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- #81
Well, I'm about to lose another Rooster. Instead of starting a new thread, I thought I'd add to this one, in the event that the issues are connected. My oldest rooster, an EE that is 15 months old is on his last legs. He was in the original batch of chicks with PeeWee. This all started about a month ago, when my younger Welsummer Roo which is now 8 months old decided (I thought) to challenge Nicky (EE) for top dog. Nicky ran screaming like a little girl into hiding. He'd been picked on, while molting, until his tail was a bloody mess. All the girls followed him around just picking on it. I cleaned him up, put blue kote on him, and began the tedious task of separating him every day to keep him safe. When everyone exited both coops in the morning, I'd lock him in the one the girls don't lay eggs in. (He preferred that over being in the run or out in the open). I'd never, ever been able to catch him before. He now follows me everywhere, and when threatened, flies right up on my shoulder.
Yesterday when I began the process of letting everyone out, feeding and watering, I noticed Nicky was off balance. I separated him as usual while I went on my errands and then came home to let them all out of the run for their free time. Everyone went to the tree line to play in the leaves on the ground, and Nicky followed me as usual, but a little slower. I noticed when he tried to turn around to preen under a wing that he'd fall backwards. I then noticed white urates dripping from his vent uncontrollably. I tried to clean him up as best as I could but the dripping just wouldn't stop. I isolated him with some water and game bird feed to try to up his energy, some vitamins in the water..etc, etc..
This morning, I let them out, and let Nicky out of his "hospital" coop (a playskool playhouse that no chickens have ever been in) and now he is very wobbly and quite constipated. He's trying to pass his "droppings" but it just won't "drop" He's standing fluffed up right in front of the dog kennel while all of the other chickens are still in the run. He's acting like PeeWee in the wobbly sense, but the other symptoms aren't the same. I plan on putting him down today, as soon as the sun comes up a little more and I send hubby off to work with breakfast.
It seems that maybe the other rooster might have known that Nicky wasn't in good health all along and was really picking on him for a reason. Even my little Sebright Roo is dominant over him now. If he finds him, he attacks, and is 1/4 his size.
Yesterday when I began the process of letting everyone out, feeding and watering, I noticed Nicky was off balance. I separated him as usual while I went on my errands and then came home to let them all out of the run for their free time. Everyone went to the tree line to play in the leaves on the ground, and Nicky followed me as usual, but a little slower. I noticed when he tried to turn around to preen under a wing that he'd fall backwards. I then noticed white urates dripping from his vent uncontrollably. I tried to clean him up as best as I could but the dripping just wouldn't stop. I isolated him with some water and game bird feed to try to up his energy, some vitamins in the water..etc, etc..
This morning, I let them out, and let Nicky out of his "hospital" coop (a playskool playhouse that no chickens have ever been in) and now he is very wobbly and quite constipated. He's trying to pass his "droppings" but it just won't "drop" He's standing fluffed up right in front of the dog kennel while all of the other chickens are still in the run. He's acting like PeeWee in the wobbly sense, but the other symptoms aren't the same. I plan on putting him down today, as soon as the sun comes up a little more and I send hubby off to work with breakfast.
It seems that maybe the other rooster might have known that Nicky wasn't in good health all along and was really picking on him for a reason. Even my little Sebright Roo is dominant over him now. If he finds him, he attacks, and is 1/4 his size.