Broiler Advice.

[citizenmouse]

Hey! I appreciate your time. Long story short, I found a broiler chicken in the woods about five days ago. Since then, B had been improving like crazy. He was getting more and more active, more vocal, affectionate, curious, just everything.

This morning, on the other hand, though awake, B was just loafed up in his box. He didn't get up or pumped when I came in (any of the times, really) and kind of just kept closing his eyes and settling back in. He's sleeping with his head on the folded down edge of his box over tucking it like he had been. I feel I should also mention, having developed into just an absolute constant chatterer, B's been pretty quiet so far today.

We headed out back, where I figured the sun and bugs would snap him out of it, and B just nestled between my feet and again went into nap mode. When I brought some feed out, he eventually got into it, so aces there. I think he's also been sneezing a little on top of it all. I don't know if you guys are picking up the frantic, but I'm super worried here.

Now, I know the real move here is taking B to the doctor and if this gets any worse, that's where we're going. I wanted to check with you guys first as I know folks that keep livestock learn to treat a lot of common stuff themselves. Does this sound like anything to anyone? I feel like he's a little congested, maybe, and ive been warned it's likely congestive heart failure. I've come across some over-the-counter antibiotics. Would this be worth a shot? What about amoxicillin? Could he maybe have eaten something weird outside?

To be clear, B does still stand up tall and walk around occasionally, eliminate, eat, coo when you pet him, acknowledge someone new walking in, and looks clear-eyed and cognizant while doing it all, he's just kind of lethargic in the interim.

What would you guys do in my situation? I understand the nature of broilers and I'm just trying to make the rest of this particular guy's life as nice as I personally can.


Thank you so much for any guidance.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Not ignoring you, just uncertain what advice to give. I can't allow foreign poultry onto my property, costs me my NPIP Certification, so its not something I've given thought to.

That said, how is the bird doing today, and where are you??? (generally). Broilers tend to be quite heat senssitive, and with much of the lower US under a heat wave right now, lethargic behaviors during most of the day would not be entirely unexpected if you have him outside. Broilers are not, in my view, worth a trip to the Dr. Even if there was a vet in 50 miles that would see poultry, they are (for me) livestock, not pets. I enjoy their presence, but I'm not spending more in gas than the bird is worth, so I can fork over my time and my check book on an uncertain outcome.

Palliative care. Good food, good water, make sure the crop is filling during the day, and emptying overnight, watch the poops. Chicken droppings are one of the most reliable indicators of a bird's condition. You got this one from the wild - anyone's guess what its been exposed to - and it was abandoned by someone, for some reason...