Sick Rooster - Could it be genetic?

[Sparrow Farm]

I have a sick rooster that has had runny yellow poop (basically water) the last couple of days. I have been treating him for coccidiosis as a precaution. The rest of the flock is fine (though they are all being treated since the Corid is in the water). He is a 10 month old Buckeye and has been healthy until about a month ago when I noticed him acting lethargic. I treated him with Corid and kept him in the run for five days and he seemed to recover. On Sunday, I noticed him acting really lethargic again so I decided to treat with Corid again. Today, I tried giving him some egg yolk, but he wasn’t very interested. I gave him some Greek yogurt and he gobbled it up, so that gives me hope. He also just had a poop that has some solid matter to it. Could it be a digestive issue? His father died suddenly with no health symptoms at only14 months old. I found him dead in the coop one morning. I checked him over but could find no injuries. At that time, I had been feeding layer feed. I switched to all flock after he died, thinking the layer feed could have been the cause of his death. Now that his son is sick, I am wondering if it is genetic (but, again, the rest of the flock has been fine) or if it is the feed. The chickens do free range, so is there anything he could be eating that is causing this?

 

[LaFleche]

When did you last deworm?

Is he the only male?

Please, post some pictures of him and his droppings.

Aso your chickens are free ranging, could he have come into contact with chemicals such as weed killers?

Are there poisonous critters about?

You can try and treat him with Milk Thistle (tea or capsules) which helps with liver issues.

 

[Sparrow Farm]

When did you last deworm?

Is he the only male?

Please, post some pictures of him and his droppings.

Aso your chickens are free ranging, could he have come into contact with chemicals such as weed killers?

Are there poisonous critters about?

You can try and treat him with Milk Thistle (tea or capsules) which helps with liver issues.

I have never treated for worms. Wouldn’t I see those in the droppings? How would I treat for worms?

He is the only male. We do not use weed killers. We have 30 acres, most of which is leased to a farmer. He does spray the crops but there is nothing in the field right now and he hasn’t sprayed anything yet. The chickens rarely go into the fields since we have about two acres where their coop is.

There are venomous snakes and spiders where we live in Ohio, but I have never seen any.

Here are some pictures of him as well as a picture of the last poop he had with solid poop in it. I am watching for him to poop again so I can take a more recent pic. He’s out of the run right now. I tried to separate the hens so he could eat some yogurt and didn’t get the gate shut in time to keep him in.

 

[Sparrow Farm]

Here is his poop. He is acting a little feistier now. I threw out some scratch to see if he would eat it and he has been chasing the hens away from it so he could eat it.

 

[LaFleche]

HHe

I have never treated for worms. Wouldn’t I see those in the droppings? How would I treat for worms?

He is the only male. We do not use weed killers. We have 30 acres, most of which is leased to a farmer. He does spray the crops but there is nothing in the field right now and he hasn’t sprayed anything yet. The chickens rarely go into the fields since we have about two acres where their coop is.

There are venomous snakes and spiders where we live in Ohio, but I have never seen any.

Here are some pictures of him as well as a picture of the last poop he had with solid poop in it. I am watching for him to poop again so I can take a more recent pic. He’s out of the run right now. I tried to separate the hens so he could eat some yogurt and didn’t get the gate shut in time to keep him in.

He does look a bit rough, what is wrong with his tail, is it not straight? If it is mostly twisted to the side it could hint to a leg or hip injury.

Here is his poop. He is acting a little feistier now. I threw out some scratch to see if he would eat it and he has been chasing the hens away from it so he could eat it.

Does he have a normal weight or can you feel a fat pad on his lower belly?

And do you have a vet you could take a fecal sample to?
Yellow runny droppings can have different causes, some of them are kidney or liver issues, hereditary or due to nutritional causes, poisoning etc.
Starting with fecal examination can help to eliminate some possible causes. Then proceed from there by

#deworming
#medicinal charcoal and milk thistle
#Moro's carrot soup and greek yoghurt to restore a healthy gut balance after deworming
#in case all the above will not make him better or your vet recommands antibiotics, treat with sulfa-antibiotics like sulfadimethoxine or similar.

And let us know how he gets along.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I doubt it’s genetic. I used to think my chickens were getting sick and dying due to genetic issues, but it turned out to be a virus. (Not saying that’s what it is in this case.)