I am stumped by this one. I hatched 5 Australorps in November - no problems, everyone is doing very well. It looks like two of the 5 will be males - over the last six weeks the 2 males have grown very rapidly - they are a head taller than everyone else in the coop - even the adult Australorp Hens they bunk with. These birds are extremly tall, but very thin. The females are all much more solidly built. Last week I noticed one of the males flopping down a lot in the yard - when he would stand, he would arch and make himself look very tall, then he would start to kind of stoop and raise one leg. Finally, one wing would kind of flare out, then the other and he would drop to the ground. The other male started doing this today. The both have very loose stools. They are very talkative and their eyes are attentive.
I put them into isolation - they can reach food and water without standing. First I thought it might be bumblefoot - because one of their pads seemed swollen. I gave them both a nice footbath tonight with epsom salts and inspected their feet - no wounds or damage and the pads seem pretty normal. Anyone have any ideas?
The only thing that seemed odd with them was that their body was extremly loose. It almost seemed like all of their joints were barely connected.
Any ideas?
I put them into isolation - they can reach food and water without standing. First I thought it might be bumblefoot - because one of their pads seemed swollen. I gave them both a nice footbath tonight with epsom salts and inspected their feet - no wounds or damage and the pads seem pretty normal. Anyone have any ideas?
The only thing that seemed odd with them was that their body was extremly loose. It almost seemed like all of their joints were barely connected.
Any ideas?
