Uropygial (preening) gland issue with my rooster!?

[Wyorp Rock]

You can continue with this thread...ask your questions, we may be able to help.

 

[Meganblairbare]

Hi all. We have been really busy moving but in my down time I have been trying to warm compresses and gentle massage. Today was our first breakthrough. I have been being _very_ gentle with him because I know it's got to be painful.. well today I startd massaging the gland and a little dark yellow/orange oily stuff came out and so that made me try to put a little more pressure, not too much more though, and then some thick waxy orange/yellow stuff came out. It wasn't a huge amount and I couldn't get any more to come out with the pressure I've been comfortable putting on it.. the only thing is I think it's still got more to go because there's still no regular oil coming out.. I don't want to hurt him or rupture something.. what would make a tumor stand out? His feathers are breaking.. I can't believe I let this go on for long enough to have caused so many problems for him. I didn't even know about the gland.. I feel so awful.

Here is a photo of it after I massaged it today. Is it supposed to sort of be a knot? Like maybe the size of a half of a gumball as far as I can tell.. if it's a tumor what happens to him? Does that mean he's going to die or suffer or anything unless I can afford to have him treated?

Also some photos of his feelings about today's massage.

Oh and one more thing, I don't think he has any creepy crawlies (visible to the human eye at least, I do think his scaly leg mites are back though?) because after doing the compresses and getting a really good look, it seems to just be dirt and sand.. some dried salt from not getting rinsed every time we've been in the river. *Knock on wood*

Thanks again for your time.

Oh! P.S. does anyone know what breed he is?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I startd massaging the gland and a little dark yellow/orange oily stuff came out and so that made me try to put a little more pressure, not too much more though, and then some thick waxy orange/yellow stuff came out. It wasn't a huge amount and I couldn't get any more to come out with the pressure I've been comfortable putting on it.. the only thing is I think it's still got more to go because there's still no regular oil coming out.. I don't want to hurt him or rupture something.. what would make a tumor stand out? His feathers are breaking

Here is a photo of it after I massaged it today. Is it supposed to sort of be a knot? Like maybe the size of a half of a gumball as far as I can tell.. if it's a tumor what happens to him? Does that mean he's going to die or suffer or anything unless I can afford to have him treated?

I don't think he has any creepy crawlies (visible to the human eye at least, I do think his scaly leg mites are back though?) because after doing the compresses and getting a really good look, it seems to just be dirt and sand.. some dried salt from not getting rinsed every time we've been in the river.

It sounds like you are making progress if some thick waxy material came out. I would just continue like you are doing - slowly work on it with warm compresses and see if you can coax more waxy material to come out over time.
The gland does stand up, it will always be a "bump". But when normal, if you were to lightly press on the gland, just a thin oil would come out. Waxy is not right, but I think you are on the right path.
I didn't really see anything to think "tumor" at this point.

If possible, it wouldn't hurt to direct dose him with poultry vitamins once a week. Something like Poultry Cell is a good choice. Some items can be hard to find right now it seems and/or prices have gone UP

What do you feed him?

If you feel that he may have SLM, then rubbing a bit of vaseline into and underneath the scales of the legs/feet won't hurt one bit.

Feathers can break for various reasons. I'm not sure what breed he is to be honest. You may want to ask on the "what breed is this" section of the forums - some great folks there.
Are you taking him into the water? You mention going to the river. If he's getting wet, then eventually the natural oils will be stripped away and they could become more brittle. Roosters and hens also usually molt once a year - your rooster's spurs would indicate he's mature, so he may start molting this fall. Feathers fall out and new ones come in. Brittle/damaged/missing feathers are replaced during this time. Sometimes it seems like all their feathers fall out overnight and you have a funky naked chicken with porcupine quills sticking out of them.

I think you are doing fine. Take a deep breath and just work on the gland. From what I can see in the photos, he has good color and seems to be in good condition. He looks like a sweet fella.

 

[Meganblairbare]

It sounds like you are making progress if some thick waxy material came out. I would just continue like you are doing - slowly work on it with warm compresses and see if you can coax more waxy material to come out over time.
The gland does stand up, it will always be a "bump". But when normal, if you were to lightly press on the gland, just a thin oil would come out. Waxy is not right, but I think you are on the right path.
I didn't really see anything to think "tumor" at this point.

