Whats wrong with my Roo?

[FlyingNunFarm]

Is his poop really smelly? Could he have gotten into anything moldy?

I’m thinking botulism. They act like they have a broken neck. It is beyond creepy.

You can give a molasses flush. It will literally flush his system. He will poop and poop a lot. It can be a risky treatment but often the only one that works.

4 tbsp of molasses to 1 qt of water. Have him drink that and only that for a day. It will be really poopy and smelly but he should show improvement if it’s botulism.

 

[Eggcessive]

It sounds promising that he improves close to roosttime in the evening. It can take some time to see improvement if it is an injury or vitamin dediciency. I would probably give it 2 weeks to see improvement, but that decision has to be made by you and how much time that you can spend caring for him. Mareks could be a possibility, but I would think that you should see other symptoms. I hope he starts to act better.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

 

[Eggcessive]

Botulism affects the feet and legs first, with flaccid paralysis moving up the spinal cord later to the wings and neck, then eyelids within a day or less. If his neck is only affected, that would not be botulism. This is a good article about botulism basics:
https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-guide/botulism

To add a video, post it to YouTube with a link posted here.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

Botulism affects the feet and legs first, with flaccid paralysis moving up the spinal cord later to the wings and neck, then eyelids within a day or less. If his neck is only affected, that would not be botulism. This is a good article about botulism basics:
https://thepoultrysite.com/disease-guide/botulism

Not always.

 

[slordaz]

It looks like wry neck which is a neurological symptom. The neck can be held down, twisted to the side, or upward. You are using vitamin E and there is thiamine (B1) in the multivits which is the usual treatment for wry neck. A little cooked egg would be good as well for selenium.

Wry neck can be a symptom of several diseases, including Mareks disease, and some other viruses, but it also can be caused by vitamin deficiency, and head injuries.

Do you think he could have been injured by another roosters?

my younger rooster has about knocked himself out running around like a hormone crazed thing he is chasing an hen and not watching where he was going, hit so hard all by himself running into the coop wall he went rolling backwards suprised he don't look like this

 

[Lady Chicken Keeper]

Try making a strong tea of turmeric and ginger and giving him some drinks. Turmeric is anti bacterial and anti viral and both are anti inflamatory. It also contains some vitamin e and selenium. I used Celestial Seasonings Organic Ginger Turmeric for my chicken with wry neck just in case it was an infection. She liked it and drank a few Tablespoons. I couldn't hurt. You may need to treat for infection in case you have botulism. Also it wouldn't hurt to give oregano tea.

 

[Eggcessive]

Another article about botulism in poultry which causes paralysis, first in legs then wings then neck on so on:
https://www.merckvetmanual.com/poultry/botulism/botulism-in-poultry

A chicken or duck with botulism symptoms will look like this:

 

[seminolewind]

I had a rooster that did the very same thing (Ugly Eddie). We think he got pecked on the head. I had to spoon feed him for weeks. Someone even sent me a pill to reduce swelling in case his brain was swollen.

One night I had had enough and gave him 10 (dog) valium thinking he would die peacefully. 10 pm-nothing. 12am-nothing. 1am I go to bed. In the morning he's crowing (valium didn't work). Over the next month he improves and gains weight. But then he went downhill fast and we had to euthanize him. He was my first roo.

IMO, I have seen Marek's in adult years. But most of the time the chicken is suffering from an ailment caused by low immune system caused by Marek's. Since I have nothing to lose at that point, I give them a week's of several antibiotics. Some improve, some don't, some improve for a short while. IMO it sounds neuro. You may or may not be able to cure him but IMO I still try everything to make him better. You have lots of good ideas in the posts above. Hopefully something works!