Rooster crying out when pooing

[Shaw117]

Starting 4-5 days ago he started grunting/crying out when he tries to poo. He gets poo out each time although it's only very little (no blood or diarrhea). He has, as long as I can remember only pooed small amounts, not as big as the girls even though he's a full sized rooster.

So far I've tried putting olive oil in his vent and feeling around to see if I could find any obstructions but nothing. I've been giving him olive oil by mouth the past two days hoping he's just constipated and it'll loosen things up but doesn't seem to be getting better. I also wormed him bc he did have a roundworm in one of his poos.

He's eating, drinking, mating and acting otherwise normal except he's not been crowing very much which is very unusual for him.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Eggcessive]

I would make sure that he is taking plenty of water if you are having hot weather. Putting out a couple of extra water bowls, and adding water to a small amount of feed can get more into him. Molasses can act as a laxative in small amounts. Giving a small amount of plain yogurt for probiotics 2-3 days a week may also help. A one time dose of castor oil 1/2 tsp in his food may help as a laxative. Constipation seems to be a common ailment in roosters for some reason.

 

[Shaw117]

Thank you. While soaking him yesterday I found that he has necrotic tissue in his vent. When he tries to poo it sticks out. I have no idea how this could have happened but plan on debriding the tissue as much as I can and giving him antibiotics. I also bought silver antimicrobial cream based on my research. Have you had anything like this before? This doesn't seem to be common in roosters.

 

[CluckerCottage]

necrotic tissue in the vent could be from flystrike.
does he usually have poop stuck on his butt feathers?
Flies love to lay their eggs in poop as you know. When it happens on chicken, the eggs hatch into maggots which need food.
They will often migrate to the vent area and eat at the soft tissue in and around the vent.

 

[Shaw117]

Could he have flystrike without the maggots?? I've pulled some of the tissue off and no sign of bugs. Has healthy tissue underneath.

He's had some poop on his feathers but nothing excessive.

 

[Eggcessive]

He could have suffered a prolapsed vent from his constipation. If not discovered right away the inner tissue (cloaca) could dry out and become dead. This may cause further damage to his vent, affecting his ability to pass droppings. Most prolapses occur in hens from egg laying problems, but it can sometimes happen in a constipated rooster. I would give him some warm soaks in Epsom salts, and rub the dead looking tissue to get it off. If the tissue starts to bleed and look pink, then that is healthy tissue. This probably will not be very pleasant for him, since roosters hate being handled. After his baths, lue up his vent with some bacitracin or neosporin ointment.

 

[Shaw117]

Thank you! I'm going to keep doing the warm Epsom baths. He's no longer prolapsed so it's tough to get at the dead tissue but I've been putting silver antimicrobial cream in there to hopefully help it heal. I'm also giving antibiotics just in case he develops an infection.

 

[Eggcessive]

I hope that he recovers with all of your hard work. People use stool softeners (colace or doccusate sodium) for crop impaction, so that might help his constipation. Molasses is another thing that can act as a laxative in small amounts. Those plus the probiotic plain yogurt hopefully will help him to poop. Keep us posted.

 

[Shaw117]

Thank you!! I started giving him some yogurt yesterday. I think I have the necrosis under control but still battling this constipation. I'll look into colace too. I'll keep you all posted!! The good news is besides the straining, he's still eating drinking and behaving normally (except still no crowing

).

 

[Shaw117]

My rooster is still straining and prolapsing. I have been giving him warm epsom soaks. I tried honey today to see if that would help him keep the prolapse in. I need to figure out why he's straining in the first place which is leading to the prolapse. He is eliminating stool but its in small amounts and he's still moaning while he's doing it. I am ready to try colace but is it possible for him to be constipated but still getting poo out? He's had both loose and normal consistency poo. If its not constipation, the only other thing I could find was that he may have tumors of some sort.

He's still acting otherwise normal besides not crowing. I had him separated from the girls but he was not eating/drinking and getting really stressed so I let him back out with them. This is so frustrating....