Pathetic Polish Roo

[Rowsdower]

My sister, who is very new to chickens, went and picked up a Polish rooster that she had found in the classifieds. She had seen pictures of the bird previously, but when she went to get him it was dark and he was sleeping. They transferred him from cage to crate and she did not really look him over...until she got home. Once she got him home she took him out and he was absolutely FILTHY. She decided to bathe him and soon discovered that he is covered with at least four different parasites. I can help her deal with the parasites, but this bird DOES NOT walk. His legs seem strong and do not appear to have any paralysis but he just does not move. He can stand, but only in one place. At first, we thought this might be because he was housed in a rabbit hutch less than 2 foot square. He also has a bit of a goopy eye. He crows normally and often, he doesn't seem to be congested in his lungs at all. My other sister is a veterinarian and she came and treated him with everything that she could throw at him. We thought that this might perk him up and we'd see some movement, but nothing yet. My sister contacted the people that she got him from, the folks who had previously assured her that the bird was healthy, and they told her that they had NEVER seen the bird walk in the time that they had him (the wife says they'd had him for months, the husband says 2-3 weeks). Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with anything like this? Cultures/labs have been drawn and sent in but won't be back for a little while. The suspense is killing me.

 

[Free Feather]

How can you be healthy, but never walk or stand....
If you get him in an open enough area after everything else has been treated, he might try, but it seems like right now he has a lot of stress. I hope someone else knows what is wrong with him.

 

[MrsBachbach]

Well, cooped up like he was, he may have no strength in his leg muscles. I'd give him a good diet, some vit/min supplements like Poultry Cell for a few days, and maybe a little daily PT for a couple of weeks and see if anything changes.

 

[Rowsdower]

Well, cooped up like he was, he may have no strength in his leg muscles. I'd give him a good diet, some vit/min supplements like Poultry Cell for a few days, and maybe a little daily PT for a couple of weeks and see if anything changes.

Thank you for your reply. This was my initial thought, but he seems to have good strength in his legs. He kicks and can free them when restrained. He can use his feet to scratch his face. I really hope this is all that it is. She's completely paranoid about exposing her existing flock to something awful. I would like her to give him some outside room, he currently resides in her spare bathroom, but she doesn't want to contaminate her yard. I don't know how much good seeing grass will do him anyway, the previous owners admitted that he'd never been out of his cage. He is essentially a battery chicken. My other sister (the vet) seems to think he's salvageable, but she also has limited experience with chickens.

 

[Rowsdower]

How can you be healthy, but never walk or stand....
If you get him in an open enough area after everything else has been treated, he might try, but it seems like right now he has a lot of stress. I hope someone else knows what is wrong with him.

Yeah, this was my thinking too. "He's likely just scared stiff"...but then he started crowing. I've never seen a scared/stressed bird announce its presence by crowing. This is all just so baffling to me. Nothing really adds up to any of the diseases that I know or have had experience.

Bugs have been nuked, I assume. My sister really let them have it. But he's not eating well, just a nibble here and there, and only after my sister gavaged him. She's giving him dropper water regularly, but hasn't seen him drinking on his own.

I did forget to mention that his toenails were pretty overgrown causing his toes to gnarl a bit (not terrible, I have seen much worse), he might have had some difficulty walking in his cage even if there had been room.

ETA: He's been defecating since she got him. It looks normal enough, maybe a bit dry if anything, but she said that it looks like he is straining when he goes.

 

[Oldhawkins]

Is he around other chickens? I had a neighbor drop off an unwanted rooster who would crow normally but not move or want anything to do with my hens.He ate and drank fine but was totally unsociable with my chickens. I believe he was depressed from being removed from his original environment. This rooster of mine dropped dead 3 days later. I could find no cause reason for death, other then he just was extremely stressed and depressed.

 

[Rowsdower]

Is he around other chickens? I had a neighbor drop off an unwanted rooster who would crow normally but not move or want anything to do with my hens.He ate and drank fine but was totally unsociable with my chickens. I believe he was depressed from being removed from his original environment. This rooster of mine dropped dead 3 days later. I could find no cause reason for death, other then he just was extremely stressed and depressed.

He was an only chicken when she got him. She has other birds, but he's in quarantine. There's some confusion as to how long it has been since he's been with other birds. The fellow told my sister he'd had the roo for two or three weeks, that they got some hens when they got him, but that they got rid of the hens long before the roo. Anyone else confused?

 

[MrsBachbach]

I would put some Avian super pack in his drinking water or Poultry Cell. He may be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals. Especially if he has been cooped his entire life without natural light. I understand keeping him quarantined for a couple of weeks though. After that, if she had a large dog crate with wire bottom, I'd put him in the yard in that to get a look around, before introducing him to the flock. If there are other roosters in her flock, there will be trouble though. If she just has hens, he may try to show his dominance over them for a few days and then settle down.
Would love to see a pic of the guy.

 

[Free Feather]

Yeah, show us pictures!