New member Ezzstar

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Ezzstar

Ezzstar

In the Brooder
5 Years
Joined
Apr 5, 2014
Messages
11
Reaction score
1
Points
26
Location
wide bay, Queensland, Australia
Hi I'm a new member from the wide bay in Queensland,I have been following backyard chickens for a while now but have never joined so today is the day.I have a couple of beautiful blue + black ostrolorpes,and barred Plymouth rocks. I also have a black rooster which has started to show a few problems which I may need some advice on
 
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I've had my black ostrolorpe rooster for about 3 months now as he came with his matching females and I thought would be great with my blue princesses lol! Everything was fine to start off with but now since he's been malting he's turned into a gutz when it comes to feed time,picking on all the hens and my other young Plymouth cockrell. He's also not interested in doing his job with the ladies. I've isolated him for 3days but when I put him back in last night it was the same at brekkie time this morning. Help?
 
He is molting? Losing his feathers? That can be really hard on a bird, and they often will feel cranky and should be given extra protein food to be able to grow feathers right. It is not unusual for roosters to fight/ pick on each other, they need to work out a pecking order, which maybe what is happening if your one rooster is younger and just starting to mature, he is challenging the older rooster. Depending on how much room you have and the set up, you may have to separate them if they wind up not getting along. With feeding time, do you not have food available all the time, or do you only feed them once a day? Most commercial feeds recommend laying hens especially have food available, if they are hungry the dominant birds is going to want to eat first, and that is usually the head rooster.
 
Well he's lost feathers in patches like his tail where his crop is and back of neck,I have been feeding him more protein foods and also have a self feeder in the coop but I did stop the self feeder 1week ago because he's just gutzes till he chokes, I'm still feeding morning and night. He's not just picking on the young cockrell it's the hens as well? I'm unsure how old he is
 
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Welcome to BYC!

Look closely at his skin behind the neck and head. Do you see pin feathers coming in? (feathers that look pointy with a whitish skin on them) If so and his skin is not red or irritated, he could be molting and very uncomfortable. Molting is not easy on birds. It takes a lot of energy and can even make them tired and depressed. If you are seeing red and very irritated skin, he could have mites which will also drain him of life. If you think he has mites, definitely spray or dust him with poultry bug killer. You would also have to clean out the coop, dust there and the other birds as well. If this is a molting thing, give him some time to molt and hopefully he gets back to his duties soon.

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! Welcome to our flock!
 

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