Sick Meat Bird I am A Newbie Chick

[justbugged]

I have a meat bird that was slaughtered today and discarded due to it being sick. It was acting like it was paralyzed moving only its head and the talons had curled upward. Does anyone know what may have been wrong with it? The coop and chicken yard are brand new. This is the first batch to be in the coop. All the other chickens look and act fine. below is a pre-slaughter picture

 

[sammi]

could have been lack of certain nutrients..
Vitamin B and E might have helped him.

for future reference::
Poly-vi-sol liquid baby vitamins is helpful (Enfamil brand, no iron..)
2-3 drops on beak once a day for 4-5 days then tapering off for another week.
teeny dab of Vitamin E from capsule..

no way to know for sure.
how old was he when he started getting sick?
need more details about how it developed.

what all do you feed?
what bedding do you use?

 

[Eastins Eggs]

Meat birds are so over bread that you will see some with genetic problems. I would cull any bird that does not look or act right and do not eat any bird you cull due to a health problem.

 

[justbugged]

I have used pine shavings and have been feeding Del's Farm 24% feed. I have put some greens and stale bread in the chicken pen. The chicken yard is a combination of gravel and a large area the was filled with high quality compost. That wasn't my choice but it happened any way.
The bird was down for at least most of two days I picked it up last night to put it in the coop and I noticed that it was like paralyzed. I then checked on the birds early this afternoon and the bird was in worst shape. This bird was much smaller than the other birds.
We are about a week from slaughter, and I had my son put the bird out of it's misery. He used it as practice, to be able to be sure that he can slaughter the rest of the meat birds.
I am very concerned that this could happen to the other birds.

 

[NotTheMomma]

You might have just found your answer without even knowing it. The compost pile. How old is it? Mold in it? Botulism perhaps?

My other thinking is since you're only a week from slaughter, I wouldn't treat no matter what is it. Coccidiosis which was one of my first thoughts when I read the original post, only going to be in the digestive system, and since you're not eating that part, and you can't eat them right after treating them, then I say GOOD LUCK with the rest, and just hope and pray nothing else shows up. (That's gotta be the longest run-on sentence ever! Ugh!)

Very well could be just a fluke that we might not ever know why it died. I'm doubting it's contagious though. At least not in a way that will affect the week away slaughter, and not going to affect the meat of the rest.

If can try contacting the state vet to do a necropsy but by the time you get an answer to what happened, you'll have the others in the freezer anyway. Of course for peace of mind, they are typically free, or low cost in most states. Your local extension office can get you in contact with the dept you need, if that's a route you want to take.

Did you by chance cut open the bird to see if you noticed anything unusual? That also is a great learning tool. I still remember most of the chicken anatomy from processing 49 roosters one 4th of July many, many years ago! I think I was around 12-13 yrs old!