At a loss, stunted growth?

[Jaime918]

I'm at a complete loss here. I sent one of my extra Dominique roosters to our conservation farm about a month and a half ago to be used as a breeder. He is almost 3 months now.

Well sadly they are relocating so she offered me the option to take him back before anyone else which I happily did.

Here is where my problem is!

He was a tiny bit smaller than my other rooster when he left, HE HASNT GROWN SINCE HE LEFT! He's not under weight, no worms, he eats and drinks, no sneezing, oozing, crusty, gunky anything. Just his happy, sweet little self.

What could've caused this?

I'll add photos here shortly of the 2 for a size comparison.

 

[coach723]

Awaiting pictures. Where did you get the roosters, hatch yourself, purchased, etc?

 

[Jaime918]

I'll get better ones here shortly. I'm all over the place right now. But in this one he is on the left and his sister who hatched at the same time (same batch of eggs) is on the right and a full grown girl behind him.

Awaiting pictures. Where did you get the roosters, hatch yourself, purchased, etc?

I hatched them myself. He kept up growth wise until he left.

 

[Jaime918]

It's windy so no one wants to hold still for me.

 

[coach723]

Hard to say. Do you know what they fed? Maybe he was kept from food there. Is body condition good, not thinner than you'd expect? If all else seems normal, I guess all you can do is watch and wait, maybe get a fecal done to test for parasites in case that's a factor inhibiting him absorbing nutrients (they are not always visible in droppings). It may just be the genetic cards he was dealt.

 

[Jaime918]

Hard to say. Do you know what they fed? Maybe he was kept from food there. Is body condition good, not thinner than you'd expect? If all else seems normal, I guess all you can do is watch and wait, maybe get a fecal done to test for parasites in case that's a factor inhibiting him absorbing nutrients (they are not always visible in droppings). It may just be the genetic cards he was dealt.

I'm not exactly sure the feed, they went to a mill in the neighboring state. Not thin which is why I am so stumped. He eats well and I'm preparing some extra chicken with dinner for him tonight. See if extras will help if he wasn't getting enough there. I wouldn't think it would be possible with at least 50 feeders it seemed, but anything is possible I guess. Would I get a test done through a vet or could I just treat as a precaution for now and the future?

 

[coach723]

If you have a vet that will run the test for you I would do that. Then you aren't treating needlessly, or you will at least know what to treat for. If you can't get a test done then you could just worm him to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Jaime918]

If you have a vet that will run the test for you I would do that. Then you aren't treating needlessly, or you will at least know what to treat for. If you can't get a test done then you could just worm him to see if it makes a difference.

Okay. Thank you. We have a farm vet but no one deals in chickens really. Not a priority animal like the cattle and horses.

Out of curiosity, could you recommend a dewormer? Everything I see at TSC says goat, cattle, or horse. I never see anything for poultry.

 

[coach723]

Safeguard liquid goat wormer (fenbendazole) is usually the easiest to find. Dose is .23 ml per pound of bird weight, orally, 5 days in a row. That will treat everything but tapeworm. Tapeworm is a lot less common. If you want to treat for that you would get either Zimectrin Gold horse paste or Equimax horse paste (praziquantel). Dosing for those is here in post #6:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tapeworms-that-wont-go-away.1130035/

 

[Jaime918]

Safeguard liquid goat wormer (fenbendazole) is usually the easiest to find. Dose is .23 ml per pound of bird weight, orally, 5 days in a row. That will treat everything but tapeworm. Tapeworm is a lot less common. If you want to treat for that you would get either Zimectrin Gold horse paste or Equimax horse paste (praziquantel). Dosing for those is here in post #6:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/tapeworms-that-wont-go-away.1130035/

Thank you! I really appreciate your time. I will try to get a test first, if possible. If not, I will absolutely try these if I can't get any size change within a week or so.