Rooster Walking Like A Penguin

[Miss Belle]

My young rooster Greg has started standing upright like a penguin and waddling around. He drags his tail on the ground and has a difficult time moving his feet, so he typically is laying on his stomach. This began two nights ago. He's very unbalanced and is easily pushed over by the hens.

I've checked him for injuries and external parasites and found nothing. He has no leakage from his nose, eyes, or mouth and has a normal appetite. His comb is a healthy bright red. He has no signs of water belly aside from standing like a penguin (stomach is flat), and he is definitely male (he crows) so being egg bound is not possible. His droppings are soft and brown but not full on diarrhea, and they appear somewhat oily. His vent appears clean and unblocked.

Greg was vaccinated against Marek's at the hatchery. He has never been dewormed but was treated for coccidia in mid October (the flock had mildly bloody droppings, which was gone soon after treatment). There are no other chickens in the flock of 12 that have any symptoms.

The flock usually spends several hours a day free ranging, and there are multiple cats on the property. I could not find any bites or scratches on him that could be a sign of a cat attack, but I went ahead and gave him one dose of amoxicillin in his food yesterday in case he got an infection from the kitties.

I've purchased Adam's flea and tick today to ensure there aren't external parasites that I missed.

I think that about covers it... What could be wrong with him?

 

[Debbie292d]

He is sure a pretty roo! Are his spurs normal? I say that as I have a silkie rooster who grows his spurs inward and walks like a penguin when they grow so long they start poking his opposite legs.

With the Corid and antibiotic you've treated him with, he does need probiotics pronto though; sugarfree Greek yogurt, fermented feed, or water additives that can be purchased on Chewy or at farm stores. This may not cure what's wrong but might help his flora and could help the diarrhea.

 

[Miss Belle]

He is sure a pretty roo! Are his spurs normal? I say that as I have a silkie rooster who grows his spurs inward and walks like a penguin when they grow so long they start poking his opposite legs.

With the Corid and antibiotic you've treated him with, he does need probiotics pronto though; sugarfree Greek yogurt, fermented feed, or water additives that can be purchased on Chewy or at farm stores. This may not cure what's wrong but might help his flora and could help the diarrhea.

He's very young still, so he hasn't grown spurs yet. He only just hatched on 9/11/23. Thank you for the advice to give him probiotics. I gave the whole flock some plain Greek yogurt, and they devoured it!

 

[Miss Belle]

Day 7 Update:

Greg has had no change whatsoever. I spoke to a retired vet tech today, and she suspects he has cancer, a tumor, or something else internal that will lead to a slow, painful death. She cannot do an x-ray and thus cannot confirm anything, but she was confident that he will not recover.

The penguin posture (according to the tech) is indicative of reproductive issues in hens but is most likely cancer or a tumor in roosters. Rooster DO NOT get water belly, which I didn't know.

She says my best option is to put him down, but I could try giving him pain meds and see if he can get a better quality of life until the end. I have not yet decided on what path to take but will post an update once things are figured out.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your cockerel Greg. Is there any way you can upload a video to YouTube or Vimeo of him walking? Does he walk on his hocks, or does his spine seem straight? Have you tried any vitamin B complex 1/4 tablet daily might help if it is a riboflavin deficiency.

 

[Miss Belle]

Sorry about your cockerel Greg. Is there any way you can upload a video to YouTube or Vimeo of him walking? Does he walk on his hocks, or does his spine seem straight? Have you tried any vitamin B complex 1/4 tablet daily might help if it is a riboflavin deficiency.

I'll see if I can get a video uploaded. He's walking on his feet, not his hocks. He's definitely struggling to take steps, though. I've not tried vitamin B complex, but I'll pick some up tomorrow. I think I've decided to put him on pain meds for at least a few days, so I can give him (and the rest of the flock) some vitamins during that time. Thank you for your thoughts! If I can get him on the path to recovery, that would be awesome. I've never liked a rooster this much, but he's such a sweet boy.