Rooster shaking with reddish vent area - new chicken owner - worried that it might be something that

[amykins1638]

Hello all,

I have a 1.5 year old Jersey Giant who is super people-friendly and takes great care of my little flock of 5 hens. He's been with us for about 3 months, and today we went out to give them lettuce and he appears to be shaking non-stop. He's still walking around and seems to be eating and drinking. However, the skin around his vent area looks a little inflamed. He also has not been crowing today and he's usually pretty noisy. I did a little bit of research but I'm new to keeping chickens and it seems like it could be so many things!

Is there anything I can do (like medicated feed) that might be helpful? I don't want to take him to the vet if possible but since he's such a great rooster I don't want to just let him die either. I also don't want anything to spread to the ladies if it's viral.

Thank you!
Amy

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. I am not sure what that could be. Does he appear to be cold or sick? I would check his skin all over, and especially around the vent area by parting the feathers to look for tiny lice or mites, or evidence of their eggs. Keeping him in a crate or pen for a day with food, water, and puppy pads would be a good way of checking his droppings and eating. Check his ears for signs of mites or infection with a QTip. Look for any nasal or eye drainage, sneezing, or crop problems.

 

[amykins1638]

Thank you for your advice! He doesn't seem to be sick but I will do a through mite check today. I was looking at the reddish area and it seems like it's higher than the vent. It's about a 2 inch area with no feathers just at the base of his tail. It doesn't looked pecked or anything. Can mites cause feather loss?