Rooster can't stand or move, still alert

[SpinChicky]

A friend's 10 month old Orpington rooster started stumbling and dragging his feet nearly a week ago. Within 3-4 days, he wasn't moving. He will eat and drink if we make it available to him, but he is laying on one side and will occasionally scoot around in a clockwise type fashion.

He's alert, looks around, and will attempt to fight if you try to touch him. His legs and feet can move in a bicycling like motion, but he can't stand, and when I try to set him upright, he rolls to one side. At first we thought he'd been injured, because we found out a visitor had pushed him with a stick a couple weeks ago when the roo advanced. However, he doesn't show any other symptoms of injury.

I wondered if he'd been bitten by a snake or spider, but again, he's mentally alert and aware, just unable to stand or move much. I honestly thought he'd die several days ago, so I'm surprised he's still functioning each day.

Any ideas what disease/injury/illness we might be dealing with? Thank you!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

A friend's 10 month old Orpington rooster started stumbling and dragging his feet nearly a week ago. Within 3-4 days, he wasn't moving. He will eat and drink if we make it available to him, but he is laying on one side and will occasionally scoot around in a clockwise type fashion.

He's alert, looks around, and will attempt to fight if you try to touch him. His legs and feet can move in a bicycling like motion, but he can't stand, and when I try to set him upright, he rolls to one side. At first we thought he'd been injured, because we found out a visitor had pushed him with a stick a couple weeks ago when the roo advanced. However, he doesn't show any other symptoms of injury.

I wondered if he'd been bitten by a snake or spider, but again, he's mentally alert and aware, just unable to stand or move much. I honestly thought he'd die several days ago, so I'm surprised he's still functioning each day.

Any ideas what disease/injury/illness we might be dealing with? Thank you!

How soon after he was pushed/poked/hit with a stick did he start showing symptoms? A week or so later?
Do you know if he was vaccinated for Marek's?
Can you post some photos or a video of him?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
Do you have vet care available?

There are so many things that can affect the legs and cause paralysis/immobility. Trauma/injury, vitamin/nutritional deficiency and diseases like Marek's to name a few.

Provide him with B2(Riboflavin) - you can crush a human B-Complex vitamin (no iron) and add it to his feed. Watch to see that he is staying hydrated and eating well. Extra protein like egg or tuna are usually well received in addition to his normal feed. Try to make his food/water as accessible as possible.

You may want to consider placing him in a sling for short periods of time throughout the day so he can be upright and stay cleaner.

There are plenty of pictures of slings here on BYC and the web some threads to give you some ideas:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/147520/update-on-roo-with-broken-leg-pics-of-chicken-sling
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/713499/my-chicken-sling-pic

Marek's
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[SpinChicky]

Thank you Wyorp Rock!

He started exhibiting symptoms about 3-5 days later (not sure on the exact date).
He came from a feed store, so we don't know if he was vaccinated. All but one of our other chickens have been for sure.
He gets an organic layer feed that we give to all our hens, and mealy worms every day or two. He also free ranges most days in our very rural area. We do have hawks and other assorted predators, but our LGDs keep most everything away during the day.
We have a vet nearby, but they don't typically deal with chickens.

I'll see if I can get some pictures today.

Thanks again for the great help!

 

[SpinChicky]

Update today: Roo is still alert, when I pick him up his legs go crazy and he flaps his wings. When I set him down he just rolls over. He opens and closes his mouth kind of compulsively.

 

[Junglefowlboss]

I have one concern. Giving layer feed to a rooster can cause kidney damage because layer feed has extra calcium for hena who lay eggs.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Update today: Roo is still alert, when I pick him up his legs go crazy and he flaps his wings. When I set him down he just rolls over. He opens and closes his mouth kind of compulsively.

Can you post a video of him?

It's possible that he may have Marek's. There's no way to know for sure without testing/necropsy.


Here's a couple of examples of what Marek's can look like.
MAREK'S VIDEO