Sleepy Rooster

Gooseluv

In the Brooder
Mar 27, 2015
27
0
22
PEI Canada
I have an 8 month old Naked Necked rooster, he is not a purebred, but a mixed with the dominant naked gene. He has always been a strange little dude, he is quiet, doesn't bother the hens and spends most of his day on the roost sleeping, (but his crop was always full, and he has always been smaller and thin).
As we thinned out our excess roosters and put the breeding hens in the pens, there are less bodies on the roost to keep each other warm and we have had a few weeks of -10 C at night and in the morning he appeared to be cold. He would sit on the roost with his tail down and his neck pulled in tight. I crocheted him a jumper and started to put him in our insulated garage at night. For the past week now he is sleeping more and eating less. I have to tap him to wake him up.
In the morning I put him by the food trough and encourage him to eat, he'll fall asleep right there, I tap him to wake him up, then encourage him to eat again. His comb is bright red, it's not pale.
The last 3 mornings when I come to greet him in his crate in the garage, he is dead asleep, I have to nudge him awake, it's crazy, what the heck is going on?
He reminds me of a very elderly individual who sleeps all day, and when you nudge them awake , their eyes bug out like "what happened, what's going on!".
It's gone from cute to concerning and I don't have a clue what's wrong with him, please any advice.
I also wonder if he is possibly deaf.
700

700
 
Wow! That is certainly strange behavior. Hopefully somebody can shed some light on this for you.

I just wanted to leave a comment on his jumper you made him. It's adorable, and very manly for a unique (and handsome) rooster!


Edited to ask: Does he crow?
 
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It's possible he has worms. Have you wormed your flock lately?

Have you checked him over from comb to vent for lice and mites? They can turn a bird anemic, and they will have ZERO energy... You can treat with Sevin dust (or carbaryl powder - they should carry it at garden stores). That's the first place to start.

How long has he been this way? Has he ever been injured that you know of?

MrsB
 
He is the only Naked Neck we have, but we do have other chickens. I believe he can see, he picks out only his favourite grains when eating.
 
I wondered about worms, I will have to look into getting something for the flock. I checked him for mites and he is clean. No other individual in our flock has similar behaviour.
 
Poor guy. What does his diet consist of? If he's eating scratch only you might be dealing with malnutrition. Keep him isolated-being in an enclosed garage I would worry about air quality as you want good ventilation. Most avian vets who get a patient like this will do radiographs, blood work, and a fecal. At the very least deworming with a product called Safeguard might help this fellow. Since you mentioned he has always been strange he might have a congenital defect involving the heart or liver. He also might have ingested a metal object and is suffering from heavy metal toxicity. Anyway, the very basic things to do are: Deworm him and improve his diet.

Just a few things to consider. Good luck!
 
I offer them a meat builder pellet, black oil sunflower seeds and corn (during our Canadian winter with cold nights).
Great advice, thank you.
 
I gave Simon some dewormer and nothing. He is developing some yellow spots on his comb and face and is getting weaker. He is pushing his head into his back and wether ing. I called a friend who has been raising chickens for 40 years, he figures Simon must have a heart condition and will likely not recover :(
Just wanted to post an update in case the info helps anyone else. Or, if you have any thoughts, I'd appreciate any new info.
Thanks
700
 
This could be a case of fowl pox... The spots will go from white to yellow to black/brown scabs.

There are two types... Wet Pox and Dry Pox. I'd Google both and see if his symptoms match.

The dry is much easier to deal with. It's spread by mosquitos, usually spreads through the entire flock over time, causes scabs on the comb/face/wattles, and can make a chicken feel really crummy. It's one of those things you let run their course.

Wet pox is more serious.

Let us know if you feel Simon shows any of the symptoms associated with Dry or Wet Pox.

MrsB
 
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