Unwell Silkie rooster- please help

[Kaiyafitness]

Hi everyone- this one’s a bit of a puzzle!

I have a 2 year old Silkie rooster, he is my absolute favourite chicken he’s super affectionate and friendly as I hand reared him, and him and his brother lived in a seperate coop from my main flock for the majority of their life- they were a great duo. Both roosters were in great condition and then a couple weeks ago both started to lose weight despite being wormed, in response I changed their feed from a standard pellet to a higher protein crumble and was mixing this with egg.

One week ago after being slightly lethargic and uninterested in food, the brother rooster died quickly, in response I naturally freaked out at this loss and the possible loss of my favourite rooster. The following day he appeared extremely lethargic, uninterested in moving or food and I was unsure if this was grief/ shock from losing his brother or if he was also sick. He was unable to go back to the main coop so I brought him two new pullets as I didn’t want him to be alone, and none of the hens from the main coop would move. Since then he has been continuously up and down, during the day he is outside with the hens but not moving around too much and crowing sometimes, but at night he appears very lethargic. He had a big appetite a couple days ago and was eating lots (crumble, rice, egg), but within the past two days is not interested and appears to have discomfort swallowing? He stands with his chest puffed out, I have checked his crop which I cannot feel as I assume it is empty from not eating much, and just his oesophagus is there. He has been wormed 3 times now with a strong wormer from the vet, so can’t be worms. With his symptoms of weight loss and lethargy and a dirty vent, I noticed more yellowish poos with a bit of blood in last week so I thought it may be coccidiosis and he is currently on coxiprol, on his second day- I have not noticed any improvement.

I syringe feed him water so ensure he is staying hydrated, a couple days ago I was giving some Epsom salts in case there was some sort of toxicity.

I am really unsure of what else I can do, I really don’t want to lose him and feel like I’m running out of options of what I can do to help him, if it is coccidiosis can he even get this if he’s been wormed? And if so how long can I expected to wait for improvement.

Other important things to note when his brother died there was blood coming from his beak, which I hadn’t ever seen before from a chicken- assuming they have the same thing maybe that’s helpful? Also both of them has fowl pox as brand new chicks and managed to battle through this- also thought that could be important.

I would really appreciate any advice and thank you in advance

 

[Kaiyafitness]

Just a follow up- is there any chance it could be sour crop? He is poking his chest out and putting his head back when he walks it’s more noticeable, but when I felt I could only feel and see his trachea, but if I feel from under his wings and up it feels harder, the images I had seen online the crop is located further down so I ruled out something like this?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Can you get pictures of his posture?

Last rooster I had, that had rapid weightloss, & a small amount of blood in his poop, he died of cancer of the gut.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Both roosters were in great condition and then a couple weeks ago both started to lose weight despite being wormed, in response I changed their feed from a standard pellet to a higher protein crumble and was mixing this with egg.

One week ago after being slightly lethargic and uninterested in food, the brother rooster died quickly, in response I naturally freaked out at this loss and the possible loss of my favourite rooster. The following day he appeared extremely lethargic, uninterested in moving or food

but within the past two days is not interested and appears to have discomfort swallowing? He stands with his chest puffed out, I have checked his crop which I cannot feel as I assume it is empty from not eating much, and just his oesophagus is there. He has been wormed 3 times now with a strong wormer from the vet, so can’t be worms.

I noticed more yellowish poos with a bit of blood in last week so I thought it may be coccidiosis and he is currently on coxiprol

I syringe feed him water so ensure he is staying hydrated, a couple days ago I was giving some Epsom salts in case there was some sort of toxicity.

if it is coccidiosis can he even get this if he’s been wormed?

Other important things to note when his brother died there was blood coming from his beak,

Where are you located in the world?
Can you please post photos of him standing? Photos of his poop?

What dewormer and dosing was used - from your vet?

You had both roosters go downhill at the same time - try to think of anything that may have changed before they went down - new bag of feed, bedding changes, changes within the flock (adding new birds/taking away birds), rodents, major changes in weather, free ranging or ranging in areas they weren't used to, some type of new treat, getting into compost or being given something different to eat, toxins like fertilizer/weed killer, spilled oil from vehicles, etc... ANYTHING. You were giving epsom salts flush for potential toxins?


Can you have Coccidiosis even if wormed? Yes. Coccidiosis is caused by Coccidia which are protozoa, they are not worms, so different medications for different problems/conditions.

If giving the Cocciprol (which is Amprolium), follow the directions on your bottle or tub. The mixed Cocciprol water should be the only source of drinking water for the duration of treatment.
Do not give any Extra Vitamins or Supplements that contain B1(Thiamine) during the course of treatment.

Please open his beak and take a good look inside - see if there are any lesions, yellow or white material inside the beak. Smell his breath.

Do check his crop to make sure it's emptying overnight. The crop is on the right side of the breastbone. If he's been eating/drinking, you should be able to feel the crop fairly well to locate it. Sometimes feeling of other birds will also help you be able to find the crop more easily, feel of some of your hens - once you locate it, then you should be able to find it on any bird from now on.