Lethargic stumbling rooster PLEASE Help!!

[chickgoals]

A tractor supply in North Carolina has no permethrine livestock products? Go to the Farmacy, it will be close to the pick no more and hen healer, if not go to the horse mask area and look for it there.

I will go back and ask someone else. Maybe he didn’t know. We were in the back near the ivermectin, DE, Poultry RX… stuff like that. I’m going to see if someone else knows more about that stuff.
If this is a leg injury- what would you do for that?

 

[TaylorGlade]

My daughter is six and she is all about fairness right now. He has a small bowl in there that he can have if he wants it. If he were with the hens he would still have free access to the shells. A rooster won’t eat the shells if he didn’t want them -if he were with the hens or not.
I don’t think that is the problem.

Apologies. That came off much more harshly than I meant it too. I'm outside and the glare in my phone was making typing difficult. I had a hard time editing. I hit submit and didn't realize it sounded so short. I'm really sorry.

And no - I don't think that's the problem either because he won't eat it if it is not mixed in with his food. You are right. Our two boys who are in with the flock do not eat them.

I really do hope you are able to find some permethrine for him. You can also try Electra PSP (spinosad) - I think our TSC has it. Maybe yours does too? Frequently in the garden department

 

[nuthatched]

I will go back and ask someone else. Maybe he didn’t know. We were in the back near the ivermectin, DE, Poultry RX… stuff like that. I’m going to see if someone else knows more about that stuff.
If this is a leg injury- what would you do for that?

It will be in a red and white cardboard tube with buff orps on it.
If it's an injury, you need to figure what kind of injury, a sprain or what.
Blue comb typically don't go with sprains.

 

[chickgoals]

Apologies. That came off much more harshly than I meant it too. I'm outside and the glare in my phone was making typing difficult. I had a hard time editing. I hit submit and didn't realize it sounded so short. I'm really sorry.

And no - I don't think that's the problem either because he won't eat it if it is not mixed in with his food. You are right. Our two boys who are in with the flock do not eat them.

I really do hope you are able to find some permethrine for him. You can also try Electra PSP (spinosad) - I think our TSC has it. Maybe yours does too? Frequently in the garden department

Thank you for the help
- I’m leaving as soon as dinner is done to head back there to try to find either of those things.
Any suggestions on how to help an injured leg or foot if that’s the problem?
It seems like the right leg is the one that he doesn’t want to step down on.
I closed him up in the coop in his separate area so he has less space to walk. He doesn’t really want to walk now. He did get right up and eat from the food bowl that I put in there, but when I brought the water in there he didn’t move to get any.
I don’t see anything wrong with either legs or either feet- but maybe it’s higher up where there’s feathers.

 

[TaylorGlade]

Thank you for the help
- I’m leaving as soon as dinner is done to head back there to try to find either of those things.
Any suggestions on how to help an injured leg or foot if that’s the problem?
It seems like the right leg is the one that he doesn’t want to step down on.
I closed him up in the coop in his separate area so he has less space to walk. He doesn’t really want to walk now. He did get right up and eat from the food bowl that I put in there, but when I brought the water in there he didn’t move to get any.
I don’t see anything wrong with either legs or either feet- but maybe it’s higher up where there’s feathers.

Chickens can have baby aspirin for pain. Here is a post with dosing instructions.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/aspirin-dosage.1273737/

Our boy got his but handed to him by a pullet he tried to mount and couldn't walk for almost two weeks. We confined him so he couldn't jump (no roosts) and followed those instructions.

However, aspirin is a blood thinner and is definitely not warranted in all injuries. It could cause the wrong injury to bleed out. And I'm not sure about using it if you have mites. If he's anemic, I don't know if it would make it worse

@Eggcessive - any thoughts on whether or not it's safe in this case?

Check his vent and under his wings. At night, look at him and his sleeping space for signs of mites. Run a white rag under the roosts and night as well. That's when mites are active. They can cause weakness, lethargy and make them sick

 

[chickgoals]

I am at the store. I found the things you mentioned. Any of these things pictures what you’re talking about?
I added more pictures of Ollie to show the weird angle of this foot under him. This isn’t the one that I think is bothering him- but maybe he’s just uncomfortable and at weird angles to help himself get comfortable.

I’ll also be picking up the aspirin.
Thank you that suggestion.

I’m think the purple comb is just a sign of distress. There isn’t anything wrong with his comb. Just telling me something is amiss. I see it lighten and darken on a daily basis due to what’s going on around him or in this case - what is going on with himself.

Thank you all for helping me through this.

I will be blocking his roosts so he stays grounded.

 

[MarlaMac]

This is what you are looking for. TS should have it. If your TS doesn't have it, Home Depot sells a different brand, same name.

 

[chickgoals]

Thank you- I will look for that there.
Will this be enough to kill all the mites ?
Or do I bathe them all and dry them and then add this?
Ollie was moving from one place to another - slowly and then staying where he ended up for a while. But his vent area looked very red- so I think he needs some skin relief. Would an Epsom salt bath give him relief? Or cause more distress?
I checked the birds at night. I didn’t see anything on 4 of the hens that I looked at, but when I looked at Ollie he had bright red skin by his vent and I saw those little black bugs- they are the tiniest little specks, but I saw them moving so I know they were bugs and not just dirt.

