Rooster lethargic with green and yellow diarrhea

[dedicateddourly]

If you feed on top of an impacted crop you could choke the bird. If it's not passing, then it's building up in the crop and eventually will have nowhere to go but up in the throat, therefore killing the bird.
I would let his crop empty before you add more. When you feed him after it empties just feed enough to fill it partially. If it does become sour you'll be happy not to have a full crop to deal with. Just continue feeding him small amounts of easily digestible foods until you determine that his crop is functioning normally.
I used to work at the zoo's Avian Propagation Center. It was a short stint, but I learned a lot there.

Alison, thanks. I got your PM and will PM you back.

 

[dedicateddourly]

If it is crop issue he probably wouldn't eat much. You can just remove the food and water over night. Check the size of his crop before turning off the light and then compare it to how it feels in the morning when it should be empty.

I suppose another thing to rule out is coccidosis. That possibility occurred to me when I saw the red in his poop. I haven't had any personal experience with this disease cause by a protozoa.

Thanks, scratch'n'peck. Cocci had crossed my mind as well since I couldn't tell if the red stuff was blood or not. I will wait to see what his next poop looks like before I treat for cocci.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Cocci generally doesn't affect birds older than about 5 months. I doubt it is that. I have extensive experience with it.

I would add some AVC to his water, and then rule out a crop issue. If it's a crop issue you can treat, if not move to next steps...

If crop issue is ruled out I would de-worm and de-mite him. (With Ivermectin and Valbazen).

After that if he is still sick I would add antiobiotics.

The poop definitely looks abnormal.

Hope this helps a little bit!

 

[dedicateddourly]

Cocci generally doesn't affect birds older than about 5 months. I doubt it is that. I have extensive experience with it.

I would add some AVC to his water, and then rule out a crop issue. If it's a crop issue you can treat, if not move to next steps...

If crop issue is ruled out I would de-worm and de-mite him. (With Ivermectin and Valbazen).

After that if he is still sick I would add antiobiotics.

The poop definitely looks abnormal.

Hope this helps a little bit!

Hi Cari,

Thanks for adding your wisdom. I was telling Alison that I just don't know what I'm feeling when I check the crop. I went to check my healthy birds and I could tell their crops were normal. With Wickham, it wasn't as clear-cut. It almost seemed like he had 2 sections of crop. Maybe it's just empty (a good thing!) and I can't find it.

He just pooped. No red at all. Clearish liquid with dark green bits in it. He just crowed very loudly too. I want to take it as a good sign, but just a second ago he was falling asleep standing up. I think I need to let hubby take a look at him.

Poor guy. There's a mirror in this room and he caught sight of himself and tried to flog his reflection.

 

[dedicateddourly]

So here's an update, though some is secondhand from my husband since I'm at work right now. Yesterday we had a fecal test done and it came back negative. I know there's still a chance there are parasites, but feel its unlikely based on the test as well as the fact that the other chickens are fine.

Wickham crowed a lot this morning. He seems to be stable and is not getting worse. Hubby felt Wickham's crop this morning and he said it felt doughy or squishy. Wickham hadn't eaten anything since yesterday afternoon. So it seems like a crop issue. There's no smell coming from his mouth, so it's probably impacted, rather than sour, right? Aside from giving him olive oil and massaging his crop, what can I do? And how long should I wait for everything in the crop to pass through? I guess I'm looking for a treatment timeline. My husband is willing to surgically open the crop, but I'm not willing to assist.

Hubby did scramble an egg for him. He ate some but not all. I hate not knowing what to do. And if he gets through this, I will worry that his crop will be compromised and it will happen again. But first thing's first, right?

Thanks everyone.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Hopefully he won't need surgery. I think that is needed more if it is a really hard impacted crop. Here is another thread with some other ideas: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/219897/i-need-help-with-a-digestive-problem-happy-update-post-20

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Hi! I would only operate on it as a last resource. I'd continue massaging the crop trying to get it to pass whatever is in there.
If after 3 days (from the first day you noticed it) it hasn't passed then hubby will have to do surgery. It may be an object picked up in the yard, could be a tangled mass
of grass...Keep us posted!

 

[dedicateddourly]

So Wickham's crop was empty and normal this morning, yay! And he's alert and crowing. If his crop is normal tomorrow, he'll get to go back outside with his girls. His poop still concerns me though. Still green with some liquid, but I'm hoping it's because we haven't given him too much to eat the past couple days.

Another thing happened yesterday which made me think that it may be parasites after all. One of my hens had multiple poops with blood in it. It definitely seemed like blood and not intestinal lining. She's totally active and alert, so that tells me it's probably not cocci. She's still laying too. Anyway, hubby got some fenbendazole from work and he dosed them all this morning. I know it's not the most effective wormer, but hopefully it's good enough.

Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[Knock Kneed Hen]

Good, glad he's on the mend! Be sure to dose them again in 10 days, preferably with Valbazen and you won't be able to eat the eggs now until two weeks AFTER you've given the second dose. This is a good time to treat them since most hens aren't laying much anyhow.

 

[dedicateddourly]

Good, glad he's on the mend! Be sure to dose them again in 10 days, preferably with Valbazen and you won't be able to eat the eggs now until two weeks AFTER you've given the second dose. This is a good time to treat them since most hens aren't laying much anyhow.

Thanks Alison,

It might be tricky getting hubby to use Valbazen. I just PM'd Cari about it - hubby, being a vet, sort of gets irritated when I tell him what "those online people" recommend, hehe. But, if I procure some, I'm sure he'll use it.