Rooster Loss of Balance Sudden Onset

[SunnyFLChick]

See video...my 6 month old rooster has become unsteady on his feet. Still eating great and active.
We are working on a mite issue which I thought we had under control....we do not.

Today I went to treat him and he got panicked- very out of character for this boy! And I noticed the instability. Also new... his left eye is swollen. Right eye is fine.

Swollen eye.

Normal eye.

Could this all be related to the mites?!?

 

[cmom]

Permectrin II is Permethrin 10. If you have a mite issue, I almost lost some birds to mites. You do need to treat weekly for 3 or 4 weeks because it does not kill the mite eggs so repeat weekly treatments are necessary. Thoroughly soak everywhere in their coop. Every crack and crevice. There is no egg withdrawal period so the eggs are safe to eat. The problem with most is they mix the solutions too weak. I use the 0.50% solution and have had great success with it when needed. I also use poultry dust in the nest boxes. I don't try to use Permethrin as a preventative because the pests can develop a resistance. Good luck...

 

[cmom]

If you decide you want to bathe your birds, every over-the-counter (OTC) treatment for head lice contains either pyrethrins (Rid or Triple X) or permethrin (Nix). They are effective treatment. They only kill live pests, not the pests eggs. Again, good luck...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

It sounds like he's having neurological issues unless the mites are all in his ears.
Have you looked in his ears - any mites in there or pus?

Unfortunately, some of the more "natural" type poultry sprays don't seem to be that effective in treating an infestation. I surely wish they did!

Hopefully you will have better results the permethrin.

Giving him the PND and rooster booster are fine. Both have Vitamin E which can help with neurological problems. When you can, get some photos of his poop.

 

[SunnyFLChick]

He made it through the night. (Always good when your dealing with mystery issues) And I swear he looks more steady on his feet this morning. That could be optimistic thinking on my part...

Poop from last night. He's quarantined so this is definitely his.

This one looked a little more watery.

I checked his ears and they are clear. No pus or mites.

Is there anything else I can do for his swollen eye? It looks about the same this morning.

Thank you so much for your help with him! ❤

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Somehow I missed the swollen eye. I'm hoping that is from irritation due to the mites.
General care for swelling of the eye would be to clean/flush with saline, then apply an eye ointment like Terramycin in and around the eye or you can use Original Neosporin.

Poop doesn't look bad to me. A little watery can be from drinking a lot. Is he drinking the vitamin water ok?

I hope he keeps making progress, he's beautiful!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Re-check your label to make sure this is the same product you have - this should give you ratios to use. I think @cmom has a chart, but I'm not sure if it's for Permectrin II or not.
https://www.drugs.com/vet/permectrin-ii.html

As far as I know, there is no withdrawal period when using Permethrin based products according to their label.

He may have been scratching his head/eye and got it irritated. The mites may have also caused a reaction. Hopefully by applying a little ointment that will help sooth the area and getting rid of the mites will be a big help too.

 

[cmom]

For you birds eye issue, you may want to try some terramycin ointment for birds in his eye. Again good luck...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Does he still have mites on him?

Poor fella! His eye doesn't look too good does it.
TSC does carry Terramycin, it's a small box so you may have to ask for it or it may be in their locked medicine case. If they don't have it in stock, you can probably order it online for store pick up. I know you can get it through Amazon as well.

Is the inside of his beak clear - no lesions?

I would consider treating him with the antibiotic to see if that helps.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

This boy is a mess! No live mites at this time. Still some nits that I am working on. Today I bathed him again and there was a lot of black debris in the water....
View attachment 2835173

View attachment 2835175
Upon closer inspection this is what I found. I don't want to be dramatic...but what in the name of all that is holy is happening?!? The feathers come out easily. When the black substance is out of the feather shaft it has a consistency of damp charcoal. Kinda crumbly. I can only assume this is related to the mites? If I need to make a new thread for this issue let me know.

The eye ointment will be here today (TSC was sold out) and he's had 2 doses of LA 200.

I don't know! I've never seen that before. I do wonder if it's related to the mites, could be depluming mites, but I don't remember seeing folks mention any substance coming out of the feather shaft.
Ivermectin would be needed IF it's depluming mites.

I'm tagging in @Eggcessive and @coach723 to see if they have any other ideas!
I wouldn't start a new thread, since all of his "history" is in this one - we'll continue on and hopefully others can contribute.

Just to clarify so we're on the same page - those black tips in the ends of the feathers is like a crumbly charcoal like substance? Can you pull out just the crumbly stuff intact? (Red Circle)

Yellow Arrow - are there more feather shafts like that - that one looks like it's new growth but splitting? And if you pulled on that, would it come out easily and possibly have any pus underneath?