I have a flock of 12. 3 Orps, an Easter Egger, and the rest Bantam Cochin, with four roosters (two separate flocks, two are young cockerels atm). Both flocks have regular contact, they are just separate to prevent fighting between the two adult boys.
One of my two adult boys has been sick for awhile. It's been off and on. Some weeks he's excellent and some he is bad. It started with him showing signs of Gapeworm sometime before 8 weeks old. I never was able to treat it but treated for something else with similar symptoms, and he seemed to get better after a few days. None of my other birds showed Gapeworm symptoms. From around 4 months till around 8 months he was great, flourishing. At around 8 months he had six chicks with one of my other hens, was big strong and healthy. I had separated him because my other rooster picked on him too much and blinded him in one eye (atm, I hope that is what happened, they fought a lot, so I assume he did that). White in the pupil. Then at around a year old he got sick again, and was limping in one leg. No obvious injury. I separated him into an open bottom pen with some ducklings I had at the time and he got better in a week.
Then he started getting snotty. Doesn't sneeze a lot, but is gaping again. His left eye looks runny, not puffy and not puss-y, but runny. He acts disoriented sometimes. Most days he eats fine (he is living with his almost full grown chicks, he loves his babies, their mother tries to kill them now) and drinks fine. But some days its like he can't peck right. Possibly due to being blind in one eye? He also battled a nasty case of wet fowl pox, all my other birds got a very minor case and all are now better, he has also healed from it. But many days he's fine. He wakes up every morning and crows to his hearts desire, flirts with me when I go check everyone. He did this weird thing once where he wouldn't come out of the hen house, and then the other night wouldn't put himself up. But he ACTS fine, maybe its just being a man and hiding his pain?
He started limping again the day before Hurricane Irma hit (well, it was a tropical storm for us). He doesn't gape as bad, the gaping is more like gasping for breath. He also got stuck in a corner and couldn't get out, and was in the cold and rain. I brought him inside during the hurricane days to make sure he was alright. He's eating fine. Drinking more than I've noticed a chicken drink.
NONE of my other birds act sick. I've had this guy since he hatched on my property. He came from a clean flock.
The only things that have happened is I had a Roo come in BEFORE I got my first Cochin Bantams that had a sever upper respiratory infection, he was a rescue. No other birds got sick. And he got better and is still alive at a friends, SUPER healthy little stud.
Don't jump on me about not putting him to sleep. I plan to at some point. But I'm wanting to get the money up to get a Necropsy to see why he has been so sick. Unless someone can help me out? He acts happy, and acts fine. He doesn't act like he is suffering, but he's just, sickly.
Him and one other hen were the last chickens to enter my flock and came in as eggs. I've also had two geese, both quarantined rescues who've since left, and two ducks, from TSC, both also quarantined and healthy, and have since been processed. The Geese and Ducks were in the last four months. My rooster is 1y6m old.
One of my two adult boys has been sick for awhile. It's been off and on. Some weeks he's excellent and some he is bad. It started with him showing signs of Gapeworm sometime before 8 weeks old. I never was able to treat it but treated for something else with similar symptoms, and he seemed to get better after a few days. None of my other birds showed Gapeworm symptoms. From around 4 months till around 8 months he was great, flourishing. At around 8 months he had six chicks with one of my other hens, was big strong and healthy. I had separated him because my other rooster picked on him too much and blinded him in one eye (atm, I hope that is what happened, they fought a lot, so I assume he did that). White in the pupil. Then at around a year old he got sick again, and was limping in one leg. No obvious injury. I separated him into an open bottom pen with some ducklings I had at the time and he got better in a week.
Then he started getting snotty. Doesn't sneeze a lot, but is gaping again. His left eye looks runny, not puffy and not puss-y, but runny. He acts disoriented sometimes. Most days he eats fine (he is living with his almost full grown chicks, he loves his babies, their mother tries to kill them now) and drinks fine. But some days its like he can't peck right. Possibly due to being blind in one eye? He also battled a nasty case of wet fowl pox, all my other birds got a very minor case and all are now better, he has also healed from it. But many days he's fine. He wakes up every morning and crows to his hearts desire, flirts with me when I go check everyone. He did this weird thing once where he wouldn't come out of the hen house, and then the other night wouldn't put himself up. But he ACTS fine, maybe its just being a man and hiding his pain?
He started limping again the day before Hurricane Irma hit (well, it was a tropical storm for us). He doesn't gape as bad, the gaping is more like gasping for breath. He also got stuck in a corner and couldn't get out, and was in the cold and rain. I brought him inside during the hurricane days to make sure he was alright. He's eating fine. Drinking more than I've noticed a chicken drink.
NONE of my other birds act sick. I've had this guy since he hatched on my property. He came from a clean flock.
The only things that have happened is I had a Roo come in BEFORE I got my first Cochin Bantams that had a sever upper respiratory infection, he was a rescue. No other birds got sick. And he got better and is still alive at a friends, SUPER healthy little stud.
Don't jump on me about not putting him to sleep. I plan to at some point. But I'm wanting to get the money up to get a Necropsy to see why he has been so sick. Unless someone can help me out? He acts happy, and acts fine. He doesn't act like he is suffering, but he's just, sickly.
Him and one other hen were the last chickens to enter my flock and came in as eggs. I've also had two geese, both quarantined rescues who've since left, and two ducks, from TSC, both also quarantined and healthy, and have since been processed. The Geese and Ducks were in the last four months. My rooster is 1y6m old.
