Rooster struggling to walk

[Chick_flick]

hi,
I have a rooster who is probably 5 years or older and today he randomly was unable to balance and walk properly. We had been cleaning out the other side of the coop to move our chickens over to put our younger chicks in their own side. He was acting as normal and after about 5 minuets he was rolled over and couldn’t get back up. We helped him up but he was unable to stand properly and was trying to but just kept flopping around everywhere. When we picked him up to try and help him stand he didn’t look to great and his comb went pale compared to his normal red. We aren’t sure what is wrong with him, he does have scabby legs due to mites that we are getting around to treating as we have a couple hens with mites, but they have never seemed to cause any issues like this. We aren’t sure but he may have eaten rat poison As we did have some in the roof of the coop. But we have had other roosters in that side of the coop since placing the rat poison that haven’t had any issues. He seems to be fine now aside from the fact that he is lacking balance and isn’t walking around.

Any ideas what it could be? Is it rat poison or something more?

Thanks

 

[Eggcessive]

Leg mites can affect the walking after it becomes a chronic problem. What are you doing to battle them? When my 7 year old rooster with leg mites gets bad, I will lather his legs with a thick oil once a week and rub it into and under the scales. He then usually walks better. You might place him in a pen or dog crate with food and water, and try adding some aspirin to his water for pain. I think the ratio is two 325mg aspirins per 8 ounces of water. Arthritis may be a problem, but Mareks disease could also be a possibility if he has been recently exposed to a carrier.


Correction—add one 325mg aspirin to each 8 ounces (240 ml) of water.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hi @Chick_flick Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your rooster.
Do you have any photos? (whole rooster, legs, poop too)

It's hard to know with the symptoms you describe. Poisoning is a possibility if he had access to it.

Look him over very well, if there is a heavy mite infestation, you need to treat those asap. Mites can cause a lot of problems. Use a Permethrin based poultry spray or dust to treat the mites on the body. For the legs, apply an oil or ointment to smother the mites.

If you think he ate rat poison, seeking vet care is your best option.

 

[Chick_flick]

Hi @Chick_flick Welcome To BYC

I'm sorry to hear about your rooster.
Do you have any photos? (whole rooster, legs, poop too)

It's hard to know with the symptoms you describe. Poisoning is a possibility if he had access to it.

Look him over very well, if there is a heavy mite infestation, you need to treat those asap. Mites can cause a lot of problems. Use a Permethrin based poultry spray or dust to treat the mites on the body. For the legs, apply an oil or ointment to smother the mites.

If you think he ate rat poison, seeking vet care is your best option.

Hi, I checked on him this morning but he is still acting very similar. Every time I try to help him stand and walk he topples over and kicks his legs but it’s no use.

Do you think it could be a stroke? I have seen it mentioned a few times but I’m not 100% sure what symptoms to look for. When it did happen, it was pretty sudden and instant and he hasn’t seem to recover. Here are some pictures.

He still seems pretty alert. Defiantly going to start treating his mites today

Thanks!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Poor fella I don't know if your rooster had a stroke or not. I would lean toward him succumbing to Marek's. Have you added any new birds within the last 30 days?

If you have vet care, that would be best.

Without knowing what happened, it's hard to know what to do. Try to get him hydrated and treat the mites. If it's cold where you are, you may want to place him where it's warmer or in a container/tube with some thick bedding to help him stay warm and more comfortable.

 

[Abriana]

He’s beautiful! He has seriously terrible leg mites though. It could be part of the problem. That needs to be treated immediately.

 

[Eggcessive]

Poor handsome guy. Can you give him a few drops of Poultry NutriDrench and get him drinking, if you can get him propped up? He looks so weak, and I think it is much worse than leg mites. I would make him a chicken sling. Mix some very watery feed and a little chopped egg. Hold it up to his beak. Water and electrolytes are more important right now. Can you look him over for mites and lice under his vent and elsewhere? Regular mites can make them very anemic. It could be Mareks, but that is only a guess. If you lose him, I would get a necropsy to look for Mareks and other possible causes.

 

[Chick_flick]

Hi, checked on him today. He doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. Still very alert, eating, drinking and pooping. He still can’t stand but he does try. He is still able to kick his legs but can’t balance. We started treating his mites and also dusting him in some lice powder twice. But this morning I did notice that we was shaking his head around a lot. Could it be an ear infection? It might explain his bad balance.

Any thoughts?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

View attachment 1600628 Hi, checked on him today. He doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. Still very alert, eating, drinking and pooping. He still can’t stand but he does try. He is still able to kick his legs but can’t balance. We started treating his mites and also dusting him in some lice powder twice. But this morning I did notice that we was shaking his head around a lot. Could it be an ear infection? It might explain his bad balance.

Any thoughts?

Look inside his ears to see if there is any pus or discharge.
Also check his crop just to make sure it's empty by morning.

Shaking of the head can be a many things a few common things that come to mind are- something in the ears/infection, crop problems or neurological symptoms.

 

[micstrachan]

Pretty boy! I'm glad he hasn't gotten worse. Has he gotten any better at all? Are interested in trying a chicken sling to help him stay upright or is he doing OK with that? Is there a blue tinge to his comb at all? The latest photo does not appear so, but the earlier photos looked like that might be a possibility.