Pale comb/face, bright yellow poop 3 year old rooster.

[Darlingoo]

Hi so my 3year old jersey giant rooster Shepard has been under the weather since October I've been taking him in and out of the vets, on multiple antibiotics.

Originally went in to the vets in October cuz his comb was purple/black and he was just stood in the doorway of his coop. The vet said his heart sounded fine and his breathing isn't an issue was most likely some infection. Through antibiotic and syringe tubing water managed to get him Back to normal.

Then late November he started turning again but this time his face, comb and wattle just went extremely pale and the uric acid in his poo was bright yellow. Now I wormed him in October and been worming him again since Saturday just to rule it out. the vets said again his heart and breathing is fine, no sign of external parisites or red mite in his coop. He used to have breaks throughout the day where he'd get a bite to eat then hunch up and rest for 30mins and continue. Now he'll just fine somewhere and hunch there.
I'm afraid to say he seems to be getting worse, he's completely food obsessed cottage cheese being number 1 on his list. Last night he was interested but ate a small amount then tucked his head under his wing, were as last week it would be gone in minutes. He is still eating and drinking just to say just in smaller amounts as the days go by. He's been on three sets of different antibiotics with no real help to symptoms.

I'll be ringing the vet again today but with his recent decline I'm grabbing at straws and thought I'd ask if anyone on here has any idea. I'll add some pictures of him down below aswell as a photo of his poop. One is a comparison to his son hatched last year, who looks the spit of him in his hay day.

Thank you very much for reading or answering in advance, if there's anything I've left out please let me know.

-mike

 

[Darlingoo]

Thanks for your reply shadrach, tbh I was worried liver failure might come up. Sorry to hear about your roosters but thank you for sharing your experience of it. I think when he goes completely off his food and water itll be time to pass him on, just a shame.

 

[Shadrach]

When I’ve had roosters with combs that turned purple/black who became disoriented and unfortunately later died one was definitely from liver failure, the others probably the same.
Yellow urates would also suggest liver, or urinary tract problems to me.
An avian fowl specialist should be able to test for the above problems. A local general vet may not have the experience or the interest.

Decline in health was fairly rapid with two roosters who died with similar symptoms. In the end I attributed the liver failures to feeding layers pellets with high calcium content. There has been quite a lot of research done on this.
If it is a liver problem there really isn’t much you can do except hand feed and hydrate until you feel that the quality of life is not worth the suffering.
Of course, I could be completely wrong and your rooster has other issues. The above is based on the experience I've had with roosters here.

 

[Eggcessive]

If he had something like aspergillosis, a fungal disease that can spread to organs leaving deposits all over, he could be suffering, and no antibiotics will affect him. Aspergillosis is from inhaling mold spores that spread through the air sacs all over and seed infection in organs. It may be found on necropsy, and there are no easy treatments for chickens. Sometimes it may only affect one chicken in the coop. I am only guessing at this possibility, but it may be something to look for if you lose him.

I assume you and the vet have examined him for mites and lice. If you are in the US, you could give him a daily dose of Poultry Cell or NutriDrench which contain iron, plus electrolytes, trace vitamins, and amino acids. Dosage is 2-3 ml daily. If he has liver failure, there is no treatment. Liver failure can lead to ascites, or fluid in the lower belly.

There are other chronic diseases in poultry that involve viruses, such as leukosis or Mareks that can cause tumors in organs. Big liver disease is caused by leukosis and can cause pale skin and yellow urates in the droppings. It might be best to give him watery chicken feed rather than too much cottage cheese. You can doctor it up with a bit of cooked egg, or liver to give iron and B vitamins.

Here is some reading about aspergillosis, and you can find more info online:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/aspergillosis/overview-of-aspergillosis-in-poultry

Here is an article about big liver disease associate with biral leukosis:
https://www.poultryworld.net/Health/health_tool/Lymphoid-leukosis/

 

[Darlingoo]

Thank you for replying, unfortunately Shepard passed away a little bit ago. He fell to the floor in spasm and drifted off in my arms. Gonna put him in the freezer and look into having a necropsy done. just wanna thank everyone for there Input and help.

 

[Eggcessive]

Be sure and refrigerate, but not freeze the body. So sorry that you lost him, but please let us know any results from the necropsy.

 

[Saaniya]

Thank you for replying, unfortunately Shepard passed away a little bit ago. He fell to the floor in spasm and drifted off in my arms. Gonna put him in the freezer and look into having a necropsy done. just wanna thank everyone for there Input and help.

I'm so sorry
Pls do update the results

 

[Darlingoo]

Thanks for the condolences. Just an update with the necropsy status. I looked into it and im not gonna be able to afford it unfortunately plus had a lovely chat with the lady who would of done it and talked me through everything saying that because he'd of been on a lot of different antibiotics and how long it took for him to pass there was a high chance I wouldn't get the answers I was looking for. I thought with the price and there not being a 100% chance on an answer I didn't want to take the gamble. He's now buried with an apple tree sapling ontop on him so in some weird way he lives on.

 

[Shadrach]

Thanks for your reply shadrach, tbh I was worried liver failure might come up. Sorry to hear about your roosters but thank you for sharing your experience of it. I think when he goes completely off his food and water itll be time to pass him on, just a shame.

These are the hard decisions that unfortunately keeping any creatures forces us into.
If he does die please consider having a necropsy done.

 

[CT Coop]

Another possibility with yellow poo is Black Head Disease. Chickens are fairly immune to it, but it can affect them. It is caused by a protozoa spread by the cecal worm and it does affect the liver. I have had experience with my turkeys and yellow poo is the clearest symptom. Unfortunately, I don't believe there is any medication for it. I would definitely get a necropsy, if he doesn't make it, so you know what to do for the rest of your flock.