2 yr old rooster has gone psycho

[Fancychooklady]

Thanks ladies. ..and actually I did read through the chicken chick links weeks ago. I still see no lice, and my hens are fine. His comb is fine as well, and no weight loss. Thankfully, he made it thru the night and even crowed this morning! Still trying to figure out which meds to give him, and why he was so lethargic yesterday. He barely moved all day long, and wouldn't even go in with the girls at dusk, ..just lay there in the grass until I went out to get him. A friend thinks he should be treated for cocci, yet he has no bad diarrhea, and no blood in it.  I'm also told that worms would cause a pale comb, but does it ALWAYS? I just don't know which to treat him for. I'm going to repost this elsewhere, list his symptoms, and hope someone can help without pics of this skin issue on his rear. I can't even find an online pic that looks similar. ..and as I said, I'm not sure that these two issues are even related. Anyway, thanks again for your help. I'm just so happy he's still alive! He's not back to normal, but so far, he seems much better than he was yesterday.

I would go ahead and treat him with corid. Not all strains of cocci will present with blood in the poop. Some buttermilk will help relieve the symptoms and buy you some time while you get the meds.

 

[Fancychooklady]

Does anyone know if its normal for a rooster to tear a hens comb when mating...my hens are mangled!

Young roos can be a little over zealous in their mating. Some people won't let them anywhere near their prize hens until they are more ' experienced '.
I've had a comb almost completely ripped off when my Sussex was still learning. I am happy to say that all is well now and he is very good to his hens.

 

[jajeanpierre]

Thanks ladies. ..and actually I did read through the chicken chick links weeks ago. I still see no lice, and my hens are fine. His comb is fine as well, and no weight loss. Thankfully, he made it thru the night and even crowed this morning! Still trying to figure out which meds to give him, and why he was so lethargic yesterday. He barely moved all day long, and wouldn't even go in with the girls at dusk, ..just lay there in the grass until I went out to get him. A friend thinks he should be treated for cocci, yet he has no bad diarrhea, and no blood in it. I'm also told that worms would cause a pale comb, but does it ALWAYS? I just don't know which to treat him for. I'm going to repost this elsewhere, list his symptoms, and hope someone can help without pics of this skin issue on his rear. I can't even find an online pic that looks similar. ..and as I said, I'm not sure that these two issues are even related. Anyway, thanks again for your help. I'm just so happy he's still alive! He's not back to normal, but so far, he seems much better than he was yesterday.

I'm glad he is a bit better this morning. I didn't respond before because what you describe was just too vague. It could be anything, really.

If parasites were so bad that he was too sick to go into the coop at night, he would have some other symptoms you could see. For internal parasites, there would be stool changes. You whould see an infestation of external parasites if they are so bad that he can't get himself to bed. You certainly don't want to be stressing a bird that is as sick as he is with worming medicines, which are basically poisons.

I wonder if he has been injured somehow. Maybe a hawk or a dog attack you didn't see? Is that possible? Did he attack someone in your household who retaliated and kicked him but didn't tell you?

I believe it was you that mentioned that he was snuggled up beside your cat on a bale of hay. Lots of people don't know this, but cats carry a couple of really nasty bacteria in their saliva (and their claws) that are particularly dangerous to birds. This bacteria is so deadly to birds, that the tiniest scratch (I've read even just the saliva) can kill a bird. That is always a possibility.

A few weeks ago I found a 3.5 month old cockerel trampled in a corner of the grow out pen. I thought he was dead. He wasn't. I brought him in the house and noticed he had yellow/green urates (the white part of the poop). That color indicates a lot of things, especially liver problems. The bird was unable to stand up. I thought there were neurological problems. Not sure if the bird was sick or perhaps had eaten something toxic, maybe a mycotoxin in the organic feed he was eating. I supported him by using a tube to get fluids and electrolytes directly into his crop. I put him in a hospital cage and expected to wake up to a dead bird. He didn't die and was sitting up fairly alert the next morning, but still was not able to stand or walk. This looked more neurological than just weakness. I continued the supportive therapy of tubing fluids into him and offered him food. He got better and better each day. By about the third or fourth day, I put him in a cage outside on the grass with food and water in within easy reach since he still couldn't walk. He continued to improve and after a week or ten days, I banded him and put him back in the grow out pen. He seems quite normal now but if I follow him and he hustles out of my way, I get the impression he isn't moving as coordinated as he should, but that could just be gangly teenage klutziness going on.

