Rooster losing balance and sleepy.

[WeNeedDrPhil]

What do you normally feed him?

Picture of his poop may be helpful along with some pics of him and what his crop looks like - I'm having a hard time imagining a crop that is tough and yellow? A layer of fat - how does his breast feel - fatty too?

If you have a vet that will accept a stool sample, I encourage you to have a fecal float to rule out worms and coccidiosis. It probably won't hurt to treat for both, but knowing what type of worms (if any) he has will let you know what medication to use for treatment.

Check his crop first thing in the morning before he eats/drinks - it should be empty.
Do what you can to keep him drinking. Cut out the corn for now - give him only his normal poultry feed or some chick starter to eat. You can also offer some chopped egg as a treat.

Look forward to the photos.

I usually feed them regular feed or normal mixed with brooder feed.

I will try to get a picture of his stool, but I might need to seperate him first.

I seriously doubt that our vet could do an analysis like that. He mostly just deals with medication

I think corn takes a while to digest though? It might not be completely empty, but I'll check.

As a side note, in humans I think it's possible to use a bit of tape put on the anus in the evening and can reveal worms by morning, would that be possible for chickens?

 

[WeNeedDrPhil]

Alright here are the pictures. The crop, as I suspected was not empty, and Icould still feel the corn. But the weird thing is that fat deposit is above the crop and not directly on it.

View attachment 1553767

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

Oh nooo...hope someone here can help your poor boy. Keep us updated and good luck!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I don't believe I've every seen anything quite like that. Is that bulge separate from the crop?

Regardless of what he eats, his crop should be empty in the morning before he eats/drinks. With him still having food in there in the morning, he is not processing foods like he should. If that fat deposit is above, it may be constricting something, I'm just not sure about that. That may be a fatty tumor or something similar - lets see if @coach723 has seen this.

I would still only offer him his normal feed, no more corn right now. Make sure he has grit available and that he's drinking.
I would probably also deworm him and treat for coccidiosis, just to cover the bases since vet care is not an option. Crop issues can be a symptom of an underlying condition, but I have a feeling that the fatty bulge is causing problems too.

You can find Corid in the cattle section of your feed store. Get some Valbazen or Safeguard to de-worm him.

It looks like he also has Scaly Leg Mites, wash the legs in warm soapy water, rinse well and give the legs a coating of some type of oil (coconut, castor, A+D) or Nu-stock cream.
It wouldn't hurt to look through his feathers to see if you find any lice or mites too.

 

[WeNeedDrPhil]

I don't believe I've every seen anything quite like that. Is that bulge separate from the crop?

Regardless of what he eats, his crop should be empty in the morning before he eats/drinks. With him still having food in there in the morning, he is not processing foods like he should. If that fat deposit is above, it may be constricting something, I'm just not sure about that. That may be a fatty tumor or something similar - lets see if @coach723 has seen this.

I would still only offer him his normal feed, no more corn right now. Make sure he has grit available and that he's drinking.
I would probably also deworm him and treat for coccidiosis, just to cover the bases since vet care is not an option. Crop issues can be a symptom of an underlying condition, but I have a feeling that the fatty bulge is causing problems too.

You can find Corid in the cattle section of your feed store. Get some Valbazen or Safeguard to de-worm him.

It looks like he also has Scaly Leg Mites, wash the legs in warm soapy water, rinse well and give the legs a coating of some type of oil (coconut, castor, A+D) or Nu-stock cream.
It wouldn't hurt to look through his feathers to see if you find any lice or mites too.

Well that sure doesn't sound great. I can't be certain but it feels like it isn't blocking anything as I can feel the corn in his crop which is below the fatty deposit. When I asked my vet about some medication for canker in my hen, he gave me a "cousin" of that drug which obviously did not work, so I don't even know if he'll have that stuff, and where we get our feed, they simply sell the feed and seemingly no other medication. I never really thought about his feet though, I'll take care of that. We had multiple encounters with mites and they never seem to go away completely and he does have a few mites on him, but not a lot.

