Isaac, My 5 Year Old Delaware Rooster....Old Age is Closing In On The Big Guy (Long Story)

[speckledhen]

Seems that a few days of rest have done the old man some good. His feet look much better. I'm concerned that he may lost part of two toes, one on each foot, but they have not turned black at this point. It was warm enough for him to go out in the sunshine in the old hens' extension pen for a few minutes and he really loved it.

Check out this short video clip. He looks a little ruffled because I had been holding him during his foot treatment today. That dirt on his head is left over from his last good dustbath. He seems to be feeling pretty good, but was breathing heavily just flirting with the hens through the fence.



http://s673.photobucket.com/user/Mtnviewpoultry/media/Video Clips/DSCN1779_zps74097bcb.mp4.html

 

[Beekissed]

He's a good looking guy! Looks like he was feeling pretty froggy in that vid.

Big cold snap coming this week again, so it might get a little hard on our oldsters in the flock.

 

[speckledhen]

He was feeling okay, I think. He was flapping those big wings and crowing and flirting with the ladies.

Our temps are going to take a big nosedive tomorrow, like you said. They are going into the low to mid teens tomorrow night and a couple of other nights in the following week. I think he'll do fine since there are actually three heat spots in that 8x8 side of the coop; I have a single hen who is living alone in the cage above him, plus an Orp who is skin and bones with a bantam rooster next do Isaac's cage and I give them a heat spot. Plus, Ike has a low wattage red reptile bulb just above him as well. With those three bulbs, it stays not exactly warm, but at least not frigid and there are no drafts in there. Ventilation is way up high on the wall. And I can hang a towel loosely over the hardware cloth door as well to keep his heat in his small space but not restrict his air flow. Just pray our power stays on until he is healed up or he'll be in the house with us, lol. None of my coops are heated, but I do give my elderly hens a 250 w red heat lamp over a roost shelf and a reptile bulb in a different area over a pile of shavings in one corner where they like to lay in a group because they are suffering from arthritis and two of them seem to have some reproductive malfunction; they definitely are not feeling well at the moment.

 

[Beekissed]

That's just it...we are at the mercy of power outages in this state, for sure. I was thinking this last subzero episode would cause a loss of power as the lines iced up...the last time we had single digits up in Pendleton County a few years back we had transformers blow right across from my house.

Even with a heat lamp in the coop for a couple of nights it was still 10 below 0 in the coop, but the old gals acted like it was nothing. It's not supposed to get that cold this time, thank goodness!

 

[TwoCrows]

I am very sorry about Isaac. It is never easy to watch them age and go down hill.

But here is something you might also try. I have a 7 year old Bobwhite Quail who has had arthritis now for about one year. At least what I would consider fairly severe arthritis. I am sure it started to develop years before this. (The average lifespan of captive Bobwhite quail is 2 - 5 years. So he is definitely pushing the envelope so far.

) Anyway, his feet and toes are quite gnarly and disfigured from this condition and he has a lot of trouble walking. There are times when he takes to flying to get where he is going in the aviary rather than walk. I tried changing his diet, adding supplements that help with lubricating the joints and a few other alternative medicines. None of them did much good.

Then I thought I might try using an infra-red heat lamp on him. Infra-red lamps are used in Europe in the sauna's for arthritis patients and they claim they get much relief from soaking in this light wave. So I started using it on my male quail. I turn it on every morning for about 30 mins. He is most stiff in the morning and eagerly limps over to the lamp in his coop. I don't have to convince him to stay there, he stays on his own for about 20 mins a day, limbering up his bones. He knows when to leave and head out to the aviary.

I have been doing this since November. He is improved greatly. He is not as stiff as he was. I haven't seen him fly to get where he is going in about a month. His feet and toes are still gnarly and disfigured. I don't think they are every going to return to the normal state. But he seems like he is in far less pain. His appetite is better and so is his outlook on life. He was getting depressed for a while and I seemed like he was going down hill.

