SaltyHen
Songster
Something's going on with one of my 7 month old Icelandic cockerels that I first thought was perhaps him being bullied, but now wondering if it's something more serious like fowl pox? Please note that it's unfortunately difficult for me to isolate and do a bath this time of year, esp at night — Atlantic Canada winter, wild temp swings, cabin in the forest with no plumbing nor lighting. This rooster is scheduled for culling, but of course I'd like to know what I'm dealing with.
First of all, he had been struggling with mild frostbite due to wild temp swings and recently the frostbite got much worse, as you'll see in the photos. Unless that's fowl pox?
Then yesterday, he was off by himself, hanging out in one of the nesting boxes. It was a bit odd but he was still alert, not lethargic or anything, so I didn't think much of it, maybe trying to escape the cold or being bullied, just kept my eye on him.
At dusk, I noticed he had a really poopy butt, which I wondered if he was bullied and sitting in his poop all day while hiding in the nest box and it froze on his bum? Temps were rising above zero overnight and it was starting to melt though (ewww
).
Today his poopy bum seems cleared away and he is acting normal too, mingling with the flock.
But I also noticed his tail feathers are stripped near the base with the shaft showing. [Edit: do some of the saddle feathers seem to be missing to you?] So is he being bullied (I haven't noticed anything but I may have missed it)? Or can an illness/disease like fowl pox cause all of the above?
He might have diarrhea, I'm not sure. Someone in the flock (or perhaps a few someones) have always seemed to have runny yellow stools since I got them last fall, but as they've been treated with Ivermectin and I have no idea how much is just normal cecals or not and I haven't been able to find out who, I've just been watching the situation and everything has seemed otherwise fine in that regard until now. Now I suspect the runny yellow stools may be him?
Everyone else seems fine.
Sorry for the disgusting photos. He was perfectly fine just 24hrs before these photos.
First of all, he had been struggling with mild frostbite due to wild temp swings and recently the frostbite got much worse, as you'll see in the photos. Unless that's fowl pox?
Then yesterday, he was off by himself, hanging out in one of the nesting boxes. It was a bit odd but he was still alert, not lethargic or anything, so I didn't think much of it, maybe trying to escape the cold or being bullied, just kept my eye on him.
At dusk, I noticed he had a really poopy butt, which I wondered if he was bullied and sitting in his poop all day while hiding in the nest box and it froze on his bum? Temps were rising above zero overnight and it was starting to melt though (ewww
).Today his poopy bum seems cleared away and he is acting normal too, mingling with the flock.
But I also noticed his tail feathers are stripped near the base with the shaft showing. [Edit: do some of the saddle feathers seem to be missing to you?] So is he being bullied (I haven't noticed anything but I may have missed it)? Or can an illness/disease like fowl pox cause all of the above?
He might have diarrhea, I'm not sure. Someone in the flock (or perhaps a few someones) have always seemed to have runny yellow stools since I got them last fall, but as they've been treated with Ivermectin and I have no idea how much is just normal cecals or not and I haven't been able to find out who, I've just been watching the situation and everything has seemed otherwise fine in that regard until now. Now I suspect the runny yellow stools may be him?
Everyone else seems fine.
Sorry for the disgusting photos. He was perfectly fine just 24hrs before these photos.
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If I have to do another round of antibiotics, it's a good time of year for it at least, as I'm getting fewer eggs anyway.
