My rooster is sick, acts narcoleptic. Extremely tired and constantly sleeping. I need help!

[Anne Katherine]

Thank you so much shortgrass, I really appreciate your help in trying to figure out what is going on! That is good news for the broodies, culling is so hard though :-( In the end, I will have to do what I can to protect them, just hoping it doesn't come to that.

Yes I have been trying to get a ton of nutrients in him. I am putting whatever I can that will possibly help him in his water, so he gets them that way. I am continuing to pray it isn't Marek's...

You have been so helpful, thank you so much! Hope you have a great day!

 

[TwoCrows]

Mareks is a progressive disease which paralyzes the bird. It starts in a wing or a leg and works it's way through the body. There is no cure and generally they die.

So if your boy is not stumbling anymore and he was previously then it is probably not Mareks.

Have you wormed him recently? Worms are extremely draining on a bird and will slowly kill them.

Are you seeing any blood in the poop? This could indicate Coccidiosis which will also kill them and usually quickly.

How old is he? What color is his comb? Have you given him an over all exam for any wounds, (look closely under wings, belly, all over the body) look for mites or lice. External bugs will also drain the life right out of the bird.

 

[shortgrass]

Thank you so much shortgrass, I really appreciate your help in trying to figure out what is going on!  That is good news for the broodies, culling is so hard though :-( In the end, I will have to do what I can to protect them, just hoping it doesn't come to that.

Yes I have been trying to get a ton of nutrients in him.  I am putting whatever I can that will possibly help him in his water, so he gets them that way.  I am continuing to pray it isn't Marek's...

You have been so helpful, thank you so much!  Hope you have a great day!

You are very welcome; I sure hope we can find out what's going on so you AND your roo can be comfortable and relieved.

Fingers crossed that it's NOT Marek's and something more manageable!

Mareks is a progressive disease which paralyzes the bird. It starts in a wing or a leg and works it's way through the body. There is no cure and generally they die.

So if your boy is not stumbling anymore and he was previously then it is probably not Mareks. 

Have you wormed him recently? Worms are extremely draining on a bird and will slowly kill them.

Are you seeing any blood in the poop? This could indicate Coccidiosis which will also kill them and usually quickly.

How old is he? What color is his comb? Have you given him an over all exam for any wounds, (look closely under wings, belly, all over the body) look for mites or lice. External bugs will also drain the life right out of the bird. 

Thank you so much, I had to scour some old posts and find backup; you are way more helpful than me!

 

[Anne Katherine]

Thank you both so much! I looked into Coccidiosis along with another infection that results from that. It seems possible that he may have either a pretty bad infection because of Coccidiosis or worms. I read that colloidal silver and apple cider vinegar are good for either of those things. We have been giving them to him all day, and he seems to be drinking more and staying awake longer! I don't want to get my hopes up too early but I am continuing to pray that these are signs of his healing. I will try to keep you both updated on his health to see if it is a false recovery or he is actually getting better. We are not over the hump yet, but hopefully soon!

Let me know if you have any more advice! Thanks!

 

[TwoCrows]

Thank you both so much! I looked into Coccidiosis along with another infection that results from that. It seems possible that he may have either a pretty bad infection because of Coccidiosis or worms. I read that colloidal silver and apple cider vinegar are good for either of those things. We have been giving them to him all day, and he seems to be drinking more and staying awake longer! I don't want to get my hopes up too early but I am continuing to pray that these are signs of his healing. I will try to keep you both updated on his health to see if it is a false recovery or he is actually getting better. We are not over the hump yet, but hopefully soon!

Let me know if you have any more advice! Thanks!

Apple Cider Vinegar will do nothing for worms. So you will need chemicals to kill off a load of worms. However the ACV over time can act as an antibacterial/antifungal due to the raising of the PH in the body.

 

[Anne Katherine]

I suspected that might be true based on what I have heard about the benefits of ACV. Thanks for letting me know for sure though. Colloidal silver supposedly kills worms. We have wormer too, but once on it he can't really get off and we would have to get it to the rest of the hens too. Doing some research it seems that colloidal silver does a great job taking care of coccidiosis too and has been a miraculous cure for practically everything else we have used it for.

He is still hanging in there, maybe a bit more alert than before?...

 

[Anne Katherine]

He is still doing ok! He gave us a scare this morning, we had to feed him earlier so we could get to worship and he was very out of it. We didn't think he would make it and seemed weak and very sick. He was just tired and groggy though. When we came back he was doing just fine and seems to be continuing to become more aware and with it. He is getting electrolytes and we got some wormer into him too. Yay!!!

 

[shortgrass]

Wonderful!!! Such great news; so glad it wasnt Marek's! IMO, you've been doing a great job of staying a step ahead of his needs, and its paying off for sure! Good chicken husbandry right there

Oh I'm super happy for you! And the roo lol

 

[Anne Katherine]

Thank you! I am so grateful for your help and support as we were treating him! He is back outside now, still weaker than the others, but seeming to enjoy the fresh air. Figured being inside was about as encouraging as laying in a hospital bed ;-)...

The big thing now is to hope he starts eating again soon. Drinking on his own would be helpful too so we don't have to track him down and give him water constantly every hour or so...but at least he is drinking. I will keep you posted. The nice thing is, even with all of this going on, we were able to have a 100% successful keet clutch without losing any afterwards! Yay! Hopefully that means they are immune now too. I do know they are downright adorable!!!

Hope you have a great day! Thanks again!

 

[shortgrass]

Thank you!  I am so grateful for your help and support as we were treating him!  He is back outside now, still weaker than the others, but seeming to enjoy the fresh air.  Figured being inside was about as encouraging as laying in a hospital bed ;-)...

The big thing now is to hope he starts eating again soon.  Drinking on his own would be helpful too so we don't have to track him down and give him water constantly every hour or so...but at least he is drinking.   I will keep you posted.  The nice thing is, even with all of this going on, we were able to have a 100% successful keet clutch without losing any afterwards!  Yay!  Hopefully that means they are immune now too.  I do know they are downright adorable!!!

Hope you have a great day!  Thanks again!

Great! It has to ease your mind, too congrats on the new babies!!! Nothing like a near death experience to make a batch of babies a cure for