My 5 month old cockerel won’t stand up! Just lays with his feet under him.

[Luckyt21]

How does one treat for botulism? I have a 5 month old polish cockerel that was limping a week ago & now he cannot stand at all. Is just laying on his hocks / feet all day. No attack that I am aware of. He also had diarrhea so I treated him with a 3 day Corid drench, bathed him in epsom salt bath a couple times, blow dried him & made him a sling to keep him off the ground & getting poop on himself. He doesn’t seem to mind being in the sling & in a tote in our bathtub. His poop is getting more solid but has green stuff in it. He is eating wet foot, Greek yogurt, egg yolk with B complex (Not all together) Have given him poultry cell vitamins, electrolyte water, mealworms, a haircut. He sleeps a lot & is breathing fine. I am a new chicken mom since March. All of my other chickens in my mixed flock of 16 seem fine at the moment, but I did have another hen from my flock just pass away about a week ago. 6 of my 16 were vaccinated against Mareks at the hatchery I am worried if this all could be something that my birds are being exposed to. They do free range half day on our 10 wild wooded acres on a lake in MN. Any ideas or suggestions would be welcomed!! TY

 

[azygous]

If he had botulism, he'd be in worse shape than just leg paralysis.

I hope you also gave him the five day Corid water along with the three-day drench. The drench alone isn't enough. And he needs a second round of the Corid water a week after the first round to constitute proper treatment.

But the leg paralysis is troubling and probably unrelated to coccidiosis. It could be a B-vitamin deficiency, and upping the B-complex to a higher dosage would be a good idea. I recommend B-100 complex as it has much more of the B-2, 6, and 12 necessary for nerve repair. You can get it at walmart pharmacy. Give him one whole tablet directly into his beak each day. It can take up to four or five weeks to see improvement.

There is a chance this is an avian virus. If so, all the chickens have already been exposed. Keep that possibility in mind, and if he dies, a necropsy would tell you if you have a virus in your flock and which one it is.

 

[Luckyt21]

If he had botulism, he'd be in worse shape than just leg paralysis.

I hope you also gave him the five day Corid water along with the three-day drench. The drench alone isn't enough. And he needs a second round of the Corid water a week after the first round to constitute proper treatment.

But the leg paralysis is troubling and probably unrelated to coccidiosis. It could be a B-vitamin deficiency, and upping the B-complex to a higher dosage would be a good idea. I recommend B-100 complex as it has much more of the B-2, 6, and 12 necessary for nerve repair. You can get it at walmart pharmacy. Give him one whole tablet directly into his beak each day. It can take up to four or five weeks to see improvement.

There is a chance this is an avian virus. If so, all the chickens have already been exposed. Keep that possibility in mind, and if he dies, a necropsy would tell you if you have a virus in your flock and which one it is.

Thank you very much for the reply. I will get some b100 complex for him. His poops are back to normal now so should I still give him corid water for 5 days? He is eating lots of feed, mealworms, grit, egg & yogurt. Drinking water fine. He still is not standing up just flapping his wings. He has been in our bathroom tub for over a week now just waiting for a miracle!

 

[azygous]

It doesn't sound like he needs the Corid. Do give him the B-100 complex, one table daily directly into his beak. He will have no problem swallowing.

 

[Luckyt21]

Thank you very much for the reply. I will get some b100 complex for him. His poops are back to normal now so should I still give him corid water for 5 days? He is eating lots of feed, mealworms, grit, egg & yogurt. Drinking water fine. He still is not standing up just flapping his wings. He has been in our bathroom tub for over a week now just waiting for a miracle!

Also wondering if I should be giving him any antibiotics in case he has an infection in his leg joint? I was reading about arthritic joint issues. I wrapped the one leg joint with coban to see if that would help at all. The one joint feels a little more swollen than the other but both feel warm to the touch.