Poorly chicken question?

[marlyclay]

Ok ,i know this forum is for horse related things,but many of you on here keep chooks and i need some advice from you chicken experts.
I have a 4 year old cockeral who although is obviously hungry,seems reluctant or unable to eat.He is very tame and often comes into the kitchen if the back door is left open.He will ask for food and yet seems to find it difficult to eat,despite showing an interest.He ignores the grain that i feed all my chooks on,but will attempt to eat bread if offered.He is losing weight and his crop is nearly empty.He has been wormed,i don't know what else to do for him poor chap.All the other chooks are ok.Any ideas?

 

[the watcher]

Is he gaping at all? Gape worms are different to other worms (I beleive) so if he is opening his beak wide regularly you could try feeding little bits of onion which is supposed to help, but if there is no improvement he sounds due for a visit to the vet (or the pot if not a pet)

 

[sidesaddlegirl]

Have you checked for red mite in their coop? Ours have it at the moment, apparently, it's rife at the moment due to all th rain we've had and the fact that the birds that usually migrate, aren't doing do because of the weather (pigeons and other wild birds carry it). We've had loads of pigeons in our field and wild birds in the stables, both places the chooks roam so I reckon they've caught it from there.

We're constantly having to put insecticide down and one of the signs is weight loss and loss of condition with red mite.

 

[touchstone]

Could he have sour crop? If you squeeze his crop gently his breath will smell pretty rotten if he has it. It is treatable (sometimes involves draining the crop by giving a small amount of live yoghurt and olive oil, massaging the crop and then holding the bird upside down and massaging the offending gunk out)

Giving citricidal is often very effective, and I know a lot of poultry keepers use it routinely in the drinking water.

Hope he's better soon!

 

[spike123]

I don't personally keep chickens but my YO does.He lost one displaying similar symptoms about 3 months ago. We don't know what caused it though.She was gasping,refusing to eat although attempting to and had a slight cough.None of the other chickens caught it though.Would definitely echo the use of citricidal as I was researching this recently for my YO and it has antibiotic,antifungal properties and other advantages too.

 

[cyberhorse]

I would agree with the above you need to look for red mite (pay attention to the perches) this makes the chickens listless and poor feeders. At an older age they can also get trouble eating due to loss of muscle tone in the digestive system. Syringe some olive oil into his crop and give it a good massage to lubricate his system in case anything is getting stuck.

As he is run down try feeding him a protein rich soft food such as a good quality cat food (not one that contains chicken). Also get some ACV in the water for all the chooks it will generally help with their condition and is an appetite stimulant.

How is his colour? are his comb and wattles pale?

 

[marlyclay]

Thankyou everyone ,there is alot of good advice for me to try.
I don't see obvious signs of red mite but wil treat for it anyway.
I will go and get some citricidal tommorrow .
Sour crop was an interesting answer,i had never heard of it,his breath doesn't smell,but my gut feeling is his crop may have something to do with it so i will investigate further.Poor old chap is literally starving to death,and he is one of my favorite chooks,he is such a character ,he doesn't deserve this.I did ask my vet when he came to do a routine vacination on our ponies ,but he wasn't very helpful and muttered something about marrocks disease .Personally i don't think it is that,and all the others look so healthy.
Many thanks for your advice i will try everything and if no change then i won't let him suffer unnessecarily