I didn't post to you earlier because I would have just recommended you support him by giving him fluids, which is the standard treatment for any animal in crisis. Giving fluids to a bird who is not as easy as it sounds because the entrance to their trachea is at the back of their throat at the base of the tongue. They don't have an epiglottis (a flap that covers the windpipe when swallowing) the way mammals do. It is quite easy for a bird to aspirate fluids and drown either immediately (or later from secondary drowning) or develop aspiration pneumonia. I was taught by a vet how to tube a chicken, and I had the equipment on hand so for me it was easy to give supportive fluids. I didn't want to advise you to give him electrolytes and then have you drown the bird.

I have had some young chickens attacked by dogs and be shocky for a couple of days and then recover just fine. If he has been injured, you do not want to offer him food until he comes out of his shock. Their gastrointestinal tract shuts down when they go into shock and you will cause more problems by adding food to a GI tract that isn't working.

Good luck.

 

[chooks4life]

Quote:

Does anyone know if its normal for a rooster to tear a hens comb when mating...my hens are mangled!

No, it's not. Clumsiness resulting in some feather loss, or some accidental spur wounds, is normal. Mangling combs is something else entirely. Some roosters have mixed/confused mating and fighting instincts. I cull those, others don't, it's entirely up to you and best wishes with whatever you decide.

 

[jody1]

I love to cull him..I live in town not supposed to have roosters and he crows quite a bit...my family wont let me get rid of him

 

[centrarchid]

I love to cull him..I live in town not supposed to have roosters and he crows quite a bit...my family wont let me get rid of him

I have never had a rooster cause real damage to a hen's comb even though most of birds all have the single / wildtype comb morphology. Inspect more closely to see what really happened.

 

[lovemy6hens]

I love to cull him..I live in town not supposed to have roosters and he crows quite a bit...my family wont let me get rid of him

If your family is worried about the method of culling, like I was, please let them know taking him to a veterinarian may be an option in your area (or a short drive away). My vet doesn't routinely treat poultry, but was graciously willing to euthanize our Marty Poopins. It was general anesthesia via gas then the shot. I was with him the whole time, holding him on the table. There was no screeching, flapping, or struggling. Accidents, predator attacks, egg-laying complications, etc. all happen. Each of us meets our end one day and I can't imagine a better way for any of us to go, especially a chicken.

[EDIT: I must clarify I'm not offering an opinion for or against removing him from your flock, no matter the method. If it's an end-of-life decision, those are especially personal and difficult.]

 

[subhanalah]

I would treat with corid and valbazen for this guy.

You say his but looks weird? Does it look like vent gleet?

A sore, red, feather-picked bum is indicative of mites.

You can't always see mites on the bird. I just treated my flock with frontline spray, and everyone is ACTING like they are feeling better, not so fidgety, shaking heads and scratching...loving dust bathing more than "normal"

 

[jody1]

If your family is worried about the method of culling, like I was, please let them know taking him to a veterinarian may be an option in your area (or a short drive away).  My vet doesn't routinely treat poultry, but was graciously willing to euthanize our Marty Poopins.  It was general a[COLOR=545454]nesthesia [/COLOR]via gas then the shot.  I was with him the whole time, holding him on the table.  There was no screeching, flapping, or struggling.  Accidents, predator attacks, egg-laying complications, etc. all happen.  Each of us meets our end one day and I can't imagine a better way for any of us to go, especially a chicken.

[EDIT: I must clarify I'm not offering an opinion for or against removing him from your flock, no matter the method.  If it's an end-of-life decision, those are especially personal and difficult.]

If its killing or just giving away my 8yr and 4yr old are absolutely against it! He was almost culled as a chick (when he was a Henrietta) and they nursed him back to health. Needless to say theres a strong bond.
I'll just let him do his thing until the animal control officer gets here

 

[jajeanpierre]

If its killing or just giving away my 8yr and 4yr old are absolutely against it! He was almost culled as a chick (when he was a Henrietta) and they nursed him back to health. Needless to say theres a strong bond.
I'll just let him do his thing until the animal control officer gets here

I'm not sure if you want to solve the problem that way. At 8 and 4 they are not going to handle an animal control officer forcing the issue very well. There might be unintended consequences that you never thought of, such as a fear/hatred of police/authority. Better to make the decision yourself and "find a new home" for him. They don't have to know he has been culled. I'm all for honesty, but sometimes kids are a bit young for it. They don't need to be a part of this decision. Just, please, don't release him somewhere for a predator to take him. I just think that is just plain wrong.