Seriously ill 10-week old chicken

[Omran]

Hi guys!

I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with our male chicken. All 20 of the young flock seem to be healthy and active like normal. But this morning I found our Buff 10-week old lying on the ground acting like he couldn't stand right.

So, I brought him to the house and checked him out. He doesn't seem sick or have any signs of a noticeable illness. But he has trouble standing, so he sits down mostly and drops his head to the side often. He was eating his starter & growth food really well, but he doesn't drink his water much now. We also noticed his breathing is really heavy and he opens his beak like he's gasping for air. Also, this morning my wife said his heart beat was going rather fast.

We gave him some plain applesauce ( i read somewhere that mashed apples are good for any sick bird) and he seem to be doing better for a while. But this evening he looks so tired and his breathing is getting harder.

Has anyone else had any problem like this before? Does anyone have any ideas what to do or clues what could have caused this?? We appreciate any help and advise. Thank you so much for your time. best wishes...


Take care,
Omran

...with help from wife Angie.

 

[Renee]

I had a chicken that just got sick like that, and it turned out that she had probably eaten something that gave her botulism.

I think it is very difficult to figure out what is wrong when they have so few symptoms. If you can separate him from the other chickens so that you can see what his poop looks like it might help a more knowledgeable person give you some ideas.

I wish I could help, but I'll be thinking about you!

 

[Omran]

Thanks Renee for your reply. We have him in a cage in the house all day now. His poop has seemed normal today; looks mostly dark (brown/green combo) I guess and most it is has the white cap to it as well... which I thought was a good sign in general. So far there's been no change. We gave him some anti-biotic (from our Vet.) in his water, but he's not drinking a lot. We'll keep trying. Thanks for your info and thoughts.

best wishes,
Omran

 

[Renee]

Hi Omran,
I'm glad to hear his poop is normal.
Make sure you give him the antibiotics for at least 7 days to make sure all of the bad bugs are killed.
Some people recommend giving yogurt after the antibiotic treatment is completed, to restore the good bacteria that were killed by the antibiotic.

 

[Chicken Woman]

OMran I am so sad for your roo !

I know how upset I would be if one of mine got sick. I have 15 eggs in the bator for my first try and my husband is ready to put me in the lunny bin. IM just so worried I will do something wrong. I even get up in the middle of the nite to check temp and hum.!

Let us know how he is doing OK !

 

[speckledhen]

I wish I had something to tell you, but I'm not sure what the problem could be, Omran. Hope he rallies for you soon.

 

[Omran]

Thank you all for responses, Today in the morning I went to my cats vet MR. Kresen, he checked the little rooster out and he said that he had a back injury, nothing I can do about it but take care of the little dude for a while and he gave him a shot.
Thanks god nothing contages, Mr. Kresen said that he might injured himself flying or doing something else, but the good vet Mr. Kresen did not charge me anything for the exam,thanks God for good people like him.
Rooster now in the living room with us eating and drinking in his little cage.

Thank you guys so very much.

Omran.