Mercibelle
Chirping
So I have a strange question for you all.
I have a roo who is about 6 months old but is displaying odd symptoms?
At around 3 to four weeks I noticed that he was weaker than my other hens and having issues walking. He seemed stumbly as well as uncoordinated in his ability to walk. Because of this I separated him from my younger hens and raised him on his own. He's never shown any general signs of illness so I introduced him to my full flock a few days ago. Everything went smooth and the ladies honestly love him.
The thing that's odd about him is that he still has trouble walking. He generally spends most of his time laying down, not walking unless he needs to. He does have the ability to get up and walk but it's difficult for him to do. He generally seems healthy except for this issue. Interestingly, he doesn't have bow legs and I have treated him for vitamin deficiency. He seems to walk on his left leg oddly, almost like he's walking on the outside of his foot? I feel like generally he lays down because he's just tired of trying to stand, I'm not sure if it's painful? Since he's been out in the coop I watch him on the coop cams and he seems like he's constantly trying to adjust himself when he's sleeping. He often sleeps with his wings down like he's trying to prop himself up and will often use his head and beak to adjust himself since his legs seem awkward. He often lays over on his right side but both legs face forwards and he is able to use both if I pick him up and set him down, and he is able to pull himself up on his legs if he needs to.
I was concerned about Mereks which is why I originally separated him, but I'm not seeing anything that would suggest mereks. He is alert, eats and drinks when he can get to the feeder and the waterers. He has nothing going on with his eyes that would make me think ocular mereks, and I'm not seeing paralysis. He honestly seems like he just has weird legs that don't generally work like they should. He can't even mount my girls because of his weird legs, and my ladies don't seem to have any problems with him.
Have you guys experienced this and know what's going on? Should I keep him separated forever from my girls? Is his quality of life declining or should I leave him alone and just let him be gimpy?
(I can get pictures in the morning when I go out to the coop)
I have a roo who is about 6 months old but is displaying odd symptoms?
At around 3 to four weeks I noticed that he was weaker than my other hens and having issues walking. He seemed stumbly as well as uncoordinated in his ability to walk. Because of this I separated him from my younger hens and raised him on his own. He's never shown any general signs of illness so I introduced him to my full flock a few days ago. Everything went smooth and the ladies honestly love him.
The thing that's odd about him is that he still has trouble walking. He generally spends most of his time laying down, not walking unless he needs to. He does have the ability to get up and walk but it's difficult for him to do. He generally seems healthy except for this issue. Interestingly, he doesn't have bow legs and I have treated him for vitamin deficiency. He seems to walk on his left leg oddly, almost like he's walking on the outside of his foot? I feel like generally he lays down because he's just tired of trying to stand, I'm not sure if it's painful? Since he's been out in the coop I watch him on the coop cams and he seems like he's constantly trying to adjust himself when he's sleeping. He often sleeps with his wings down like he's trying to prop himself up and will often use his head and beak to adjust himself since his legs seem awkward. He often lays over on his right side but both legs face forwards and he is able to use both if I pick him up and set him down, and he is able to pull himself up on his legs if he needs to.
I was concerned about Mereks which is why I originally separated him, but I'm not seeing anything that would suggest mereks. He is alert, eats and drinks when he can get to the feeder and the waterers. He has nothing going on with his eyes that would make me think ocular mereks, and I'm not seeing paralysis. He honestly seems like he just has weird legs that don't generally work like they should. He can't even mount my girls because of his weird legs, and my ladies don't seem to have any problems with him.
Have you guys experienced this and know what's going on? Should I keep him separated forever from my girls? Is his quality of life declining or should I leave him alone and just let him be gimpy?
(I can get pictures in the morning when I go out to the coop)