Infra-red, not to be confused with a standard red bulb, is a healing light. It is very penetrating, unlike white light. It increases circulation and increases appetite. It is the only light I use for brooding and hospital cages.

You might give this a try. It certainly can't hurt. Many hugs to you.

 

[crazyhen]

UGH!!!!!! today I noticed a GNH all fluffed up and her butt looked dirty. After inspection, I think she has feather mites. Her skin was a little red too. I washed her and dusted. Tomorrow I will try to find some better medicine for her. It is not always easy to keep hens. The parasites keep me on my toes. I take the hens back and forth to the mtns so they get blasted with coastal critters and mtn ones. When I am in the hills its easier. Also a TC is closer and I can get the meds easier. I will try to dust and clean tomorrow everywhere. What do you use for these critters, Cyn.?

 

[speckledhen]

I've never had any lice or mites in the flock, but Eprinex Pour On gets them. A few drops on the neck skin, I think 5 drops for the LF birds. It's a bit pricey. If you can get generic, that should work. I need to worm the flocks because it hasn't been done in about a year and a half, mainly my concern would be the penned birds like the bantams and the old hens. I've used Invermectin generic pour on, which is inexpensive and I think it gets lice and mites, but don't quote me on the mites part. Seems like folks say they are harder to eradicate than lice.

For pesticides in the coop, I use Orange Guard spray in cracks and crevices when I do a clean out. Otherwise, I just keep DE in the nests. It's all I've ever done.


Two Crows, I think one or two of these heat lamps is infrared. In fact, I think that the reptile bulbs I just got are all infrared ones. I have a 75w, a 100w and a 150w in various locations in the coops.

 

[Suzierd]

Lol, that little squeaky crow totally cracked me up! Isaac is just beautiful so glad he's feeling better.

 

[crazyhen]

I had planned to clean everything up in the mtns. Then worm etc., but I see now it will not last till then. A trip to the closest TC is a bit over 30 miles but so be it. There are not as many stores to get chicken supplies from here. Some for feed but that's all. This area has become very much a move to area. Most homes are in groups and do not allow hens or live stock. I do not like that, as I grew up here while it was still a country area. Everyone I knew almost, had farm or small acreage for a garden and some chickens. Not anymore. Give me my MTN. cove any day. I can hear cattle lowing, chickens and roosters crowing, goats bletting all at one time while sitting on my porch. Yet I can not see any of them. SWEET! I look at your comments and think solitude by choice is a great thing.

 

[speckledhen]

Lol, that little squeaky crow totally cracked me up! Isaac is just beautiful so glad he's feeling better.

LOL, yup, that was one of the D'Anver roosters. They are like little toy soldiers with little toy crows. Ike is hanging in there. Though he looks much improved, I am not going to fool myself into thinking he's a young guy anymore. I do think the enforced rest has done him a world of good. Rex about ran himself ragged watching out for the hens today, knocking his brothers off them, and I know that Ike is not up to that anymore, not the way he used to be.

I had planned to clean everything up in the mtns. Then worm etc., but I see now it will not last till then. A trip to the closest TC is a bit over 30 miles but so be it. There are not as many stores to get chicken supplies from here. Some for feed but that's all. This area has become very much a move to area. Most homes are in groups and do not allow hens or live stock. I do not like that, as I grew up here while it was still a country area. Everyone I knew almost, had farm or small acreage for a garden and some chickens. Not anymore. Give me my MTN. cove any day. I can hear cattle lowing, chickens and roosters crowing, goats bletting all at one time while sitting on my porch. Yet I can not see any of them. SWEET! I look at your comments and think solitude by choice is a great thing.

Yes, it is, GJ. I can't imagine going back to "civilization". I love being able to do what I want here and see a sky full of stars and breathe fresh air. I hear donkeys, mules and horses down the road, naturally everyone else's roosters, and on rare occasions, guineas, and a few times, I heard a peacock. No idea who owned that one, haven't heard it in years, but I love that sound in the distance. It's so haunting!