Rooster with worms around his vent

[thecarmiearmy]

Hi all, I don't have pics at the moment because I collected a stool sample before taking a picture. There was a white worm (small) that one of my hens ate before I could stop her. In the yellow, splotchy green, mucousy diarrhea were a Bunch of small, rice grain-sized worms writhing around. I wiped up some in a paper towel and put it in a zip lock bag.

My rooster has bad feet (looks like how a person with arthritis in their hands) and limps everywhere, but still gets around. I just came outside and he's Really struggling to stand. Way more than usual and more lethargic. I have no idea how long this has been going on. I don't think I saw him limping this bad yesterday? As for his poop, my chickens usually have runny-soft solid poo... I know they're not supposed to, I need to get them examined. I haven't been cleaning their coops and runs as thoroughly as I should. And I haven't sprayed for bugs in a year. I usually change the egg box bedding and scoop the poop. But again, not as thoroughly with the coops and runs.

It's too late in the evening to contact my avian vet (one that I've been to before and taken my hen to), so I'll schedule something tomorrow morning.

Also since my rooster has a pre-existing limp, it's hard for him to clean himself etc. So he gets a lot dirtier than everyone else. We usually give him baths in the summer, but I hadn't gotten around to it yet. He's aggressive with me, but I'll have to try to bathe him outside tomorrow and I don't know, boil water and put it in a plastic tub, fill it with cold water to make the hot water warm so he doesn't get burnt, then soak him for a while cus there's a lot of clumped poop around his vent.

Aside from the poop and observing him limp, I haven't got much else. I'm gonna put on some gloves and handle him to look him over some more. It's already getting dark. Will update this as I go. If anyone has any advice, please leave a comment and I'll reply ASAP.

 

[thecarmiearmy]

Dang it, I also forgot to tag this post! Should I just repost this?

 

[thecarmiearmy]

Oh my God it's way worse than I thought. Please watch this video I'm posting photos as well.

 

[nuthatched]

Permrethrine dust or dip, that's pretty bad.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Is this around his vent?

He has FlyStrike. Rinse those off with warm soapy water. Pick them off if you need to. Trim feathers if you need to. Look for wounds.
Rinse, repeat.

Work on hydration, he's weak, so some sugar water would be good.

What's wrong with his feet? Photos?

 

[thecarmiearmy]

Hi everyone, update.

Me and my roommate washed and soaked him in hot soapy water, got all of the worms off of him, drowned them, etc.

He's been dried and antibiotic ointment has been liberally added to the wounds around his vent, etc, where the caked poop was and where the worms were feasting, etc.

He's perked up and I'm keeping him in a pet carrier overnight in my room with my little space heater pointed at him. He needs extra warmth cus we figure he had quite a bit of blood loss.

My roommate told me he was handling the rooster yesterday and didn't see any worms. Maybe these were all eggs in the feces that hatched today? Not sure. But it happened very fast. My other rooster and two hens have poop on their butts, not as bad as this rooster but still. Hopefully I can bathe them tomorrow as well. I'm going to be taking the rooster to our avian vet. I don't know if they take walk-ins or emergency cases. I'll have to see if there's any emergency farm animal vets around here.

 

[coach723]

Your rooster may have internal parasites causing the runny droppings, but those on the outside are maggots laid by flying insects in the droppings caught in the feathers. That is a life threatening situation, that thankfully you are now treating. You will need to continue to check him several times a day for any more maggots that may hatch and show up, and remove all that you find. As long as they have not entered his abdominal cavity then he has a chance to recover. Clean him up as needed and reapply the ointment to keep it covered.
Here is some info:
https://www.theartofdoingstuff.com/flystrike-a-chicken-killer-cuddles-beats-the-odds-again/
https://the-chicken-chick.com/flystrike-in-backyard-chickens-causes/

 

[thecarmiearmy]

Hi all, he made it through the night and seems to be acting okay. Definitely perked up after drinking water. I don't have feasible space for him inside my home, especially with the stress of my roommate's two dogs getting to him, so I moved him back outside with the others. I'm going to keep an eye on him today and check my other three chickens for anything suspicious.

I called my usual vet and they're full up. Can't take urgent appointments or walk-ins either. Got recommended to an emergency clinic here in town, but they don't open until 6pm. Have to wait and call to see if they even treat chickens. Their website didn't tell me much.

Not sure if I should just go ahead and get him antibiotics for the feed store. I have no idea if any crawled up his butt. He pooped during the night, but I didn't see any word (as far as I could tell.)

 

[coach723]

If you have a dog crate you can keep him in that , I put them in my spare bathroom. If more flies get to him before he's healed, then it could happen again. The most important thing is to keep checking for maggots and remove any you find. You can cut the feathers back around the area, it will make it easier to see, clean and apply ointment. The feathers will grow back when he molts. If it doesn't smell bad or have visible pus then antibiotics might not be necessary. If you cut the feathers back so that the area is easily visible, then pictures would be helpful, to see how much damage there is. The maggots don't necessarily crawl up the vent, they actually eat through the bird to the inside. They litterally eat him alive.

 

[thecarmiearmy]

If you have a dog crate you can keep him in that , I put them in my spare bathroom. If more flies get to him before he's healed, then it could happen again. The most important thing is to keep checking for maggots and remove any you find. You can cut the feathers back around the area, it will make it easier to see, clean and apply ointment. The feathers will grow back when he molts. If it doesn't smell bad or have visible pus then antibiotics might not be necessary. If you cut the feathers back so that the area is easily visible, then pictures would be helpful, to see how much damage there is. The maggots don't necessarily crawl up the vent, they actually eat through the bird to the inside. They litterally eat him alive.

Hi there, for the past week I've been gently wiping any debris off his bottom with a wet wipe (just water) and keeping it clean of fecal matter. Then I use the Bantixx(?) spray on and around the affected areas. After applying that I use liberal amounts of antibiotic ointment on the entire area, with extra focus to the scabs where fresh skin is trying to grow.

There's a lot of scabbing on and around the vent area. Then there's a part of his underside that's just dark? I'll try and take pictures when I check him today. So far there haven't been anymore maggots! But poop is starting to clump together in his butt feathers again. Is there a safe way to trim those feathers? I thought chickens have live feathers around their vents and bottom areas. Wouldn't that hurt? Or is there a trick to it?