Howdy from Indy!

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You're roosters are still very young, but they will become aggressive maters later on. Over the past 50 years, I've had all of your chicken breeds at one time or another, and based on my experience with them, the RIR roo will likely be the hardest of them all on your hens. Of course that's not a problem if he's the only rooster and spreads out his mating over 10 or more hens. Also, if you thin to one rooster, you will have a lot less crowing because he won't be competing with the other roosters.
 
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Right now it would be unethical for me to give any away (and I wouldn't dare kill any of them since the roos are all hand tame and good with my children who love them).

The whole poultry project is a gift from my younger brother who promised to bear all the financial burden of their care if I would do all of the messy stuff involved in their care. I'm long term unemployed and now a student of IUPUI (pre-vet! whoohoo!); I have three children and my husband works three part-time jobs. We have no money. As in absolutely dirt poor. We're also not on any government programs so we have no WIC, welfare, medicaid, food stamps, etc. due to ideological reasons. Caring for these birds was a heavier burden than my brother thought it was going to be, so we've had some major trials trying to get any care for the birds. This is why the fence is too short, the run is too small (which is why they're now all over my backyard), there is no quarantine area (which is why I have to keep sick birds in a dog crate indoors). I have asked for more aid, but it's not readily forthcoming, and he's begun pressuring me to get rid of the birds.


A little more than a week ago, a sick ******* gave me a sick chicken, and I being new to the trade and the idea of human cruelty to this sort of level, had no clue what I was getting into. I've been victimized by other people before, but I've never had a man bring his child along for the fun. I couldn't turn this man or this chicken away. I didn't want to make a scene, and the chicken escaped into the yard after he tossed her over the fence. Later I realized that her beak had been cut off, and I figured that this was the reason for her sinus congestion. When I picked her up, she was nothing but feathers. I brought her in, but it was probably too late because Buttermilk started having the same gurgling breath the day after this hen passed away. I'm hoping it's more like a cold or allergies (a lot of wet weather here lately and it's playing hell on everyone's sinuses. The cats and I are also sniffling).
 
Well, Buttermilk seems to be doing fine, but we're going to continue antibiotics anyway for a few days. No one else in the whole flock has come down with any symptoms at all though, which makes me wonder if this wasn't a case of CRD/MG after all (after more than a week of exposure).

Anyone have a likely diagnosis?
 

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