ConlinFamilyFarm
In the Brooder
- Feb 8, 2021
- 4
- 26
- 36
Hi there, we recently purchased a small breeding flock of cream legbars, and after about a week of free ranging, our rooster seems to be having some health issues. We are looking for advice or recommendations on how to help him.
We noticed a couple days ago that he was laying on the ground of the coop in the the evening and picking at a pumpkin when everyone else was up in the roosts.
We figured he was just getting some last scraps of food before the lights went off. The following morning he was still laying on the ground and that’s when we knew something was wrong.
THE SYMPTOMS: He seems alert, but is not moving around very much. He almost seems to be using his wings to kind of pull himself around and balance at times. Every time we go out to the coop, he is just laying on the ground in a new spot, and doesn’t get up even when other birds are stepping over him. 2 days ago, he was jumping into the feed bucket every time we would open it. His appetite seems normal and he is drinking plenty of water when we move him near the water dish. We looked him over really well, and did not see bugs, but we don’t have a trained eye yet either so we could be missing something. His foot had crusted poop and feathers stuck to it so we wiped it off as best as we could with a dry rag. He also has a lot of poop crusted in his butt feathers. We have wiped as much as we could off of it each day, without pulling and feathers out. Overall he feels skinny and looks droopy and pathetic. He doesn’t seem to mind being picked up and examined at all. We don’t see any abrasions in his feet and his legs seem to bend normally. One leg seems a little stronger than the other though. The skin at the base of the feathers looks maybe a little bit yellow and like the skin may be dry or really thin.
Our chickens free range an old horse barn and arena, and are free to go outside and wander the pastures as well. Lately the weather has been between 3-35 degrees Fahrenheit and the ground is covered in snow, so the birds have mostly been staying inside.
The ground covering is a mix of pine shavings in the coop, and straw and dirt/dried manure in various parts of the barn.
We feed them a mixture of egg-layer and high protein Turkey feed from a local mill. The blend was recommended by the person that sold us most of our birds. She is involved with the poultry division of the local 4-h and seems to have a lot of knowledge, so we trust this recommendation. We also put some old pumpkins in the coop for them to pick at and they seem to love it.
We have 26 other birds and none of them are exhibiting these symptoms, so we are definitely worried.
So far, we have hooked up a heat lamp over one of the nesting bins and placed the rooster in it. He has access to water without having to move, and is able to leave the heated area if he wants to. We have also replaced all the bedding in the the nest boxes and coop floor with fresh pine shavings. We dusted the rooster with sulfur powder and dusted all of the areas that we know the birds like to bathe and nest with it as well. Every time we go to the coop we make sure the rooster gets a drink and we give him a handful of food for himself. We have also ordered some diatomaceous earth to add to the feed and nesting/dusting areas. It should be here tomorrow.
Now that the long-winded part of the post is over, what else can we be doing to help our rooster recover?!?
We noticed a couple days ago that he was laying on the ground of the coop in the the evening and picking at a pumpkin when everyone else was up in the roosts.
We figured he was just getting some last scraps of food before the lights went off. The following morning he was still laying on the ground and that’s when we knew something was wrong.
THE SYMPTOMS: He seems alert, but is not moving around very much. He almost seems to be using his wings to kind of pull himself around and balance at times. Every time we go out to the coop, he is just laying on the ground in a new spot, and doesn’t get up even when other birds are stepping over him. 2 days ago, he was jumping into the feed bucket every time we would open it. His appetite seems normal and he is drinking plenty of water when we move him near the water dish. We looked him over really well, and did not see bugs, but we don’t have a trained eye yet either so we could be missing something. His foot had crusted poop and feathers stuck to it so we wiped it off as best as we could with a dry rag. He also has a lot of poop crusted in his butt feathers. We have wiped as much as we could off of it each day, without pulling and feathers out. Overall he feels skinny and looks droopy and pathetic. He doesn’t seem to mind being picked up and examined at all. We don’t see any abrasions in his feet and his legs seem to bend normally. One leg seems a little stronger than the other though. The skin at the base of the feathers looks maybe a little bit yellow and like the skin may be dry or really thin.
Our chickens free range an old horse barn and arena, and are free to go outside and wander the pastures as well. Lately the weather has been between 3-35 degrees Fahrenheit and the ground is covered in snow, so the birds have mostly been staying inside.
The ground covering is a mix of pine shavings in the coop, and straw and dirt/dried manure in various parts of the barn.
We feed them a mixture of egg-layer and high protein Turkey feed from a local mill. The blend was recommended by the person that sold us most of our birds. She is involved with the poultry division of the local 4-h and seems to have a lot of knowledge, so we trust this recommendation. We also put some old pumpkins in the coop for them to pick at and they seem to love it.
We have 26 other birds and none of them are exhibiting these symptoms, so we are definitely worried.
So far, we have hooked up a heat lamp over one of the nesting bins and placed the rooster in it. He has access to water without having to move, and is able to leave the heated area if he wants to. We have also replaced all the bedding in the the nest boxes and coop floor with fresh pine shavings. We dusted the rooster with sulfur powder and dusted all of the areas that we know the birds like to bathe and nest with it as well. Every time we go to the coop we make sure the rooster gets a drink and we give him a handful of food for himself. We have also ordered some diatomaceous earth to add to the feed and nesting/dusting areas. It should be here tomorrow.
Now that the long-winded part of the post is over, what else can we be doing to help our rooster recover?!?
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