Poor old boy looks very miserable - Any ideas?

[Anonymous]

Herbie, my Light Sussex Cockerel is very subdued. He's eating & drinking fine. He'll follow the girls round the garden but then will just stand with his head pulled into his body & close his eyes. He does have bouts of "drunkeness", when he will lose his balance & fall over. But when you rattle the corn tin, he is still able to come charging down the garden to get some. He is also beginning to look very scruffy around the base of his comb & back of the head (as though he's not preening himself). His lovely long black tail feathers have gone and his tail is down. I've tried to catch him, to get a better look at him, but he can still outrun & out smart me. Don't like seeing him looking so sad. Any ideas ?

 

[podstable]

Could be any number of things really , how old is he? Any specific symptoms? Mites/worms/respiratory infection/neurological problem are some that spring to mind! Ros

 

[victorias poultry]

If he can still outrun you then their can;t be too much wrong. As Ros said have you wormed them recently, also in this wet cold weather birds spend more time "hunched up" as they are trying to keep warm. Has he lost any weight? If he is malting he will also be feeling sorry for himself as this takes alot out of a bird.
Try him on layers meal mixed with warm water, apple cider vinegar and cod liver oil, I find this is a real pick me up for birds that are not eating well or look a little off colour.

 

[Tim]

Also check his ears for 'gunk'

If he has an upper respiritory infection (cold) he may have yellow crusty gunk around the ears which blocks them and can cause his balance to be effected.

 

[Anonymous]

I use a net to catch birds because I am also unable to catch most of my birds if they are very flighty.I always look under the feathers once I have caught them to see if there are any fleas or mites.If I can`t find anything I usually put some poultry tonic in their water to try and perk them up.I try and find them something different to eat to get their attention,maybe some greens or a piece of soft fruit to get them pecking.