Rooster down, can't stand up

[canalcolt]

Ur rooster is so pretty and looks healthy. I would definitely bring him in or put him by himself and give electrolyte in his water and extra protein and look into what wyorp suggested. I hope your rooster gets better. Keep us updated! We had a rooster attacked by a fox a few months ago but luckily he survived and is pretty much ok now. It is scary because when they r hurt or ill they can not communicate.

 

[sschroeter]

Beautiful rooster! Sorry he is having trouble. I get the feeling its neurological also.

Could he have gotten into anything toxic? Poisons? Does he free-range? Any similar symptoms from any other chickens?

He does not free range and their feed was definitely not moldy. Very Slight chance of mold on veggie scraps as my neighbor brings them over as well. No other chickens (16 total) have any symptoms. It really doesn't look like Marek's as there is no paralysis of legs or wings, they both seem fully functional, he just can't coordinate it all and stand. Comb and eyes all look good.

 

[sschroeter]

Agreed.

He is beautiful - I'm so sorry he is not doing well.
It does look neurological to me too. Even though he is 4yrs old, I would be inclined it could be Marek's...BUT you would still want to try to rule out other things that can mimic Marek's. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq.66077/

Have a fecal float to rule out worms and coccidiosis.
Offer vitamins with B's, E and Selenium (you can use human B-Complex vitamins, no iron if needed) most poultry vitamins have E and Selenium is found in egg, tuna and nuts.
Check him over well for any external parasites and treat with a Permethrin based poultry dust/spray if you find any.
Look in his ears - make sure there is no infection or debris (chickens can get ear mites) - ear infections can cause loss of balance.
Has he been in a fight with another rooster - any possibility that he suffered head trauma?
Any possibility he got into anything rotten/moldy?


You can try placing him in a sling to keep him more upright, but he would need to be monitored. Some take to a sling very well, some freak out. Here's an example below, but if you google "chicken sling" you will find tons of images to get creative.

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No outward injuries are visible. We have another rooster but they never fight, this guy is definitely top dog. No other animals have access or other way of injury that I could imagine. No parasites (thank heavens as he's in the house). I will check ears and crop today. Thanks to everyone for your comments so far.

 

[sschroeter]

He was standing some yesterday. Not super balanced but standing and getting around. We're going to put him out in the coop today and watch and see if he can get around and make sure the other rooster can't bother him. He needs more room than the crate. We're on the Puget Sound so it's not crazy cold here and the coop is well built.

 

[micstrachan]

Yay! Let us know how it goes.

 

[sschroeter]

We thought we had him secured in a section of our coop, but he got out and tangled with the young rooster. Back in the box he goes until we can retrofit our old a-frame coop for him tomorrow. We think he needs out of the box to be able to move more and regain his strength.

 

[WVduckchick]

The younger rooster may now see that he isn't well. Could the young rooster have decided he wants to be top dog? I've had it happen. But you would likely at least see some comb damage. Hmm.

Best of luck.

 

[sschroeter]

The younger rooster may now see that he isn't well. Could the young rooster have decided he wants to be top dog? I've had it happen. But you would likely at least see some comb damage. Hmm.

Best of luck.

Oh yes, there was significant comb damage. He seems to be doing fine and we moved him into our old chicken tractor this morning. He is still fairly unsteady, but is managing to walk around. We're just waiting to see if he can get up through the small hole to the roost at night. If not, we may have to move him to get him out of the elements (which are relatively mild here on the Puget Sound for the moment).

We'll wait until he's fully recovered to give him another shot at the young rooster.

 

[WVduckchick]

Oh yes, there was significant comb damage. He seems to be doing fine and we moved him into our old chicken tractor this morning. He is still fairly unsteady, but is managing to walk around. We're just waiting to see if he can get up through the small hole to the roost at night. If not, we may have to move him to get him out of the elements (which are relatively mild here on the Puget Sound for the moment).

We'll wait until he's fully recovered to give him another shot at the young rooster.

I was actually meaning the original reason for the start of the thread. You had said no apparent injuries, comb looked good, and that they never fought before, so I was wondering if the young one had maybe attacked him without you knowing it. But if he had, then I would have expected comb damage.

Its a shame that the young one is now taking advantage of his unwell state.

Hoping for a full recovery!

 

[sschroeter]

I thought I would let you all know that while he appeared to be getting stronger we went out two mornings ago to find him unresponsive so we let him go over the rainbow bridge. Thanks to all who offered advice and suggestions!