Rooster change of behavior

[wayne drew]

One of my roosters ceaser has been sleeping at night in a hen box. He normally perches up top with the rest of the lady's. He has been like this 3 to 4 days now. I have to coops so the other rooster is seperated. Those two would fight through the fence but I know have a divider up so they cannot see each other. Ceaser is a white leghorn. I have heard that he could be ill but he jumps right down when you bring in corn and roos like no problem. There is mice in coop at times but he still was up top with the lady's. I was going to check him out to see if he is ok. Any suggestions

 

[Hen Pen Jem]

Yes, Ceaser's behavior is a bit odd. However, I have seen roosters become curious about the nest boxes, and go into them and even sit for a while. My current rooster is four years old, and decided a few months ago, that he no longer wants any hens sitting too close to him on the perch. He would push them off the perch with his beak, so now there are dividers on each side of him. He was raised in a rooster pen, and had his own perch, in that coop, for almost two years. Now, he is enjoying his own space again, at night only of course. During the day he is a Romeo! Poor guy...come to think of it, maybe he's tired.

Your Ceaser may just like being alone in the nest box.

However, you are right to give him physical exam. Anytime there is a change in behavior, whether it is a hen or rooster, an exam is warranted. Just today, my rooster was in the garage, as he always does, but he was standing in the corner staring at the wall. I knew right off, this was not normal. So, I picked him up to check him over. He immediately made some gassy sounds! He was having a crop issue. I gave him some medicine, and two hours later, he was running around with the hens. It's always best for the chicken, when you catch an illness early.

God Bless

 

[wayne drew]

Thank you for your response. God bless

 

[aart]

One of my roosters ceaser has been sleeping at night in a hen box. He normally perches up top with the rest of the lady's. He has been like this 3 to 4 days now. I have to coops so the other rooster is seperated. Those two would fight through the fence but I know have a divider up so they cannot see each other. Ceaser is a white leghorn. I have heard that he could be ill but he jumps right down when you bring in corn and roos like no problem. There is mice in coop at times but he still was up top with the lady's. I was going to check him out to see if he is ok. Any suggestions

How old are your birds?
Definitely give him a full physical exam.

 

[wayne drew]

So My rooster is back to normal. Not sure why he decided to sleep in the nesting boxes/ Maybe cause I moved away from the straw to wood shavings that are dust free for the bottom floor of the coop. The herd has been used to the straw. Maybe he was showing them its ok to sleep in boxes and run around on floor. I appreciate all concerned in this matter and god bless