Ideas on Rooster Sr and Jr skirmishes

[aart]

Great update!

 

[Lady of McCamley]

Sad news today...I walked into the coop this morning and Fife was dead...as a door nail. Stiff in an upright position like he'd been crowing and keeled over or fell off the coop run (he was stretched out underneath it).

Very odd. No sign of distress. (I checked the crow collar as I know if they get too tight that can be an issue, but I check fairly regular.)

I was gone most of the day yesterday, but almost positive I saw him perched as normal late last night (though it was a quick check...pretty sure I'd have noticed the dead bird in the run).

Maybe a little lean, but that breed runs a little lean being more Leghorn influenced. Definitely not emaciated nor impacted crop. I worm seasonally, so it shouldn't have been that.

So...Barney Sr. got the full run of the flock back again to his great joy. He's already showing himself a busy boy today, cooing and clucking at the hens. I was wondering what I was going to do with the grow outs (4 pullets OE's from Barney and the CL) as that broody run was getting a bit fuller with Barney in there too. But Barney had done his job there as I got 3 male Barney-Cl and 4 girl Barney-CL. I've given that broody coop/run back to the 2 brooding queens and the 4 grow out pullets.

The two roosters (Fife and Barney) had never made any real peace. They'd butt chests at the coop wire almost every day, though weren't drawing blood like they used to. Barney was always sweet, but Fife just wouldn't let him alone.

Oh well. Sad news. I always wonder if there was SOMETHING I could have done. I suspicion maybe heart failure (anyone know what that looks like?). No, I won't do a necropsy. Yes, I've suspicioned Marek's in my flock from time to time, but he had no early signs...and his mother has proven resistant as well as Barney...which is why I'm breeding from them. (They were fine even though a Silkie clearly dropped from Mareks in their midst.)

Odd...Fife had had full colored comb running around actively all week. I try to do a good check at least once a month, and he was fine upon palpitation just 2 weeks ago.

The final good news, he was active in the black OE flock (F2 from black Isbar-Marans-Barnvelder)...so I've got a batch of black 3rd gen OE with a nice refresh from CL (75% chance of green to olive eggs now in those F3). I think I'm getting 3 girls out of that and 3 boys with one undecided.

And I've got 3 boys from the Barney-CL batch. Apparently I'll be grooming one of them as my junior roo again. Hopefully I'll find one as sweet tempered AND non-aggressive as my beloved Barney.

So Barney rules the roost once again (for a few months anyway).

Crazy life.

LofMc

 

[OhZark Biddies]

I suspect ‘fowl’ play.... sorry it had to be done

And sorry to hear of young Mr. Fife’s demise... glad to here you have some offspring of his.

Long live Barney!

 

[fisherlady]

So sorry to hear you lost Fife, bad hearts can strike quite quickly, as can strange injuries from accidents. He may have hurt himself somehow and succumbed on the roost. He also could have hurt himself right before such as broken neck if he jumped in panic and hit his head.
CHF usually presents as gradual onset with cough, lethargy and fluid build up in the abdominal area. I would expect you would have noticed his behavior change if it was CHF. A heart attack can happen much quicker and with no real warning.
It doesn't sound like Mareks from what you described. So I am glad you have some of his offspring to continue the line. Hopefully one will step up to fill his much missed place.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

So sorry to hear you lost Fife, bad hearts can strike quite quickly, as can strange injuries from accidents. He may have hurt himself somehow and succumbed on the roost. He also could have hurt himself right before such as broken neck if he jumped in panic and hit his head.
CHF usually presents as gradual onset with cough, lethargy and fluid build up in the abdominal area. I would expect you would have noticed his behavior change if it was CHF. A heart attack can happen much quicker and with no real warning.
It doesn't sound like Mareks from what you described. So I am glad you have some of his offspring to continue the line. Hopefully one will step up to fill his much missed place.

I suspicion a broken neck, but rigor mortis had set in so badly I couldn't really tell.

