Young polish rooster dying

[LisaChick1]

I have a 3 month old white crest black polish, who has been healthy and sweet since day 1. He is with 20 other chickens that all have been healthy as well and I see none of them having symptoms like him.
I went to the run today and saw him leaning back on his tail almost like he is sitting on his butt. He was clenching his toes together and the way he was sitting seemed like his lower back was in pain or like he was cramping. When I picked him up his tummy made some gurgling sounds and he is opening his mouth wide and breathing... Not continuously but every so often opens his mouth wide. I fed him some plain organic yogurt which he willingly ate quite a large amount of. I have him extra water and what I had of some appe cider vinegar. I see no signs of lice, parasites or injury other the his crest feathers being pulled out by other hens... There is a tad bit of blood where the pulled his feathers out.. Bullies.
. Has anyone experienced this before? Anyone have any suggestions of what else I can do? The way he is acting it looks like he is suffering and so uncomfortable... So sad. Any help would be appreciated

 

[Eggcessive]

Separate him in a basket or crate in the house near food and water. Was he vaccinated for Mareks disease? He could have been injured, but Mareks disease and vitamin deficiency can cause sitting on hocks and curling under of toes. Start poultry vitamins in his water right away containing riboflavin (Vitamin B2) and offer him some raw or copped cooked egg, canned tuna, or feed moistened with a little buttermilk. Mareks disease has many different symptoms in each bird, and can include paralysis of one or both legs, curled toe paralysis, eye symptoms, tumors, twisted or drooping neck, and skin eruptions. I hope it is just a vitamin deficiency or that he was kept from food or water by the others, and that he gets better with treatment. Here is some info about Mareks and riboflavin deficiency:
https://extension.unh.edu/resources/files/Resource000791_Rep813.pdf
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/6/diseases-of-poultry/217/vitamin-b2-deficiency/

 

[LisaChick1]

Thank you so much for responding. I do have him separated, I gave him some vitamin B. Getting tuna together now. I'm so worried... What on earth would I do if it was mareks and how would I know? Would I have to get rid of my entire flock of chickens... I have 26. I read about the disease, I just don't know the smartest thing to do in this situation is and how to go about it.

 

[Eggcessive]

For now, I would relax and just treat him with the vitamins and get him to eat and drink. If he should die or you need to euthanize him, I would send his refrigerated body to your state vet for a necropsy and testing for Mareks. If you live in California, necropsies are free. But I really hope he is just having a temporary vitamin deficiency. With Mareks in a flock, you don't have to get rid of them, but some may get the disease while others don't. Here are some threads about Mareks from BYCers who have Mareks in their flocks:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/741957/not-an-emergency-mareks-in-the-flock
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/894589/moving-forward-breeding-for-resistance-to-mareks-disease

 

[LisaChick1]

Thank you so much for your support. He is still sitting but when I lift the tuna and other food to him he has a generous appetite. When I very first noticed his symptoms I felt his crop and it did feel empty, so and seeing that he does get picked on by the flock with his crest feathers pulled, I'm wondering if they were not allowing him to eat as much as needed like yiu suggested earlier. What's odd now, is it seems he may be having seizures...? He will eat some food and then occasionally do a somersault and light flap his wings and roll around, then sit back up again as though it never happend. Wondering if that is a symptom of vitaim deficiency? As of now he seems pretty similar to yesterday.

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes that sounds like some symptoms of vitamin E and selenium deficiency, which can cause symptoms of wry neck. Wry neck includes neurological symptoms of walking bacward or in circles, doing somersaults, and sometimes a twisted or drooping neck. Poultry vitamins will help, and there is selenium in eggs, tuna, sunflower kernels, and crushed nuts. Be aware that since Mareks disease or a head injury can cause the same neurological symptoms, it may be one of those. Here are some good links to read about vitamin deficiencies in poultry along with a link about wry neck (crook neck, encephalomalacia, torticolis, star gazing.)
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/p..._poultry/vitamin_deficiencies_in_poultry.html
http://www.tillysnest.com/2014/03/vitamin-deficiencies-in-backyard-chicks.html
http://www.browneggblueegg.com/Article/Crookneck/Crookneck.html