That's wonderful to hear. Thank you so much. I don't have anybody, qualified, around to give us a thumbs up if we are doing something correctly and since we're new to this it's super easy to second guess everything.. and with there being no vets around that will see him and give him a clean bill of health I've found myself becoming sort of a hypochondriac.
Anyways, he's been unclogged!
I got woke up by a storm and couldn't sleep so I'm taking advantage of this time to follow up. I've started over 4 times now and hopefully no disasters strike between now and when I hit "post". lol..
He looks so good now though! Funny, he's even trying to oil me sometimes. Is that normal? He will stand on my chest and preen and he will stop and start rubbing his face in my hair that's fallen down around my neck.. it tickles so bad it makes me laugh out loud. My boyfriend just rolls his eyes.. haha.

If possible, it wouldn't hurt to direct dose him with poultry vitamins once a week. Something like Poultry Cell is a good choice. Some items can be hard to find right now it seems and/or prices have gone UP

Thanks I will search around for that or an equivalent. Would the regular bird vitamins from Walmart do anything in the meantime? I guess they are for like parakeets, cockatiels and whatnot..

What do you feed him?

Well he sometimes gets the pecking order 5 scratch grains with the soldier worms.. or I will mix different types of wild bird food with chick starter. I bought normal pellets once and he wouldn't touch them but when he had sour crop I got the chick starter hoping it would be easy on him during the recoup and he went to town on it so I just get that once in a while. Also, sometimes I will make a mix of different grain cereals with different nuts and seeds. He loves pine nuts. He would give his left wing for blueberries. He used to love bananas but he forgot all about them when he got his first blueberries.. he just can't even control himself around blueberries. He gets so worked up. lol.. he doesn't really like any other fruits.. he likes beans.. doesn't care for fresh veggies. He likes potatoes any way they come.. (not raw, no green).. he's a serious meat eater too though. Mainly fish and lizards or any sort of red meat. I'm the lizard getter and my boyfriend is the fish guy. He just walks over to the cast net and does his little growl and we know what time it is.. hah. He has to be the one to kill it though. If it's not wiggling around he doesn't want it. He wants to be a big tough rooster that hunts and kills to survive... I let him think he's saving me from the lizards I catch (and stun or else they will get away) for him sometimes. He's only caught 2 on his own since I've known him and I think they were ones I had injured.. lol.
And we live on the river so he gets oyster shells and then I buy the granite too just in case after the sour crop thing..
He does ok regulating his own weight during the summer but he gets tubby during the cooler months for sure.

If you feel that he may have SLM, then rubbing a bit of vaseline into and underneath the scales of the legs/feet won't hurt one bit.

Yeah, I need to start this again I think. I do not miss being just as greased as his legs were.. with just as much dirt stuck to me. Nothing stops me from cuddling with my boy.. unfortunately for my clothes.

Feathers can break for various reasons. I'm not sure what breed he is to be honest. You may want to ask on the "what breed is this" section of the forums - some great folks there.

I will make my way there soon. Thanks.

Are you taking him into the water? You mention going to the river. If he's getting wet, then eventually the natural oils will be stripped away and they could become more brittle.

The river dips have been only recently. Days when the heat index is obscene.. I won't over do it now that I know that. I'm a freak though.. I'm mixing up electrolytes as soon as he opens his beak to pant. I've just read so many bad things happening because a bird has gotten overheated. We don't have AC or anything but we have a generator and we run a blower fan sometimes that we call "Bruce's fan" and he posts up right in front of it.. I'm just now realizing he has it better than I do!

Roosters and hens also usually molt once a year - your rooster's spurs would indicate he's mature, so he may start molting this fall. Feathers fall out and new ones come in. Brittle/damaged/missing feathers are replaced during this time. Sometimes it seems like all their feathers fall out overnight and you have a funky naked chicken with porcupine quills sticking out of them.

This will be interesting. Definitely makes sense. I thought that it was more like a few here and there not necessarily all feathers during a single molt. He will be a sweater wearing rooster.. yep.

