First of all, I would recommend to NEVER get a RIR rooster if you have a small child. They are well-known for being aggressive. But any rooster can be aggressive, especially around children. My Americauna rooster was getting very aggressive with us and I was worried about my 5 year old son...
My 6 month old BO roo just laid down in the yard today and died. No sign of injury. No symptoms of any disease. All the other chickens are fine. He had been eating, crowing, mating, and had lots of energy just an hour or so before. Has access to plenty of shelter from the heat, water, and...
~~~my chickens running toward me looking for a treat
~~~when my son curls up with me and says "I love you Mommy!"
~~~Having the Lord in my heart
~~~a fresh tomato sandwich
~~~another fresh tomato sandwich
~~~homemade ice cream
~~~a hot bath
~~~one more fresh tomato sandwich
I'm from VA and the wet conditions I think made it a great place for Cocci. It hit our chicks hard and we lost several and of the ones that survived, a few have stunted growth. I feel for you. Cocci is a super fast killer.
My SS became broody a few months ago, so I got 4 fertilized egg from my sister-in-law. Three of those eggs developed. One hatched but my SS started to peck at it and injured it. I removed the chick and I think she will be ok. My SS is really tame, she has been great with the eggs, carefully...
Welcome from Virginia!!
WARNING: chickens are addictive. I started out with 6 and now I have 28. You may start with only a few, but you will end up with more and more until your family puts you in chicken rehab.