I had a hatchery d'uccle rooster that came from TSC as a chick last May. Beginning this past October, he started acting lethargic, not really interacting with the other chickens, just keeping to himself. He was eating and drinking. So when it got cold at night I would bring him in to sleep with the baby chicks in the kitchen.
Gradually he seemed to be getting worse, his comb and facial skin was so pale, and all he did was eat, drink, poop, and sleep. I wormed him, and I treated him with a two week course of Baytril with no improvement. He also felt like he was getting thinner even though he was eating and taking his poly-vi-sol. Labored breathing as well.
So I finally took him up to my work (vet) this past week and the doctor pulled some blood and sent it off to the lab. Unfortunately the rooster passed away later that night, probably due to the strain of the vet visit. His blood looked like cherry kool-aid it was watery and pale.
The bloodwork showed that he had a hematocrit of only 5%. He had an abnormally high level of a protein which results from the body metabolizing it's own muscle, his body was eating it's own muscle bc of the blood problem. His anemia was non-regenerative, which means that as his blood cells died, his bone marrow was not making more to replace them. The pathologist reported no viruses, no infectious agents, and no cancer. This was a congenital issue.
Just thought this was interesting, to actually know what was wrong with him. I am glad that he is no longer suffering.
Gradually he seemed to be getting worse, his comb and facial skin was so pale, and all he did was eat, drink, poop, and sleep. I wormed him, and I treated him with a two week course of Baytril with no improvement. He also felt like he was getting thinner even though he was eating and taking his poly-vi-sol. Labored breathing as well.
So I finally took him up to my work (vet) this past week and the doctor pulled some blood and sent it off to the lab. Unfortunately the rooster passed away later that night, probably due to the strain of the vet visit. His blood looked like cherry kool-aid it was watery and pale.
The bloodwork showed that he had a hematocrit of only 5%. He had an abnormally high level of a protein which results from the body metabolizing it's own muscle, his body was eating it's own muscle bc of the blood problem. His anemia was non-regenerative, which means that as his blood cells died, his bone marrow was not making more to replace them. The pathologist reported no viruses, no infectious agents, and no cancer. This was a congenital issue.
Just thought this was interesting, to actually know what was wrong with him. I am glad that he is no longer suffering.
