Limping rooster

[henney penny]

I do have the poly and will put that in his water,I did read about the b-complex will get some next time I go to town,how much of that would I give him and would it go in his food?

 

[henney penny]

She looks good, hopefully mine will tturn out like this.
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[chickenzoo]

So sorry your rooster is limping. My first thought if it is not an injury, is if he is a very big boy that young, then perhaps the extra protein added from the BOSS might be affecting his legs. FlockRaiser is a complete feed already, then adding the seeds might just push it high for him. Sometimes big birds grow in spurts and it seems some overload of different vitamins in high amounts can cause problems. This is noted in young peafowl and some turkey.

Also worms and parasites can cause weakening of the legs, before weight loss is even felt. What was used for his last worming and when?

The next one is kind of a downer.... MS/MG infection can cause weakening of the leg, then weight loss and death. If you have a NPIP program I would get with one and have them come out and take a swab and blood sample. Here in FL it is free, but different states charge... but normally cheaper than a vet visit. Ask them to look for MG/MS. There are a few other diseases that I am not familiar with that can cause leg weakness but I'm afraid all with the same results...... Lets hope it is an easier cure.

I would stop the BOSS for now and resume some when he is grown.

 

[henney penny]

Thanks so much for the info and I will stop the BOSS.He has been on the flock raiser for three weeks now before that it was purina layana because thats what I was feeding the laying hens,then they all decided to molt so they needed the extra protein and that is when I put them on the flock raiser.And thanks again for getting back to me.

 

[leadwolf1]

Quote:
Leadwolf, good point. But I might go with a B-complex, since there are a few B vitamins out there. I'm not sure if Polyvisol has all the B's in there.

I checked, it does

I would give it directly to the chicken and not in the water. It's hard to get them to drink an entire waterer every day. The B complex is good also...the poly is just so much easier.

 

[BlazeJester]

The Layena may have been a factor, depending on his age when you started him on that. I know it is against recommendation to feed layer food before 18 weeks or so because of the calcium content. I'm not sure what the exact issue is physiologically, but perhaps too much calcium during development could have accumulated in his joints - that seems plausible particularly because of the duration of his condition and the improvement you've noted since changing feed. Hopefully someone with more experience in physiology can chime in here.

I'd keep him off any calcium-supplemented feed to be safe until the problem is far behind - given time, the body should reabsorb the inappropriately deposited calcium as it's needed.

I've also heard the final juvenile molt is around 6 months, so he may well be molting regularly.

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[Chicken_Pauper]

You say he is 6 months old? Someone else mentioned that worms and parasites can cause limping, and I agree. I had a rooster that limped a lot until I wormed the entire flock (individually, with Valbazen).
I may have missed it, but I did not see where you mentioned worming? When did you last worm and with what? Given how and how many times? Etc. I think it is something to keep in mind if there are any other symptoms in any of the others, in any in the flock. Worms and parasites can cause a variety of symptoms often thought to be something else.
Beautiful boy. Hope he improves.
Good luck.

 

[henney penny]

I have had chickens for four years and last week was the first time I have ever wormed.I have neve seen a worm on them or in the poop but thought they were not laying anyways might just as well worm all of them.I t was wazine that I wormed with because thats all I could find around here.I seen no deed worms in any of the poops.I have always given my chickens 1 tbl of raw ACV in the water since birth and I think that keep the worms down.I did think of the calcium in the feed,but its so hard to try to feed everyone differant when they are all in one flock.Wouldn`t you think that if they had worms that I would have seen them in the poop after I wormed them?

 

[chickenzoo]

No, you do not always see worms in the poo, unless you are looking at every poo that each chickens has all day long. And the more chickens you have or bring in the higher the risk...And lets face it... chickens eat worms, wither they pooed them out or not. The only true way to tell is to have a fecal run at a vets. Wazine only treats round worms...... if they have some other type, it will not work. Most wormers that we use on chickens are made for larger livestock, Safeguard, Valbazen, Ivomec... etc... because most wormers for chickens are concerned with eggs and meat contamination to the public. I would put him in his own space, give him reg feed only and water and perhaps worm him and see if their is an improvement... that is the cheapest route. If you don't want to guess then a vet visit in called for. But many of us here have hundreds of chickens and we are telling you are best idea from what we know and what has worked for us.

 

[seminolewind]

Quote:
Leadwolf, good point. But I might go with a B-complex, since there are a few B vitamins out there. I'm not sure if Polyvisol has all the B's in there.

I checked, it does

I would give it directly to the chicken and not in the water. It's hard to get them to drink an entire waterer every day. The B complex is good also...the poly is just so much easier.

Great!!!!!