I have a cross-bred Barred Rock rooster about 24 weeks old among the gang in the Dinner Theater pen. For the past two weeks or so I've been noticing that he's moving slower & acting more lethargic than his roommates. I have been letting them out to free range most of the day and noticed him lying down in the shade much more than the others. When approached he'll always hop right up & run away. For the past few days I have been keeping all the dinner guests confined to large cages. Today this BR roo was lying across the roost nodding off to sleep in the middle of the day. I picked him up to place him in the hospital pen & noticed he feels light, with a rather sharp keel bone, although he had a fairly full crop.
Please help me decide what to do with this guy. I really don't want to go through the trouble of butchering & dressing him if he's diseased and/or scrawny. Neither do I want to medicate him too much just to enable him to recover enough to be slaughtered. I don't need the meat for the family that much that I want to risk eating medicated meat.
But on the other hand, if there is a simple remedy I could try it would be worth it so that his life doesn't go to waste. I haven't butchered any chickens recently because of all the demands of the holiday season, but do plan to in the next week or two.
What should I do with this chicken?
Please help me decide what to do with this guy. I really don't want to go through the trouble of butchering & dressing him if he's diseased and/or scrawny. Neither do I want to medicate him too much just to enable him to recover enough to be slaughtered. I don't need the meat for the family that much that I want to risk eating medicated meat.
But on the other hand, if there is a simple remedy I could try it would be worth it so that his life doesn't go to waste. I haven't butchered any chickens recently because of all the demands of the holiday season, but do plan to in the next week or two.
What should I do with this chicken?