Question about blood diseases

[Anonymous]

Hi, I haven't posted here for a while - been very busy. However, last week, Bob Tail, one of my old roosters began looking a bit "seedy" - very pale wattles and comb. I watched him carefully, fed him extra goodies and up until last Monday night, he was eating well - always had food in his crop in the evening. Did note that his breast bone was very prominent and not well fleshed, although I hadn't noticed a detectable weight loss when I picked him up. (I handle the roosters everyday when I rotate them from cages to the run.) A few days later, he occasionally seemed to have difficulty swallowing larger, drier pieces of food. On examination, I couldn't see or feel any growths or obstructions in his throat or esophagus.

Tuesday morning I found him lying on his side in his cage in a semi-conscious state. I brought him indoors, put him in a box and left him to die in peace. I was astonished that he was still alive several hours later and gave him some pureed food and water by syringe. He slept all that day and presumably all night. He was still alive next morning and on his feet. He seemed to be rallying at times but did continue to sleep a lot and was obviously very weak. He responded to me when I picked him up and fed him but would go back to sleep as soon as I put him down. His breathing was not labored and elimination processes were perfectly normal.

This afternoon, I realized he was not getting better despite my best efforts and the kindest thing to do would be to dispatch him (not an easy thing for me as you will know from previous posts re surplus roosters). He was swiftly and painlessly decapitated. The small amount he bled was very thin and watery. I had suspected a blood problem as he didn't seem to be in any pain - just extremely weak and lethargic. The rest of the flock is fine - healthy red combs and wattles - with no signs of any problems. I don't want to do an autopsy on him as it is too cold outside where I usually do the job.

Can anyone shed some light on what may have been wrong with the boy? My best guess right now is some type of cancer or blood disease. They have been shut up since October so there has been no chance of ingesting something toxic. Up until last week he seemed to be doing just fine for an old fellow. I am wondering if anyone has had a similar experience to share. Maryellen

 

[Tim]

Hi Maryellen.

Firstly, I'm very sorry to hear about your lad. It's always sad when you lose a bird and when there is some time of sickness beforehand, it makes it worse, wondering if you could do something different to help them.

I would say it is very difficult to say what was wrong with him. There are so many different things that could have struck him.

Most chickens that get a disease are weakened and then are open to pick up every other problem that's floating around. Secondary infection often provides the symptoms to us of what we believe kills our chicken but in fact there is often an underlying problem that weakens them enough to pick up this passing secondary infection.

I'm sorry I don't have any idea what this could have been, a Post Mortem may tell you, however often there are a range of possibilities given with PM results or even 'Cause Unknown', so it may not help...

Tim

 

[snifter]

I'd not like to venture a suggestion.

If he was an older bird I'd not worry overly about your flock possibly becoming ill. I'd be more inclined to think old age and some kind of problem that may not even have been virus related. Poor circulation can lead to pale comb. If he was a young fit bird then I'd be a bit more concerned. Very rarely in nature do things simply die of old age. Usually something else occurs and brings things to a quicker end.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Maryellen,

So sorry to hear about your boy. It's always such a difficult decision to make - especially if your bird had started to improve periodically.

There's no telling what the cause was. Birds can easily be poisoned by certain plants, sprays used in agriculture, domestic pest control poisons - the list is endless. I would have thought that more of your poultry would have been affected if this had been the case.

The only way you might get an answer is by a PM carried out by a qualified veterinary surgeon, though this needs to be done asap after death.

At least you saved him from any further suffering.