Rooster not acting normal for about a week. Lethargic, fluffed, away from flock, stands still, or just lays down. Bubblefoot??? Please help!

[ChickenTender1203]

He is gone. He went on his own.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I'm sorry about your sweet rooster.

You hung in there and did all you could for him.

Try to get some rest for yourself. Tomorrow access your hens that you are concerned about.

You do mention roosters (plural), sometimes when there's more than one, they need to be managed, especially if hens are getting hurt or bruised up. Managing roosters can be anything from moving them to their own pen(s), rehoming, processing for food - just depends on your space, setup, your keeping practices.

 

[azygous]

He was a good rooster. He knew he needed to leave on his own to spare you the anguish of having to end it for him.

It's painful when this happens. It will hurt a little less each day until it stops hurting and you will just miss him amidst good memories. He gave you a gift. You know more now than you did before, and it will help you save the life of a future chicken, either one of yours or when you help someone here save a chicken.

 

[ChickenTender1203]

I'm sorry about your sweet rooster.

You hung in there and did all you could for him.

Try to get some rest for yourself. Tomorrow access your hens that you are concerned about.

You do mention roosters (plural), sometimes when there's more than one, they need to be managed, especially if hens are getting hurt or bruised up. Managing roosters can be anything from moving them to their own pen(s), rehoming, processing for food - just depends on your space, setup, your keeping practices.

We had 5 roosters with him and a total of 25 hens. 13 pulleys and 3 cockerels I'm the younger flock. And 2 roosters with 14 hens in the older one. He was a part of the first, older flock which now has only one rooster. We were separating 2 of the cockerels into a pen because they go after all of the girls in both flocks and they don't give up when they chase. We are leaving the larger, less aggressive one with them. We just started using the pen for them. We were planning on having Megamind with them if we could get them to get along. We left them out of the pen for the past 2 days because it was pouring on Tuseday and felt bad so I let them out yesterday too. They will definitely be going back in the pen today if I can find an extra bucket to use for water.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How are the hens you were concerned about?

Moving some of the roosters is a good idea. Cockerels can be a pain at times until they mature, but sometimes too many adult males can cause drama as well if they are competing against each other (often doesn't matter if there's plenty of females). Then you can end up with hurt hens that get in the middle or whatever. Now, I'm not fussing at you! I've had hens hurt by roosters, so have been there! So... when that happens, you have to come up with a plan, some more pens/housing, etc. and move them around to calm things down and protect hens. You're not punishing the roosters you separate out, do keep that in mind. You are managing your flocks so they are peaceful, that there's no bullying, injuries and everyone is relatively happy.

 

[ChickenTender1203]

How are the hens you were concerned about?

Moving some of the roosters is a good idea. Cockerels can be a pain at times until they mature, but sometimes too many adult males can cause drama as well if they are competing against each other (often doesn't matter if there's plenty of females). Then you can end up with hurt hens that get in the middle or whatever. Now, I'm not fussing at you! I've had hens hurt by roosters, so have been there! So... when that happens, you have to come up with a plan, some more pens/housing, etc. and move them around to calm things down and protect hens. You're not punishing the roosters you separate out, do keep that in mind. You are managing your flocks so they are peaceful, that there's no bullying, injuries and everyone is relatively happy.

The hen with the limp is still (barely noticeably) limping. I saw yesterday that she had her foot curled and picked up. Today I noticed that another hen was kind of limping. I picked him her up and she was curling her toes on the foot she was limping on. Didn't see a scab but she was fighting so I didn't have a lot of time. Neither of their feet look swollen. The hen that was bleeding from getting mated still has some dried blood and a weird stub and the area just seems kind of swollen maybe with bumps. Another hen seems kind of off. I caught her laying down in a bush earlier. Haven't heard her make any sounds lately. She is normally very skittish and will make panicky noises when you go near her. The two young roos together are actually not getting along as well as I thought. Although they were raised from the same brood and grew up together. One had a bloody comb today and it was on his feathers a bit too. I saw one of them get on the one with blood (I think) they look exactly alike so it's hard to tell who is going what. But one of them got on the other like it was a hen and the other one was shrieking. I ran over to them and got the blood one out of there. He went after some of the pullets shortly after.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Do you have any BluKote or Vetericyn spray?
The hen that was bleeding and had the injury, I'd apply some BluKote or Vetericyn to her wound if possible. The weird stub you saw was likely her preening gland but just a guess without seeing it.

Multiple hens limping, cockerels and roosters fighting...you'll have to likely make some changes. Your hens and pullets are probably being chased/harrassed by all the boys, this will cause them to run and try to get away, running into things and hurting their legs. Once you have the boys removed, they should improve.

Cockerels will fight, they will mount another as a sign of dominance and fighting. Battle of wills, but they can get hurt.

I know it's been a stressful time for you. You have a lot going on with school, chores, chickens, etc. etc. so it would be a good idea to sit down with your Mom and come up with a game plan of what needs to be done. Sometimes you can remedy strife with an extra pen or two if possible and separate out birds. Sometimes, it makes sense to rehome or cull a few to bring peace. This is part of managing your flock(s). Oh, I do love having hens and roosters, having some hatch or hatch them out in the incubator, even bring in hatchery baby chicks, but when that happens, I also have to access my space, my finances (feed costs are going up!), how well the flocks are getting on, who stays/who goes, illness, etc. etc. For me, extra roosters/cockerels, I process for food. They are treated kindly and like all my other birds, housed and fed well until I make the decision it's time. Not something everyone wants to do, but something to consider. It can be hard to rehome extra roosters/cockerels.