Rooster Lethargic with Watery Poop and Dark Comb

[black_fleet]

The Gov'nah seems very lively today, his comb is back to a nicer brighter shade of red, and even better--his crop is completely drained. I looked at his poop from the evening, and they were all very solid and capped with white, though still a bit of dark green in there.

I'll start him with a bit of slurried layer crumble and a scrambled egg this morning. One question I had though was if I should continue to give him the coconut oil and crop massages today? Or should I wait to see how his crop is in the morning?

EDIT: One thing I wanted to mention though, is that I noticed when he pooped in front of me this morning, his stomach (or whatever chicken part) made a very loud gurgling noise right before, the kind you would expect from a human stomach that is empty and very hungry. I've never noticed this with any of my other birds, so I was wondering if this is a normal thing?

 

[Shadrach]

I'm pleased to read The Gov'nah seems better today.
The layer feed. seriously put it in the bin.
Here is an interesting thread with some links supplied by someone who knows a great deal about chicken feed.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lets-talk-about-layer-feed.1283837/

 

[Wyorp Rock]

The Gov'nah seems very lively today, his comb is back to a nicer brighter shade of red, and even better--his crop is completely drained. I looked at his poop from the evening, and they were all very solid and capped with white, though still a bit of dark green in there.

I'll start him with a bit of slurried layer crumble and a scrambled egg this morning. One question I had though was if I should continue to give him the coconut oil and crop massages today? Or should I wait to see how his crop is in the morning?

EDIT: One thing I wanted to mention though, is that I noticed when he pooped in front of me this morning, his stomach (or whatever chicken part) made a very loud gurgling noise right before, the kind you would expect from a human stomach that is empty and very hungry. I've never noticed this with any of my other birds, so I was wondering if this is a normal thing?

Glad to hear he is better this morning!
I would give him 1 tsp of coconut oil today, but don't massage. See how the crop is in the morning.
Wet feed today, hopefully he will drink well. Of course a fella has to have a nice treat, so scrambled egg would be good

I have heard a gurgling before when treating a crop problem, she seemed to have a bit of air in her crop too, I was afraid it was turning sour, but I was able to get everything moving o.k. I have not heard it when handling ones that were "healthy".
Maybe @Eggcessive has heard that kind of thing before too?

 

[black_fleet]

I'm pleased to read The Gov'nah seems better today.
The layer feed. seriously put it in the bin.
Here is an interesting thread with some links supplied by someone who knows a great deal about chicken feed.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/lets-talk-about-layer-feed.1283837/

Thank you for that. I was looking at that thread last night, I just don't have anything else to give him this morning, unless the bird seed and scrambled egg can hold him over until mid afternoon when I can get the new feed.

Otherwise it will most certainly go in the bin, I actually dual-purpose the crumble as a kitty litter. Mixed with a tiny bit of baking soda, it works very well for me

 

[Eggcessive]

I would give him the layer feed mixed with a lot of water, and perhaps a tiny bit of yogurt mixed in. Layer feed is not his problem, but all flock might be good for him in the long run. One more day of it will not hurt him.

 

[Shadrach]

Layer feed is not his problem

I really don't know how you can write this; unless you've examined the chicken and you are a vet.

 

[Eggcessive]

Giving him layer feed for one more day of his life will not hurt him. He seems to have a crop problem or just diarrhea. I have raised many roosters on layer feed without a problem.

 

[Shadrach]

@black_fleet
I don't know what the problem is with The Gov'nah.
I do know this though, if the information you've provided is correct.
You've kept chickens for 25 years without any major problems as far as I can tell.
Your first problems arrived with hens you bought from Tractor Supply. This should tell you something.
You haven't fed these chickens commercially produced feed in the past, more or less 24 years of past as far as I can see and they've been fine.
They roost pretty much where they please, they free range, they've survived what reads like an unusually cold winter.
You don't mention any previous bouts of coccidia, weak shelled eggs, sour crop, or any other diseases, mites, lice, or complaints that are constantly appearing on this forum. It reads as if you have a wonderfully healthy and well managed flock.
I would say, if you want more chickens then let some of your hens sit and hatch.
I'm not going to contribute further. I wish you the best of luck, give The Gov'nah a hug from me and tell him to get better and when this upsetting period is over perhaps you might return to this forum and tell us how to raise chickens.

PS. And thank you for reading my stories. I hope you enjoy the rest.

 

[black_fleet]

@black_fleet
I don't know what the problem is with The Gov'nah.
I do know this though, if the information you've provided is correct.
You've kept chickens for 25 years without any major problems as far as I can tell.
Your first problems arrived with hens you bought from Tractor Supply. This should tell you something.
You haven't fed these chickens commercially produced feed in the past, more or less 24 years of past as far as I can see and they've been fine.
They roost pretty much where they please, they free range, they've survived what reads like an unusually cold winter.
You don't mention any previous bouts of coccidia, weak shelled eggs, sour crop, or any other diseases, mites, lice, or complaints that are constantly appearing on this forum. It reads as if you have a wonderfully healthy and well managed flock.
I would say, if you want more chickens then let some of your hens sit and hatch.
I'm not going to contribute further. I wish you the best of luck, give The Gov'nah a hug from me and tell him to get better and when this upsetting period is over perhaps you might return to this forum and tell us how to raise chickens.

PS. And thank you for reading my stories. I hope you enjoy the rest.

Thank you for all the advice and kind words!

Basically, my story is that as long as I've been on this farm, I've had chickens. Generally, we've bought our birds from local farms, but one day last year we saw some Black Australorps at TSC and thus the 'black fleet' was born. We've of course had our problems over the years, but nothing too bad and nothing terminal for the birds (mostly just mites/fleas way back when). The only deadly things around here have mostly been hawks, owls, cats, or one time I had a neighbor steal six hens from me and put them in his coop right over the fence-line :| LOL

We've only ever used feed as a way to get the chickens to come in from the fields if there are predators sighted, but with the population increasing in my area slowly over the years, I think most of the predators I used to worry about have been chased out of this area. I guess with this flock I just really wanted to spoil them, and this is how I came to start feeding them daily with the corn and layer crumble.

Honestly, I have been thinking a lot about hatching my own, especially while I still have some of my older hens laying (the non TSC ones; Buff Orphingtons). I don't think I'll be returning to TSC for any livestock either way. The next type I've been looking at is the Wyandotte, but that's a story for another day

I wish you luck in your adventures!

 

[black_fleet]

Just a small status update. I've been caring for The Gov'nah as instructed, and I think he's doing well so far. His crop has been functioning properly and his poop looking pretty good and solid. He's still got one more day in quarantine at least, so we'll see how it looks in another day or so. But overall I am very happy. Though I did notice that in the last big fight, The Emperor ripped a little bit of his comb off, so I am going to work on keeping them separate until I can get a few more hens for them. Thanks again for all the help, I am so happy to hear him crow every day!