Staggering rooster? Extremely hungry and thirsty

[Chikenshiken]

My 1 year old silkie rooster has been acting weak or since I’ve noticed I had just gotten back from a trip. Previously I had posted that his crop would not empty which has ceased but now I have a different issue

He seems to have a lack of balance and is eating a lot more than usual. I am worried because I found out my chicken babysitter had been putting them up at 3pm because of the heat from my dad. My rooster has his own sleeping crate in the house for noise reasons and he didn’t have access to food or water.

Now I’m worried he was starving or dehydrated and maybe now lacking some vitamins he needed. What can I do to help him?? I am really disappointed in my babysitter but that’s a conversation for later and I would like to help my roo first. He hasn’t even crowed which is even weirder along with his crown being kind of limp and soft.

 

[Chikenshiken]

I forgot to add this was a week long trip and not just a day or two of him getting put up early

 

[coach723]

First thing I would do is get him hydrated asap. You can tube fluids in if you are set up for that, or you can do via syringe, but that is a slower process and you have to take care and go slowly so he doesn't aspirate. Give him .5 ml at a time and let him swallow it. Tubing is much faster and easier. The amount he needs is no less than 5% of his body weight daily. A 5 lb bird would get 115 ml daily. You can break that up into sessions throughout the day. 2 or 3 is good. Do not try to force him to eat until you are sure he's fully hydrated. If it's dehydration, he will likely start eating on his own when he feels better. If you have electrolites, you can give some of those, but I would alternate between those and plain, fresh water. The fluids should be room temperature to slightly warm, not cold.