[PaulT]

We have a young cockerel Buff who has started to look poorly--He has problems standing and then raises each leg in the air (While stretching a wing out) and falls over. He has been like this for a number of days now and is losing condition-He still eats and drinks a bit--Any advice or ideas as to what the problem is?

[Foxy]

Hi Paul, your boy sounds very poorly I'm afraid. There a couple of things he could be suffering from, it is a bit hard without having a history, or being able to see him.

Firstly, how light is he? Have a feel of his breast-bone if the keel is very prominent this would suggest he is very underweight, it is harder to bring a bird round if they have lost a lot of weight.

The balance issue could be very serious and the symptoms you describe could be Mareks a nasty infectious neurological disease with often fatal results the survivors remaining carriers for life of the disease, don't panic yet that is the worst case scenario.

If it is a gradual loss of condition over a period of time without any other symptoms worms could be a problem.

Do you have any other cockerels? If so, has he been fighting?

Does your boy have any other symptoms? Think cold-like symptoms, runny nostrils, wheezing etc, have a look at his comb should be nice and red, blueish tinge means circulatory problems or he is shutting down.

Finally it would be a good idea to bring him in and observe. If you have made the decision to treat your birds with a vet, try ringing round a few and booking him in. Otherwise TLC and I am afraid cull if he shows no improvement or looks to be suffering.

I hope this helps

[grumpydad]

does not sound too good, when a chuck looks ill then the really are because they hide an illness very well.
sounds like a neurological problem, well worth a visit to the vets