Tonight I found one of my young cockerels prolapsed. This is the third time this has has happened this fall. I've searched the forum but I haven't found anything about cockerels prolapsing, only laying hens. Here are the details:
Backstory: I hatched a group of BPR crosses in mid June 2017. When they were big enough I combined these cockerels (6) with older cockerels in a bachelor pen.
In mid september I found one of them, a BPR X RIR, sitting in the coop. Upon inspection I found that he had a 3'' loop on intestines hanging out his vent. There was nothing I could have done, so I culled him to end his suffering. He was thin, As were his hatch mates. Though they weren't openly getting pecked on, I think the older roosters were hogging the feed (my bad management for having them in there in the first place). A week or two later I moved them into a chicken tractor so I could feed them more.
In mid October I found a second rooster (BPR X EE) in the same group with a 1'' prolapse. He had lost quite a bit of blood, and seemed to be straining. I tried an epsom salt bath, but with little success, so I decided to cull.
This evening while feeding them, I noticed a third rooster prolapsed, exactly like #2. I immediately culled him. He looked thin.
I necropsied both #2 and #3 and in both cases it looked like the large (?) intestine was torn and folded in on itself (photos below) There was no sign of mutilation/canabalism in any of them. Other then being under weight, they all seemed fine up until I found them prolapsed.
What I feed them: 18% starter/grower, which I soak first so it's easier for them to eat.
So what do you think? I've raised chickens for nearly 15 years and I have never had a rooster prolapse until these passed couple months. My leading theory is that they are stunted from the period of poor nutrition they went through, and that is causing them to prolapse. I'm very worried about the three remaining cockerels.
Backstory: I hatched a group of BPR crosses in mid June 2017. When they were big enough I combined these cockerels (6) with older cockerels in a bachelor pen.
In mid september I found one of them, a BPR X RIR, sitting in the coop. Upon inspection I found that he had a 3'' loop on intestines hanging out his vent. There was nothing I could have done, so I culled him to end his suffering. He was thin, As were his hatch mates. Though they weren't openly getting pecked on, I think the older roosters were hogging the feed (my bad management for having them in there in the first place). A week or two later I moved them into a chicken tractor so I could feed them more.
In mid October I found a second rooster (BPR X EE) in the same group with a 1'' prolapse. He had lost quite a bit of blood, and seemed to be straining. I tried an epsom salt bath, but with little success, so I decided to cull.
This evening while feeding them, I noticed a third rooster prolapsed, exactly like #2. I immediately culled him. He looked thin.
I necropsied both #2 and #3 and in both cases it looked like the large (?) intestine was torn and folded in on itself (photos below) There was no sign of mutilation/canabalism in any of them. Other then being under weight, they all seemed fine up until I found them prolapsed.
What I feed them: 18% starter/grower, which I soak first so it's easier for them to eat.
So what do you think? I've raised chickens for nearly 15 years and I have never had a rooster prolapse until these passed couple months. My leading theory is that they are stunted from the period of poor nutrition they went through, and that is causing them to prolapse. I'm very worried about the three remaining cockerels.
