Sick Chicken - What's wrong?

[Chicken Lover!]

Hi everyone,
One of my 2 month old chickens, who we suspect is a rooster, is sick. He was perfectly fine this morning, eating and all, but then we let him outside where he would usually go crazy eating grass, but today he just stood there not eating and barely staying awake. I then when up closer to him, and usually he would be scared of me and run away, but he didn't move. I then went closer, he then ran away and completely fell over. I picked him up and he can barely hold his head up or keep his eyes open. He walks almost as if he's drunk.
His poo is the consistency of water.
We now have him wrapped in a towel inside, but he hasn't eaten (although, his crop is full). He is now asleep as it is night time but has been asleep for all day essentially. His comb has seemed to darken. Other than that, there are no visible symptoms thankfully.
It is currently Autumn heading into Winter.
We went to the breeder and injected antibiotics, and will do so for the next week.
What could be wrong and what do we do? PLEASE HELP!
Thank you.

 

[DobieLover]

I'm sorry you are having trouble with your cockerel.
I have not experienced this but what it sounds like is he may have an impacted crop.
Is the crop hard?
Give this article a read and see if it fits your boys symptoms.

 

[Chicken Lover!]

Thanks for the response. The crop does feel hard. Would that affect her walking/movement/stability though?

I'm sorry you are having trouble with your cockerel.
I have not experienced this but what it sounds like is he may have an impacted crop.
Is the crop hard?
Give this article a read and see if it fits your boys symptoms.

 

[DobieLover]

Thanks for the response. The crop does feel hard. Would that affect her walking/movement/stability though?

Unfortunately, I really cannot help with this. I suppose if there were internal tumors it could put pressure on the digestive tract and cause the crop to back up and impact. And tumors could also put pressure on nerves causing the instability. But 2 months seems awfully young for that. I suspected the impacted crop because of the grass eating and you said it was full in the morning.
I will tag a few of the far more experienced and hopefully they can give you some insight.
@Eggcessive, @Wyorp Rock, @azygous

 

[azygous]

There's a chance he has coccidiosis. You could give him a coccidiostat along with the antibiotic. It can't hurt.

It sounds a lot like he got into a toxic substance. Does he have access to compost where there could be moldy or rotting veggies or fruit? You could also give him a capsule of activated charcoal to cover that aspect.

He doesn't appear to have much life left in him. It could be too late, but I would do the antibiotic, charcoal and coccidiostat along with some oil for his hard crop and hope for the best. Yes, he's a cockerel.

 

[Eggcessive]

Sorry about your little cockerel. I would try to get some fluids with electrolytes into him right away by dipping his beak or giving small drops with a dropper or spoon to the side of his beak. You can use the ones for poultry, Gatorade or Pedialyte for babies, or use water with a little sugar. It is hard to know for sure what is wrong, but it could be dehydration, coccidiosis, some type of toxin, or or some organ problem. You may not be able to get amprollium except from a vet in AU, but I would start it ASAP. Planet Poultry sells this one below, which seems to be the popular brand there.

 

[Chicken Lover!]

Sunny the chicken passed away last night. He let out one final squawk then left us. He was so so cute, I wish he was still with us.
Thank you everyone for all your help.

 

[azygous]

Oh, darn. I was hoping he was young enough that he could rally. I'm so sorry you lost him. Yes, it doesn't take much to get attached to them.

 

[Eggcessive]

Oh, I am very sorry for your loss. He looked very weak in the picture, so it was not a surprise.

 

[Chicken Lover!]

Oh, I am very sorry for your loss. He looked very weak in the picture, so it was not a surprise.

Oh, darn. I was hoping he was young enough that he could rally. I'm so sorry you lost him. Yes, it doesn't take much to get attached to them.

Thank you both