15 week old rooster's crow sounds different this morning after a cool night.

[valleychicks]

Let me start by saying, raising chickens is very new to us so I have tried to find as much as possible about how to do what is right for our chickens. The weather for our area was supposed to put the temps at 61 for the low but I noticed the coop temp was 54 this morning and then I heard one of our 15 week old Speckled Sussex roosters crow sounds different. Could he have a sore throat after the cool night? When we went to bed it was still warm outside so I left the window on the coop open like we have every night for the past few warm nights. Would that cause him to become ill and what can I give him to help him get better?

 

[Eggcessive]

The low temperature should not affect your rooster at all since he is fully feathered by that age. If you only have one window in the coop, I would suggest that you make another on the opposite side (covered with hardware cloth) to provide more ventilation. Ammonia fumes and dust will affect your chickens, and can cause many respiratory symptoms plus diseases. The cooler it is this time of year the better, also, because warm air plus stagnant air can be very bad for chickens. Mold is another thing to prevent, especially if there is moisture or wet spots in pine shavings or litter. Here is a good article about ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

 

[valleychicks]

The low temperature should not affect your rooster at all since he is fully feathered by that age. If you only have one window in the coop, I would suggest that you make another on the opposite side (covered with hardware cloth) to provide more ventilation. Ammonia fumes and dust will affect your chickens, and can cause many respiratory symptoms plus diseases. The cooler it is this time of year the better, also, because warm air plus stagnant air can be very bad for chickens. Mold is another thing to prevent, especially if there is moisture or wet spots in pine shavings or litter. Here is a good article about ventilation: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop

Yes we have a lot of ventilation closer to the ceiling to prevent winter draft but just the one large window on the coop inside the run. We do have hardware cloth on the window and vents plus all around the run so it is very secure.
Both roosters combs and wattles are very red so they look fine just sounded different and they both seem normal, strutting around, crowing and eating as normal. Could they be going through some sort of voice change with the age like human boys do?

 

[Eggcessive]

Yes voice change is common. We have 6 roosters and they have many different pitches in their crows. My RIR have much lower crows than many others, and my D'Uccle is a soprano, LOL. Even hens will have lower "Bock, Bocks" when they are heavier breads. Just wanted to mention that aspergillosis, a fungal disease from mold, caon cause a change in voice, or even a loss of voice in roosters.

 

[valleychicks]

Good to know about the voice change and illness. I just did my daily check on their coop and run and didn't find mold. I will keep an eye out. I scoop out the run and coop every day. The coop usually only has their nightly droppings in the tray so very easy to keep clean. No ammonia smell either. They must be going through a voice change. Thank you for your help!