Rooster with slow/impacted crop

[DonyaQuick]

Aww poor guy! Yeah from everything you're describing I definitely suspect a toxin... my best guess is that he ate one of those poisonous caterpillars, it likely made his crop swollen which caused the impaction, and he's trying to shake the lingering effects of the toxin. His crop is probably still inflamed and sore, which is why he's having a hard time eating dry feed. I'm glad he's at least eating some moistened feed with berries, that'll keep his energy up.

Do you have a vet you can call for advice on anything else you could give him to counteract the suspected toxin? Honestly at this point it may be too late for that, and he might just need to work it through his system. But personally I'd call my holistic vet just to check for more ideas... sometimes they have a magic fix that we didn't think of. Perhaps something like meloxicam would help reduce the pain & inflammation while he heals, but the vet could tell you if that's the best remedy or if it might be contraindicated in this case.

He lost the battle today...died this morning. He fought so hard. He didn't have the strength to stand when I went into his room this morning. He tried to come to me anyway. I held him for 3 hours and he just wanted hugs as he passed. He was such a good boy...I didn't even raise him. He helped me with so much too. He did all of the good rooster things and was my buddy. I am heartbroken. He gave me four chicks and one is a boy, but it will be big boots for him to fill.

There are no poultry avian vets in my area. I've been told there is one that will deal with injuries like things needing stitches and I wondered about contacting them, but it's a long drive to get there and the stress of being moved probably would have taken him sooner. Vet availability is something I didn't think about when I moved out where I am now and got chickens. I have always kept birds and somehow always lived in areas where there was an avian vet within an hour's drive so it was a shock to me when I had my first sick chicken that I'm in a dead zone for that given that practically every other house here has poultry of some sort.

I just looked up some info, and apparently the hairy caterpillars are to be avoided, especially gypsy moth caterpillars which can kill chickens if ingested... do you remember if the ones you saw were hairy or smooth? It might be good to look up the species you saw for an ID, to determine if that was the culprit.

I'm remembering now that I found some half-eaten caterpillars a couple weeks ago just outside the run in an area where the chickens regularly access while I'm cleaning their enclosure. Those caterpillars were large and smooth though so maybe ok...but if he had gotten into the habit of eating crawlies then he may well have eaten a hairy one trying to get more protein for his molt.

Oh man...I just looked up gypsy moth caterpillars. I have definitely seen those here. I didn't know that's what they were. That could have been it.

 

[MamaFox78]

He lost the battle today...died this morning. He fought so hard. He didn't have the strength to stand when I went into his room this morning. He tried to come to me anyway. I held him for 3 hours and he just wanted hugs as he passed. He was such a good boy...I didn't even raise him. He helped me with so much too. He did all of the good rooster things and was my buddy. I am heartbroken. He gave me four chicks and one is a boy, but it will be big boots for him to fill.

There are no poultry avian vets in my area. I've been told there is one that will deal with injuries like things needing stitches and I wondered about contacting them, but it's a long drive to get there and the stress of being moved probably would have taken him sooner. Vet availability is something I didn't think about when I moved out where I am now and got chickens. I have always kept birds and somehow always lived in areas where there was an avian vet within an hour's drive so it was a shock to me when I had my first sick chicken that I'm in a dead zone for that given that practically every other house here has poultry of some sort.



I'm remembering now that I found some half-eaten caterpillars a couple weeks ago just outside the run in an area where the chickens regularly access while I'm cleaning their enclosure. Those caterpillars were large and smooth though so maybe ok...but if he had gotten into the habit of eating crawlies then he may well have eaten a hairy one trying to get more protein for his molt.

Oh man...I just looked up gypsy moth caterpillars. I have definitely seen those here. I didn't know that's what they were. That could have been it.

Oh no, I'm so sorry for you & your roo!! Poor guy, that's just heartbreaking.

From what I learned, it doesn't seem like there is any treatment if they eat a gypsy moth caterpillar...but you certainly did everything you could to make him feel comfortable and loved in his last days. Small consolation, I know, but you did a great job as a chicken mama.

Best wishes to you & your flock!