He died with his neck extended in a "crow," but comb and else actually looked normal (just bluer as he was so obviously dead). I kept feeling the neck to find a fracture, but again he was so stiff I couldn't feel anything really.

I wondered if he fell off the ramp in some odd way and broke his neck? Or quite possible jumped up into it as he was precisely underneath it. He could have hit his head hard on the upswing. (It's sort of the pose I found in him.)

Weird.

I will now double check those collars just in case. I know it was fine 2 weeks ago, and it certainly wasn't slowing him down in any way a day ago. I don't think he was still growing so that he could have tightened up too much...but I will be extra careful.

The collars are a nicety for the neighbors, who are fairly close. Don't need one of them stirring up a lot of trouble for me.

 

[aart]

Sad news today...I walked into the coop this morning and Fife was dead

Bummer!!!

 

[Mrs. K]

Sometimes they just die. A sudden death, after a good life, a good way to go.

 

[Lady of McCamley]

An update.

Barney has been relishing his king of the flock status again.

Fife's progeny are growing. He had 5 cockerals out of the 10 hatched, so I've got some nice females as well as some olive egger boys. I went back and forth whether to keep one of Fife's sons or pick a boy from Barney's next generation hatch. (I've got enough of the blue/olive gene, I could use a refreshing from the Barnevelder brown genes to keep dark olive going).

I had just decided to wait for the next generation Barnvelder from Barney, and one of his Barnvelder looking daughters, to match his genes as closely as possible.

Sadly, I could NOT find a home for any of the current Fife OE boys after decided effort.

So, last night I had to go in and do the necessary deed, while they were still younger as I can't have 5 full size cockerals crowing at the neighbors. Though I have flawlessly done this method many times, it didn't go quite as neatly planned last night causing a lot more commotion and whole lot more effort when a broody hen flashed in my face in fright as I was gathering the cockerals in the roost. Uh yeah, it all went to the winds as she flew in utter panic waking everyone (though I of course had kept the run smartly gated). It is so much fun trying to gather cockerals from pullets, that are mostly black colored, after dark, under coop runs, holding a flashlight in your teeth (my head lamp one was broken, of course).

So, long story short, I have 4 cockerals dispersed, a sore back, and 1 cockeral who was spared as the dry ice was fading and he was huddled in the far corner. Even when I dragged him out by tail feathers, he was charming even during the fray. So, dang it, charm me then and be sweet like your grand poppa.

We've decided to name him Wagon Wheel. You know, all those towns where the location gets chosen because the wagon wheel broke. Well, he got chosen as the next progeny as the equipment broke right at his time, and he was docile and charming calmly letting me hold him, honestly, looking up hopeful. Just like his grand daddy.

So I've now got Barney the Barnvelder, and his grandson Wagon Wheel, who has some nice olive egger genetics (with Marans in the background) and 50% Barnvelder genetics, with 75% chance of a blue gene (25% 2 blue genes), and appears to have grandpoppa's personality. He is a soft bar from the mixed Lebar genetics with 1 barring gene he got from his OE daddy Fife (Cream Legbar-Barnvelder)...which could come in handy for making auto sexed double barred and single barred olive egg layers with the barred girls from Fife.

Time will tell. He'll be raised by Barney and the mature hens, who will teach him all proper roo manners.

So Barney, and Wagon Wheel.

LofMc

 

[aart]

'Iced' instead of 'sliced'....for meat?

 

[Lady of McCamley]

'Iced' instead of 'sliced'....for meat?

Since I have to disperse one way or another any unwanted roo before serious crowing, I have to kill layer types before they are table ready, generally 7 weeks or so. (Meat birds can be ready before crowing, but I work with more heritage designer types).

I use CO2 suffocation on the smaller birds as they aren't going to table and they are too small for broomstick method and not worth the mess of slicing and letting bleed out...draws rats...not worth it if not getting meat.

It usually is over in seconds as I lower them into a cloud of CO2. We then safely compost.

Unless you have a frantic broody hen who knocks over the bucket, scatters the lid, letting the cloud disperse while you try to regather everything. Then it is a rather sad affair.