Can a rooster be depressed

[thudson]

I recently had the same issue with my Americana rooster. I thought the same thing he seemed truly depressed. So what I did was removed him to a smaller pen adjacent to the coop for a couple of weeks and started giving him plenty to eat and a lot of fresh water. In no time, 14 days he was strutting his stuff and back to his glorious self. He is back with his ladies now and doing great. Not sure what was wrong wether it was illness or he just needed a break and rest. But you might give it a try. I believe sometimes a rooster will wear himself down taking care of his girls making him easy to catch a simple cold or any illness. I was on the verge of thinking he was truly going to pass away and now I got my rooster back to normal. So you might give it a try. Good luck! I hope he comes out of it ok. I think he will.

 

[ashlierami]

I think a rooster can definitely get depressed. About 3 weeks to a month ago my Plymouth rock rooster was attacked by a dog. That same dog killed his best friend that day. Besides him being injured he stopped crowing an didn't want to join the rest of the flock. All he wanted to do was sit in the coop. I had to bring food and water to him and I gave him treats and attention. He would hang out in the places he used to be at with his best friend that died. He is just now back to himself. I imagine he's forgotten his best friend and no longer grieving. Whether or not this makes a difference he did see his friend dead that day and he made weird noises as if a hawk or predator was around. I never realized how a chicken can have such real emotional feelings.