[TheForge] OT: please excuse, but I need some help with this

[Andrew Vida]

Folks,


I am sorry to bother you with this OT subject but I really don't know 
where else to turn and there's a lot of knowledge here, so please 
forgive me.  Anyone know anything about diseases in chickens?

I have a rooster who stopped eating. This went on for weeks.  He went 
from cock of the walk to getting his ass kicked.

I took him in the house and began feeding him a combination of bee 
pollen, blue-green algae, Siberian ginseng, angelica root, Echinacea and 
about 30mg of amoxycillin/day.  He recovered largely, so I let him out 
during the day and gathered him back at night for feeding since he still 
wasn't eating a whole lot, which I attributed to his management of the 
hens and keep the other roosters in line.

I ran out of amoxycillin and changed to amoxycillin clavulanate  (12.5% 
clavulanaic acid).  He then appeared to be heading for relapse.  He is 
now in a state alternating from what looks like convulsion to calm. 
This started  about a day or two after I began the new antibiotic and 
have been wondering if it might have been the cause.  His head turns up 
and he cannot sit or stand straight.  It is pathetic, but before I end 
his suffering I want to be certain there is no hope for recovery.  It is 
clear that he is being stubborn about living, and I take that pretty 
seriously even with a chicken.  It is probably stupid, but he's my boy.

I don't want him to suffer, but I will see him through it if he has a 
decent chance of recovery.

Anyone know of any good web sources for diagnosis of poultry diseases? I 
came up bupkis, save for something called "Newcastle disease", and if 
this is what Ricky has (Ricky came with Lucy, I might add) then 
basically all my birds are as good as dead because it is highly 
contagious and better than 90% fatal and I'm in no mood to be burying 40 
birds.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Ricky thanks you in advance.


     -Andy