 

[Helloworld]

Hmm... That might be it, but does it also affect roosters? It is kinda cold here. their water bowls are often wet all around thanks to our ducks. We do have 8 chicks and none of them seem afflicted. I'll clean our their coop either way.

I have waterfowl and chickens. I am surprised to read how many house them together. Wet is a detriment to chickens and waterfowl carry salmonella risks to chickens. I guess I am behind times?

 

[coach723]

@WeNeedDrPhil , where are you located in general? That would help in giving you suggestions of how you could obtain some medications.
All vets can do a fecal float test, it's done on all species very commonly. If your vet won't do one for a chicken you could do a mail in option if necessary.
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/...liate&utm_medium=category&utm_campaign=ppjcat
My initial thoughts were the same as @Wyorp Rock , it appears to perhaps be a tumor of some kind. He's not digesting well, so it may be putting pressure on parts of his digestive system deeper inside where we can't see. I would try as suggested and only feed him regular feed for a while, even mix it with some water to make a mash, nothing fiberous, see if having only water soluble feed will help get things moving better and help his digestion. You could mix some probiotics in his feed also.
I'd also take care of the mites, that won't help things no matter what is going on with him. Is the lump very hard? Does it move at all when you mess with it?

 

[WeNeedDrPhil]

@WeNeedDrPhil , where are you located in general? That would help in giving you suggestions of how you could obtain some medications.
All vets can do a fecal float test, it's done on all species very commonly. If your vet won't do one for a chicken you could do a mail in option if necessary.
https://www.statelinetack.com/item/...liate&utm_medium=category&utm_campaign=ppjcat
My initial thoughts were the same as @Wyorp Rock , it appears to perhaps be a tumor of some kind. He's not digesting well, so it may be putting pressure on parts of his digestive system deeper inside where we can't see. I would try as suggested and only feed him regular feed for a while, even mix it with some water to make a mash, nothing fiberous, see if having only water soluble feed will help get things moving better and help his digestion. You could mix some probiotics in his feed also.
I'd also take care of the mites, that won't help things no matter what is going on with him. Is the lump very hard? Does it move at all when you mess with it?

I'm around the Ruen, Bulgaria region, and I feel like people around here really don't take illness in animals seriously, they simply say "it's sick" and do not much more than that.
I did feed him some wet regular feed and chick starter and ground up a few small pebbles in it, as grit. He seemed VERY enthusiastic to eat it, when I put some in my palm and gave it to him. I don't think It's blocking his esophagus though, since his throat didn't get any bigger after he ate a bunch. The lump is kinda hard, but it can move around a bit. I imagine I can't do much if it is cancer. But I feel like he is slightly better than before and seems to be more active, but still sleepy. Also his stool is more liquidy and whiter than before.

 

[Birdy50]

Hi if he has yellow in the mouth too he may have Candida albicans or thrush. GNC garlic pills 1100 will knock it out that is what I use for my birds for Thrush and it has been 100 percent effective. Since they wont hurt the bird and may at least boost his immune system even if it is not candida it might be worth a try. Do not use another type of garlic pill most are just bad tasting sugar pills. I have tried the others and they do not work. Make sure they are GNC or Garlique only.

 

[coach723]

I'm woefully ignorant of what the regulations in Bulgaria are. A quick search indicates that you may be able to purchase them at a pharmacy there. Fenbendazole is a wormer that is used in humans also. Either that or Albendazole can be used to worm him if you can get some.
This article has a chart that shows medications that can be used to treat coccidiosis, scroll down for treatment chart, click on green box with arrows to enlarge.
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/coccidiosis/overview-of-coccidiosis-in-poultry
Amprolium is most common in the US, you will have to see what you can find there. If you are able to get anything, someone here will likely be able to help you with dosing if needed.
Also possible that the lump is a cyst, without biopsy hard to say. I would continue with the soft feed for a while and see how he does and whether you see improvement or whether the lump continues to get larger or not. Monitor his crop to make sure it's working well and emptying and he doesn't develop sour crop, which can sometimes happen if things are moving slow.