We have already checked 4 hens almost daily. But it was part of the morning responsibilities with the chickens. I never tried to check Ollie’s hard spots. Even though he’s a pretty good guy he still tries to get me when I’m holding him so I can usually just check his face, neck, feet. I figured that if we found mites on one of the hens then we would know that they probably all had it including Ollie so I wasn’t too concerned about checking Ollie’s bottom. BUT he is the one that has them the most - I’m guessing all the others have them too, just not as much because in my quick inspection I didn’t see them, but I don’t see how Ollie can have them and they don’t.
So will this mite problem cause him to stumble when he walks? Is it one problem or a mite problem and something wrong with his leg?

I am going to try to clean out the entire coop today and close it off. Bathe all the chickens. Dry them. Let them back out there, but not in the coop while I’m washing and letting it dry.
I use shavings in there as that is easy to poop scoop and gives a soft landing. So far no respiratory problems with dust.
I have read about using construction sand, but I can’t find anything by that name. Last year I called 3 places that carry sand and mulch… and they didn’t have it or know what that was.
Is there a different name for it? Would the same be better for mite control for real? That’s what I have read, but anyone experience this firsthand on here?

 

[TaylorGlade]

Thank you- I will look for that there.
Will this be enough to kill all the mites ?
Or do I bathe them all and dry them and then add this?
Ollie was moving from one place to another - slowly and then staying where he ended up for a while. But his vent area looked very red- so I think he needs some skin relief. Would an Epsom salt bath give him relief? Or cause more distress?
I checked the birds at night. I didn’t see anything on 4 of the hens that I looked at, but when I looked at Ollie he had bright red skin by his vent and I saw those little black bugs- they are the tiniest little specks, but I saw them moving so I know they were bugs and not just dirt.

We have already checked 4 hens almost daily. But it was part of the morning responsibilities with the chickens. I never tried to check Ollie’s hard spots. Even though he’s a pretty good guy he still tries to get me when I’m holding him so I can usually just check his face, neck, feet. I figured that if we found mites on one of the hens then we would know that they probably all had it including Ollie so I wasn’t too concerned about checking Ollie’s bottom. BUT he is the one that has them the most - I’m guessing all the others have them too, just not as much because in my quick inspection I didn’t see them, but I don’t see how Ollie can have them and they don’t.
So will this mite problem cause him to stumble when he walks? Is it one problem or a mite problem and something wrong with his leg?

I am going to try to clean out the entire coop today and close it off. Bathe all the chickens. Dry them. Let them back out there, but not in the coop while I’m washing and letting it dry.
I use shavings in there as that is easy to poop scoop and gives a soft landing. So far no respiratory problems with dust.
I have read about using construction sand, but I can’t find anything by that name. Last year I called 3 places that carry sand and mulch… and they didn’t have it or know what that was.
Is there a different name for it? Would the same be better for mite control for real? That’s what I have read, but anyone experience this firsthand on here?

It can cause him to stumble because it causes anemia which makes them weak and lethargic.

Home Depot carries construction sand. It's also called all purpose sand. It's what we use in the dust baths.

We use shavings in the coop floors and PDZ horse stall refresh in the poop boards. It keeps down ammonia great and is super easy to scoop.

 

[MarlaMac]

Thank you- I will look for that there.
Will this be enough to kill all the mites ?
Or do I bathe them all and dry them and then add this?
Ollie was moving from one place to another - slowly and then staying where he ended up for a while. But his vent area looked very red- so I think he needs some skin relief. Would an Epsom salt bath give him relief? Or cause more distress?
I checked the birds at night. I didn’t see anything on 4 of the hens that I looked at, but when I looked at Ollie he had bright red skin by his vent and I saw those little black bugs- they are the tiniest little specks, but I saw them moving so I know they were bugs and not just dirt.

We have already checked 4 hens almost daily. But it was part of the morning responsibilities with the chickens. I never tried to check Ollie’s hard spots. Even though he’s a pretty good guy he still tries to get me when I’m holding him so I can usually just check his face, neck, feet. I figured that if we found mites on one of the hens then we would know that they probably all had it including Ollie so I wasn’t too concerned about checking Ollie’s bottom. BUT he is the one that has them the most - I’m guessing all the others have them too, just not as much because in my quick inspection I didn’t see them, but I don’t see how Ollie can have them and they don’t.
So will this mite problem cause him to stumble when he walks? Is it one problem or a mite problem and something wrong with his leg?

I am going to try to clean out the entire coop today and close it off. Bathe all the chickens. Dry them. Let them back out there, but not in the coop while I’m washing and letting it dry.
I use shavings in there as that is easy to poop scoop and gives a soft landing. So far no respiratory problems with dust.
I have read about using construction sand, but I can’t find anything by that name. Last year I called 3 places that carry sand and mulch… and they didn’t have it or know what that was.
Is there a different name for it? Would the same be better for mite control for real? That’s what I have read, but anyone experience this firsthand on here?

If your rooster is already feeling down, bathing him may cause more stress. The poultry dust is a powder. One of the people on this forum @Wyorp Rock suggest putting the powder in a sock and using the sock as a powder puff. Puff his vent and under his wings.
If he has mites, they are probably everywhere. You will need to clean out all bedding from the coup and burn it if possible. Otherwise put in airtight bags and let the sun bake them.

Treat the coop with either spray that has the same insecticide or use a leaf blower to blow the powder around the coop and into the nooks and crannies. Close the coop and let the dust settle. Take precautions to keep from ingesting the powder and getting in on you while you do this.

Mites require extreme measures as they can quickly kill your chickens. Someone else already mentioned getting some beef liver as it will help reverse anemia.

Hope your boy recovers quickly and that you rid your chickens of all signs of these parasites.