I think you are doing fine. Take a deep breath and just work on the gland. From what I can see in the photos, he has good color and seems to be in good condition. He looks like a sweet fella.

I really appreciate all the info and I'm sure Brucie would say the same.

*I got this photo the other day and made it my profile photo instantly. I was laying on the ground and he came up to my head, laid down, fell asleep and his head slowly lowered down until he was resting it on my forehead. lol..

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm glad to hear he is doing well!

Sounds like you have all the bases covered

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

That's wonderful to hear. Thank you so much. I don't have anybody, qualified, around to give us a thumbs up if we are doing something correctly and since we're new to this it's super easy to second guess everything.. and with there being no vets around that will see him and give him a clean bill of health I've found myself becoming sort of a hypochondriac.
Anyways, he's been unclogged!
I got woke up by a storm and couldn't sleep so I'm taking advantage of this time to follow up. I've started over 4 times now and hopefully no disasters strike between now and when I hit "post". lol..
He looks so good now though! Funny, he's even trying to oil me sometimes. Is that normal? He will stand on my chest and preen and he will stop and start rubbing his face in my hair that's fallen down around my neck.. it tickles so bad it makes me laugh out loud. My boyfriend just rolls his eyes.. haha.

Thanks I will search around for that or an equivalent. Would the regular bird vitamins from Walmart do anything in the meantime? I guess they are for like parakeets, cockatiels and whatnot..

Well he sometimes gets the pecking order 5 scratch grains with the soldier worms.. or I will mix different types of wild bird food with chick starter. I bought normal pellets once and he wouldn't touch them but when he had sour crop I got the chick starter hoping it would be easy on him during the recoup and he went to town on it so I just get that once in a while. Also, sometimes I will make a mix of different grain cereals with different nuts and seeds. He loves pine nuts. He would give his left wing for blueberries. He used to love bananas but he forgot all about them when he got his first blueberries.. he just can't even control himself around blueberries. He gets so worked up. lol.. he doesn't really like any other fruits.. he likes beans.. doesn't care for fresh veggies. He likes potatoes any way they come.. (not raw, no green).. he's a serious meat eater too though. Mainly fish and lizards or any sort of red meat. I'm the lizard getter and my boyfriend is the fish guy. He just walks over to the cast net and does his little growl and we know what time it is.. hah. He has to be the one to kill it though. If it's not wiggling around he doesn't want it. He wants to be a big tough rooster that hunts and kills to survive... I let him think he's saving me from the lizards I catch (and stun or else they will get away) for him sometimes. He's only caught 2 on his own since I've known him and I think they were ones I had injured.. lol.
And we live on the river so he gets oyster shells and then I buy the granite too just in case after the sour crop thing..
He does ok regulating his own weight during the summer but he gets tubby during the cooler months for sure.



Yeah, I need to start this again I think. I do not miss being just as greased as his legs were.. with just as much dirt stuck to me. Nothing stops me from cuddling with my boy.. unfortunately for my clothes.

I will make my way there soon. Thanks.

The river dips have been only recently. Days when the heat index is obscene.. I won't over do it now that I know that. I'm a freak though.. I'm mixing up electrolytes as soon as he opens his beak to pant. I've just read so many bad things happening because a bird has gotten overheated. We don't have AC or anything but we have a generator and we run a blower fan sometimes that we call "Bruce's fan" and he posts up right in front of it.. I'm just now realizing he has it better than I do!

This will be interesting. Definitely makes sense. I thought that it was more like a few here and there not necessarily all feathers during a single molt. He will be a sweater wearing rooster.. yep.

I really appreciate all the info and I'm sure Brucie would say the same.

*I got this photo the other day and made it my profile photo instantly. I was laying on the ground and he came up to my head, laid down, fell asleep and his head slowly lowered down until he was resting it on my forehead. lol..

For food, have you tried flock raiser, grower, or all flock feed? It’s better for roosters than layer and chickens seem to think it tastes better than layer too.

 

[Meganblairbare]

For food, have you tried flock raiser, grower, or all flock feed? It’s better for roosters than layer and chickens seem to think it tastes better than layer too.

I haven't but I will let them try it as soon as I can. Thanks.