Rooster suddenly can't walk

[mando4mary74]

Our prized rooster suddenly seems to have gone lame. He can barely stand and just falls over when he tries to walk. We moved him to another coop by himself and gave him vitamins and antibiotics. That was 2 days ago and he seems to be getting worse. I have checked his legs and they seem to be fine, he has movement and at times can walk a few feet before falling over. I'm at a loss for what to do. He is such a sweet rooster and has been so very good to his girls. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. He was given to us by a friend a couple of years ago so I am not sure of his age. It's almost like he had a stroke the way he is acting. Thanks in advance!

 

[ChickAsThieves]

He needs to go the veterinarian immediately.

 

[Swbertrand1]

We have a super-sweet (but noisy) rooster that we'd HATE to lose, so I feel your pain!
I trust that some of the experts here will chime in shortly with some solid advice for you.

I know that Wyorp Rock is online now. Hopefully some of the others are too...

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Our prized rooster suddenly seems to have gone lame. He can barely stand and just falls over when he tries to walk. We moved him to another coop by himself and gave him vitamins and antibiotics. That was 2 days ago and he seems to be getting worse. I have checked his legs and they seem to be fine, he has movement and at times can walk a few feet before falling over. I'm at a loss for what to do. He is such a sweet rooster and has been so very good to his girls. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. He was given to us by a friend a couple of years ago so I am not sure of his age. It's almost like he had a stroke the way he is acting. Thanks in advance!

How old is he?
Any chance he ate something moldy, rotten or toxic?
Was he vaccinated for Marek's?
Looked him over for lice/mites?
Crop emptying overnight?
What do you feed?

Photos of him and his poop or a video of his actions may be helpful. For video, upload to youtube and provide a link.

 

[mando4mary74]

How old is he?
Any chance he ate something moldy, rotten or toxic?
Was he vaccinated for Marek's?
Looked him over for lice/mites?
Crop emptying overnight?
What do you feed?

Photos of him and his poop or a video of his actions may be helpful. For video, upload to youtube and provide a link.

I'm not sure his age, he was given to us 2 years ago by a friend. I am also not sure if he was vaccinated but will check with my friend to see. I looked him over and he did have some mites so I treated him for that yesterday. He is not eating enough to fill his crop during the day unfortunately. I will try to get a video today. He hides under the coop most of the day. He eats organic layer feed and gets scratch once a day usually. He also eats yard greens. He doesn't seem at all interested in food or water which is what is most concerning to me. He is crowing this morning but still not eating or drinking. He will eat a little out of my hand if I take it in there and I have to use a dropper to give him his water. Thanks for the response!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

If he will come to you, grab him and cage him so you can monitor him more closely and administer water frequently. If you have vitamins/electrolytes I would provide those too.

Checking to see that his crop is emptying and getting a good look at his poop.

Is he the only rooster you have?
Have you ever de-wormed him?
What did you use to treat the mites?

 

[mando4mary74]

If he will come to you, grab him and cage him so you can monitor him more closely and administer water frequently. If you have vitamins/electrolytes I would provide those too.

Checking to see that his crop is emptying and getting a good look at his poop.

Is he the only rooster you have?
Have you ever de-wormed him?
What did you use to treat the mites?

I used a mite powder that contains diatomaceous earth. We have another young rooster that's only a couple of months old. I have not dewormed him. But I am going to. I will go look in the coop to see how his poop looked from last night. He is currently in our hospital pen which is very small and we can watch everything from our kitchen window. I am actually going after typing this to give electrolytes and vitamins to him.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I used a mite powder that contains diatomaceous earth. We have another young rooster that's only a couple of months old. I have not dewormed him. But I am going to. I will go look in the coop to see how his poop looked from last night. He is currently in our hospital pen which is very small and we can watch everything from our kitchen window. I am actually going after typing this to give electrolytes and vitamins to him.

Where are you located in the world?

I'm sorry but DE is not going to treat a mite infestation. You will want to use a permethrin based poultry spray or dust to treat him. The mites could be one of his main problems if he's infested, they can cause anemia and even kill a chicken if bad enough.

Treating the coop and the other chickens is a very good idea too - mites and lice can get out of control quickly, they have a 7-10 day hatch cycle, so the population can explode in just a few short weeks.

 

[Swbertrand1]

+1 on Wyorp Rock's post above.