Hens attacking rooster?

[chibachickens]

Hi everyone!
I’ve been trying to find if anyone has had a case where pullets will attack cockerel?

Came home to find my deathlayer roo dead! He was only 4 mo
He had pecks on his neck when I found him, as well as being eaten by ants.

I’m not certain which were the cause of his death or if the pecks came after, but everyone in that holding pen seems fine otherwise. Our prairie bluebell who is also 4 mo did seem quite aggressive with the younger chicks. They’re all females except for the now deceased deathlayer and he was of the older ones in there so I didn’t expect him to be in any danger from the girls. That’s really my only guess just based on behaviors I was seeing.. He was definitely not confrontational with any of the girls.

I have read posts of roosters that may attack hens or hens that will pick on other hens/chicks—is a hen/pullet pecking a rooster/cockerel abnormal?

 

[sourland]

My gut instinct is that something other than flock mates killed the cockerel.

 

[chibachickens]

My gut instinct is that something other than flock mates killed the cockerel.

We do have predators but I didn’t see any signs of attack. Also all our other chickens look fine. He was still intact, but the ants had already gotten to his face and open wounds. Trying to think of what other changes were made recently…

We do have fire ants that come out regularly and most of the time they’ll go away for a couple days after I treat the area which I did the day before yesterday. I only use vinegar and DE/non caustic lime. It has been fine around our older hens.

Yesterday they got some food I received from shelter. It included lettuce, strawberries, and carrots they tossed during prep. It was all stuff that I gathered (I was helping prep) so nothing was terribly “bad,” or rotten, just unusable, end pieces, had dirt, or starting to go etc. It was all stuff that my other animals ate as well. They otherwise have access to all flock / chick grower feeds.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think he may have just died, sudden death syndrome. It does not sound like a predator attack. I do not see the pullets getting him.

 

[chibachickens]

Quick update from this evening:

Our bluebell has calmed down a lot since yesterday—not attacking chicks anymore, but I went ahead and moved them to their own run anyway. Upon closer inspection, she has one swollen eye and a lesion near her beak on the other side. The other eye is fine. Nothing that looks runny or oozing. There doesn’t seem to be any other visible lesions or injuries but will continue to monitor.

I am wondering if this looks like fowl pox? Would it take longer for symptoms to appear if she got it from pecking at the roo?

 

[Perris]

I think the orbital swelling is a sign of mycoplasma infection, which can also lead to sudden death. Perhaps others who are more experienced on health matters will advise: @azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock can you help with this please?

 

[chibachickens]

I think the orbital swelling is a sign of mycoplasma infection, which can also lead to sudden death. Perhaps others who are more experienced on health matters will advise: @azygous @Eggcessive @Wyorp Rock can you help with this please?

Hm…They’ve been in their quarantine for about 2.5 weeks now, all seemed ok until now.

A small wild bird did get trapped in their pen about a day ago in the AM, it got tangled in the netting along the ceiling. It may have been around inside their pen but they generally don’t stick around for long. I did however handle the bird to set it free. I don’t normally handle my birds but I definitely handled things in their pen.

Based on what I’ve been reading, MG seems best dealt with by culling due to how aggressively resistant it becomes to the various antibiotics… I did find another post for a chicken with similar symptoms. MG was also proposed. They temporarily supplemented with nutridrench…

Two of the other birds in the same quarantine did appear lethargic/sleepy. They’re all still eating and drinking normally. They especially still love their grower feed and gobble it up.

Will continue to update.

 

[Perris]

mycoplasma is very common, and by no means a death sentence. Do please keep us posted and hopefully one or more of the experts will be along with advice in due course.

 

[azygous]

Mycoplasma is treated with Tylan 50 or Tylosin powder. But most chickens get over mild cases without an antibiotic. It's true that it remains in a chicken's body for life, and all chickens exposed to it will carry it also. But if you decide you wish to cull these chickens, it would be a good idea to do some throat swabs and send them off for testing to confirm MG before you take that drastic step. I can give you the information on where to get the testing.

 

[chibachickens]

Mycoplasma is treated with Tylan 50 or Tylosin powder. But most chickens get over mild cases without an antibiotic. It's true that it remains in a chicken's body for life, and all chickens exposed to it will carry it also. But if you decide you wish to cull these chickens, it would be a good idea to do some throat swabs and send them off for testing to confirm MG before you take that drastic step. I can give you the information on where to get the testing.

That would be great. I’d like to do what I can for them without having to cull. Would it be recommended to keep any that potentially have MG separated from my other chickens that aren’t showing symptoms? I’ll go home and take some more photos of the ones in this pen.

For Tylan or Tylosin, would I need to get a vet prescription?