Need healthy but quick weight gain

[hotmessJess]

Hi all!

So we had chicken-pocalypse last Thursday, we lost 4 (one literally, so still hoping she'll come home...). The neighbors let their dog out without her invisible fence collar.

I have one guy in recovery, but he's not doing so hot. The vet thinks that he had an underlying issue before the attack because he was rather thin when he was finally seen on Saturday (it really took me that long to find a vet to see him). They took a stool sample from the floor (not how I would have done it...) and determined he had a bacterial overgrowth in his gut along with a normal-for-FR amount of eimiria. They gave him subcutaneous fluids and 7 days of a sulfa/antibiotic.

He's been eating and drinking, but felt thinner and has had A LOT of stool, so I took him back last night for more fluids and an antibiotic injection. Despite eating 4 boiled egg yolks, half a cup of feed and a quarter cup scratch, his crop was empty and he had poop all over (he was too weak to stand from dehydration).

So now that you're wondering why I've posted this in the wrong forum, I'm rounding to my point: what can I give this fellow to speed along his weight gain? He's not a fan of yogurt at all, I've been giving him extra rolled oats (his favorite), layer feed, egg yolks, scratch, broccoli, kale, salmon, basically anything he'll eat. Is there something that will put healthy weight on him quickly? I really love this bird and want him to get better!

 

[enola]

Worming him is a good place to start. If you feel like he needs probiotics, and he probably does, get chicken probiotics, skip the yogurt. If you feel like he needs treats, make sure they contain protein and fat - cooked eggs, meal worms, sunflower seeds. A high protein game feed would probably be good.

 

[enola]

Is the rest of the flock thin?

 

[hotmessJess]

No, the rest of the flock is plump with healthy stool, no worms visible, and even the sick guy was free of worms and had what the doc described as normal eimeria for a FR chicken. He's on the sulfa drug for parasites, though.

Those are essentially the treats he's been given (though he will try to avoid sunflower seeds - strange bird), but u will definitely get him some broiler high protein feed! Thanks for the advice!

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

If you feel like he needs probiotics, and he probably does, get chicken probiotics, skip the yogurt. If you feel like he needs treats, make sure they contain protein and fat - cooked eggs, meal worms, sunflower seeds. A high protein game feed would probably be good.

X 2 - many of the foods you listed are very low in the key nutrients that would accomplish the goal you have. I would put him on a good game bird feed and cut all "extras" as none of them will come close to the fat and/or protein content of the feed alone.

 

[hotmessJess]

Do you have a recommendation for brand that's highest in what I need? Am I looking for just more protein and fat? What else should I be focused on nutrient wise?

 

[enola]

Game bird food is probably all you need to ask for at the feed store.

 

[hotmessJess]

Other than probiotics, is there something to sooth his digestive tract? The doc (who admittedly isn't as familiar with poultry) recommended the broccoli and kale as extra fiber for his GI issues.

Wouldn't you know that the 3 poultry vet's would be out of town the week I have a huge need for them? Story of my life.

 

[enola]

His gut doesn't need to be soothed, it needs support. Probiotics will do that. Yogurt is digested differently by chickens than humans. Get probiotics.