Very thin blue copper maran

[Fitchicken]

I have this awesome blue copper Maran roo named B.B. I love him so dearly. His growth, however, concerns me, I bought him and two others as chicks at a flea market. I have already lost one due to unknown reasons, her growth stunted and she was very thin and finally passed last year. My other Female is doing great, but B.B. is thin, very active and eats a lot. (I'm pretty sure he's a roo cause he did crow once, but never again; and he has brown colors coming in like a roo would.)
When I pick up the female she is very heavy compared to him. I can feel his kneel bone and his comb his small and paler than hers; I was thinking he might have worms, what should I do???
We do have ivermectin for larger animals, would a small dose work on his neck? we don't know what strength it is either. Please help, I would hate to lose him, we have grown so attached.

 

[wleigh1021]

From stunted growth and thinness I would think that it would be cocci and they need to be treated with Corid. Do they have blood in their droppings?

 

[Kiki]

Hi there!
Can you collect some fresh poop and take it to a vet to have it tested for worms?
It usually costs around $15.

If you are going to worm him you don't want to use just a little bit of this or too small dose of that.
You need to worm with the correct amounts or you are just wasting your time.

 

[Kiki]

What age is this bird?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Hi, welcome to BYC!

Sorry your boy seems unwell.

My first thought about stunted growth was also cocci as a possibility.

Couple questions...

First NO ivermectin, it isn't approved for use in chickens and should only be done so under specific circumstances. Worming an already ill bird especially if that isn't the issue could push them over the edge as it's very hard on the system.

I suggest taking a fecal sample to the vet for a cocci, worm species and load count. It's $13-18 at my vet. It will rule in or out IF you need to treat and let you know the right med to use since many don't treat all species.

Hens actually can crow and grow spurs, though it isn't common. Brown isn't a rooster color, red is. I would presume you would know if were getting eggs... Can you post a pic? Aside from gender sometimes their stance is an indicator to what might be going on.

So what do you feed including treats and supplements? Did he molt this past season? How many birds total in how much space? Any symptom you can describe for that first one you lost? These question are all in atemp to get the whole picture and not to judge your practices.

Sound like he's a good boy.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

From stunted growth and thinness I would think that it would be cocci and they need to be treated with Corid. Do they have blood in their droppings?

I agree it could be a possibility.

Just information sharing in case you don't know it...

Did you know that out of the 9 strains of cocci only 1 will present as blood in the feces? And in my experience, even then it may not be in every dropping. I have seen a chick do a bloody poo followed by many normal looking ones.

I guess as brain storming here, come to think of it... a cocci spell when younger could have effected the intestine long term by causing some necrosis to it and causing an absorption issue.

I also wonder if all 9 of those strains actually effect chickens? Or if some of them only bother cattle or such?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have this awesome blue copper Maran roo named B.B. I love him so dearly. His growth, however, concerns me, I bought him and two others as chicks at a flea market. I have already lost one due to unknown reasons, her growth stunted and she was very thin and finally passed last year. My other Female is doing great, but B.B. is thin, very active and eats a lot. (I'm pretty sure he's a roo cause he did crow once, but never again; and he has brown colors coming in like a roo would.)
When I pick up the female she is very heavy compared to him. I can feel his kneel bone and his comb his small and paler than hers; I was thinking he might have worms, what should I do???
We do have ivermectin for larger animals, would a small dose work on his neck? we don't know what strength it is either. Please help, I would hate to lose him, we have grown so attached.

Hi @Fitchicken
Can you post some photos of B.B.?
What type of food/treats do you feed?
How old is he?

If you have a vet, it would be best to have a fecal float performed to check for worms - this will give you more information as to the type of worms (if any) and what course of treatment you should use. If vet care is not possible, then I would recommend that you use a de-wormer like Fenbendazole (Safeguard/Panacur), Valbazen or Praziquantel. Depending on what you get, we can help you with the dosage.

Now, for B.B. photos of his poop would be good too. Check his crop to make sure it's emptying overnight (full at roosting/empty in the a.m. before he eats/drinks). Give him a good going over, checking for lice and mites. While you examine him, feel for any lumps/bumps or lesions of the skin and try to rate his body condition (see photo below). It won't hurt to get a baseline weight on him so you can track whether he is losing/gaining or staying the same.

Watch to see if he is eating well. You can add some poultry vitamins to the flock's water a couple of times a week for a few weeks to give them a boost. Treats like egg, meat or tuna for protein may be beneficial as well.

Look forward to your photos and more information

 

[Fitchicken]

He is about 6 to 7 months old. I have looked and haven't seen any bloody poop but I'll keep checking. He gets left over bread and veggies and he loves bananas. I have been feeding him eggs and it seem to help his weight a tad. Besides their treats and corn thats all they get. I forgot how big their yard and coop was but I'll check and get some pictures of him.

 

[Kiki]

I know he is not a laying hen but I think this article covers the food/feed subject pretty good.
You may want to check it out:
http://articles.extension.org/pages/69065/feeding-chickens-for-egg-production

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He is about 6 to 7 months old. I have looked and haven't seen any bloody poop but I'll keep checking. He gets left over bread and veggies and he loves bananas. I have been feeding him eggs and it seem to help his weight a tad. Besides their treats and corn thats all they get. I forgot how big their yard and coop was but I'll check and get some pictures of him.

Coccidiosis does not always present with bloody poop. If you can, have a fecal float performed.

Do you ever provide a commercial feed, like layer pellets, flock raiser or chick starter?
What do you normally feed babies?

The losing weight/not growing could be due to nutrition. You may want to consider using a commercial nutritionally balanced poultry feed to see if that makes a difference in his health.