Hey, all! Just had a few questions for anyone who may know the answer.
We've had some pretty cold and wet weather here where I live in North Carolina. Our chickens, though they have a sheltered coop to retreat to, have been silly enough to forage in the cold rain while the wind is blowing--a recipe for disaster, as I understand. Well, most of our chickens seem to take this kind of weather surprisingly well, but today we noticed that two of our cockerels--a Leghorn and a Buckeye of about eight months of age--were not acting up to par.
They both used to be bold and arrogant, crowing defiantly at the world and trying to mate with our pullets. But today (the second of two actually nice days), they were lethargic, quiet, and uninterested in girls. The Buckeye acted this way towards the end of the bad weather season, but towards the end of the day today he seemed to perk up a bit. The Leghorn, however, has not improved. There's just a lack of that cocky behavior, if you know what I mean.
Does anyone know if they have "caught" something? If so, how can I cure it? Would it spread to the rest of the flock? We have around fourteen chickens and every one of them outside the aforementioned two seems to be acting normally. What could be wrong with these two?
As a minor detail, I might add that I have introduced a new rooster to my flock, and this new addition has picked on these two cockerels. However, they were defiant and perky despite his bullying them--that is, until the bad weather set in.
Any help about this would be greatly appreciated. My chickens get a lot of outdoor exercise and do not like being inside their coop except in the evening, so I usually let them free-range regardless of weather. Normally, they are smart enough to retreat when it gets too bad. But these two appear to be on the dumb side
Thanks, and God bless!
~Gresh~
We've had some pretty cold and wet weather here where I live in North Carolina. Our chickens, though they have a sheltered coop to retreat to, have been silly enough to forage in the cold rain while the wind is blowing--a recipe for disaster, as I understand. Well, most of our chickens seem to take this kind of weather surprisingly well, but today we noticed that two of our cockerels--a Leghorn and a Buckeye of about eight months of age--were not acting up to par.
They both used to be bold and arrogant, crowing defiantly at the world and trying to mate with our pullets. But today (the second of two actually nice days), they were lethargic, quiet, and uninterested in girls. The Buckeye acted this way towards the end of the bad weather season, but towards the end of the day today he seemed to perk up a bit. The Leghorn, however, has not improved. There's just a lack of that cocky behavior, if you know what I mean.
Does anyone know if they have "caught" something? If so, how can I cure it? Would it spread to the rest of the flock? We have around fourteen chickens and every one of them outside the aforementioned two seems to be acting normally. What could be wrong with these two?
As a minor detail, I might add that I have introduced a new rooster to my flock, and this new addition has picked on these two cockerels. However, they were defiant and perky despite his bullying them--that is, until the bad weather set in.
Any help about this would be greatly appreciated. My chickens get a lot of outdoor exercise and do not like being inside their coop except in the evening, so I usually let them free-range regardless of weather. Normally, they are smart enough to retreat when it gets too bad. But these two appear to be on the dumb side

Thanks, and God bless!
~Gresh~