My young rooster is having problems.

Biscuit Bunch

In the Brooder
6 Years
Sep 18, 2013
17
0
22
Hello everyone,

I am new here at BYC and I am in need of some advice. I have a young rooster about 2 months old. We hatched him along with his sister which hatched 1 week later. About 2 weeks ago when I went outside to check on them I noticed that my rooster seemed to be having a hard time walking. He would waddle like a duck. Couple of days later I notice that his left foot was turned inward towards his body. He really doesn't stand and movement is minimal. After reading some of the post on here we decided to separate him from the rest of the flock (2 roosters and 4 hens). We noticed at the time he hatched that he seemed "slow", like a learning disability. His sister that hatched 1 week later seemed more intelligent, and easily took to the normal chick behavior. Since we have moved the rooster he still having a hard time walking however, he does seem to enjoy flapping his wings as to say hello. He eats like there's no tomorrow and drinks regularly. I see no sign of him getting worse but no improvement either. His poo is runny and he has never been vaccinated. His sister is fine loves to play, eat and flap her wings. None of my other chickens or roosters seem to show any signs of distress. They all seem great. Can anyone help? Any suggestion would be much appreciated.
 



Here is the nearly 3 month old rooster. His left foot seems to curl in on itself more than normal, and often his bottom appears an irritated reddish color as above. Like mentioned, his appetite is fine and he drinks plenty of water. Often he leans to one side or the other as he sits down, but he rarely stands all the way up and usually just slowly waddles about. He is alert and receptive to handling, yet he often seems to just be uncomfortable or in pain. Also as mentioned, you can see in the first pic how his left foot doesn't appear to be working correctly.

Any help or suggestions given are greatly appreciated!

On the healthier side of the yard, here are his family. Sister and mom in first pic, dad, aunts, and cousin in the second pic. We are proud of our Biscuit Bunch!


 
I would start him on a rickets diet. Seems to me to be a vitamin deficiency. If the leg starts to look as if its becoming paralyzed, stuck forward more, losing balance, I'd think mareks may be an issue.

Here is the rickets diet.
A sick bird can often be helped by the Rickets diet. Feed the birds once a day for three days or until you feel the bird is looking and acting better - usually 3 weeks.

This amount feeds one bird. Each serving consists of:

½ to 1 x cooked egg yolk… crumbled into mixture
1 teaspoon of cod liver oil..
1 very small drizzle of honey
2 x tablespoons natural yoghurt - no sugar
2 to 4 tablespoons rolled oats or Baby rice
1 dessertspoon of beef tin cat food…… Not dog food
A few grains of multi vitamin powder
2 tablespoons of grated apple..
Mix to make a crumble mixture not runny, if you have to roll into pellets and force feed, and then gently massage the neck in a downward motion to get it down into the crop, then do it, the bird may be too weak to eat or have lost the desire to eat….

Make sure the vitamin supplement you use is with out iron.

As for his bum... use a womans yeast control cream on it if it starts to look yeasty.. Check him over well for mites and do a stool sample for worms. If he's got a worm load, those buggers will take his vital nutrients.
 
Thank you for the thorough reply NovaAman! We will make up some of the rickets diet this weekend and hopefully get our little rooster feeling better.
 
Poor roo still feeling bad, and I have noticed mites now.

Sevindust powder to de-mite him?
 

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