear. He poops very tiny amounts that look normal in color at least. There's lots of grass here so his poop is kind of green and white, and brown though he hasn't eaten in at least two days now.

I've noticed for a while that he refuses to eat while his hens are around. I had midterms this week so I haven't had my eyes on him this week. So I suspect he went too far for his hens and got dehydrated before I could separate him?

Other chickens (I have 5 others) are normal. Recently I discovered that one of the hens is a young rooster and he started singing a couple days ago. Could the stress have led to this illness? He probably noticed this guy was secretly a rooster way before we did.

He's in a dog kennel now to keep him separate. Avian vet isn't available until Tuesday. I may take him to the local emergency hospital.

 

[Eggcessive]

It could be anything. He is obviously sick with an illness. How old is he? I would look for worms, mites or lice, or something else. Is he walking okay, and does he have any symptoms of a respiratory disease? Hopefully, the vet can help.

 

[monoditri]

Thank you so much.
He is about 3 years old.
I don't see worms in his poop but I am worried about that since he's acting so sleepy. He is weaker today than yesterday so now he does not want to walk. He'll perk up when I'm with him but not for long. I'll check more closely for lice.
As far as respiratory he isn't coughing and I hear no wheezing.

EDIT: found no lice. He has good skin. I got water into his crop by putting some drops in his mouth and encouraging him to swallow.

 

[Eggcessive]

If you can get some Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell and give him 2 ml orally each day that he is feeling poorly. Does he have diarrhea? You won’t see worm eggs in his poop, but they can be there. Chickens get up to 5 or so types of worms. Valbazen 1/2 tsp orally and repeat in 10 days is very good for all types of worms. Safeguard liquid goat wormer is also good. Dosage is 1/4 ml per pound given orally for 5 straight days.

 

[monoditri]

If you can get some Poultry NutriDrench or Poultry Cell and give him 2 ml orally each day that he is feeling poorly. Does he have diarrhea? You won’t see worm eggs in his poop, but they can be there. Chickens get up to 5 or so types of worms. Valbazen 1/2 tsp orally and repeat in 10 days is very good for all types of worms. Safeguard liquid goat wormer is also good. Dosage is 1/4 ml per pound given orally for 5 straight days.

Ok!
He has no diarrhea. I have chicken e-lixir for now that I forgot to mention is in the water I gave him. It seems to have a few less of the vitamins than nutridrench but the same amounts of D, E, Ca at least. I was hesitant to give it to him straight-up because it smells strong.

I've never de-wormed my chickens before. I will check with the vet and see about perhaps treating the whole flock with Valbazen. I wonder if my yard might need a good inspection, or if my coop needs to be totally cleaned out again. My neighbor has a ton of cats (thankfully they leave the hens alone) and I worry that they might be bringing critters over time.

 

[monoditri]

Report! I found a vet that can treat chickens 50 mins away and he was open on Sunday. We're treating him with 0.5ml Clavamax twice a day though he did not sound very hopeful, though I understand that.

He was already a little better that Sunday morning after having spent the previous day dropping water and vitamins into his beak via a syringe every few hours. I did try the 2 ml of what I have comparable to nutri-drench over time.

 

[Eggcessive]

I hope that your rooster is feeling better with the antibiotic and the vitamin/electrolyte tonic that you are giving. It is usually best to give those orally, since they may not drink water that tastes funny.

 

[monoditri]

He is much better! It worked! I just realized something. We trimmed his spurs a few months ago, and I just realized that they look pretty black. The tip of one is black and the entire spur is black on the right foot. Is that normal? Searching through the forums now too.