Rooster troubles

[Eliese]

I have a 6 month old silkie boy, recently he has stopped crowing. He has never mounted a hen or worked yet. He has lost some weight and sometimes seems off balance, he will extend one wing to keep himself balanced. He also seems lethargic. He eats the same food as the hens, and i recently seen some baby toads in the chook house. (Not sure if the above could effect him) Any ideas?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have a 6 month old silkie boy, recently he has stopped crowing. He has never mounted a hen or worked yet. He has lost some weight and sometimes seems off balance, he will extend one wing to keep himself balanced. He also seems lethargic. He eats the same food as the hens, and i recently seen some baby toads in the chook house. (Not sure if the above could effect him) Any ideas?

What type of food/treats do you feed?
Was he vaccinated for Marek's?

I would get a baseline weight on him now, that way you know how much he is losing. Consider taking a fecal sample to your vet to rule out internal parasites as the cause of weight loss.

The symptoms you describe sounds like Marek's. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do but provide supportive care. Offer him poultry vitamins that contain Vitamin E, B1 and B2 along with seeing that he is eating/drinking well. http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/the-great-big-giant-mareks-disease-faq

 

[Eliese]

He eats pellet layer and darling down layer grain mix..could it possible he is getting to much protein from the layer mix? Some days he looks ok and then others he looks a little worse for ware.
Im not sure if he was vaccinated although he was brought from a reputable breeder in qld.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

He eats pellet layer and darling down layer grain mix..could it possible he is getting to much protein from the layer mix? Some days he looks ok and then others he looks a little worse for ware.
Im not sure if he was vaccinated although he was brought from a reputable breeder in qld.

How long has he been eating layer feed?

I couldn't find the nutritional analysis for the darling downs grain mix-I hope I found the ingredient list(?) I don't see anything necessarily wrong with it as long as it's given as a treat. I find it interesting that it contains "Nutri-Bit Pellet (Essential Vitamins & Minerals)" I wonder if the chickens are avoiding the vitamin pellet(chickens only want the tasty stuff)

I would not think that layer feed has too much protein-but if you can tell the protein % of the layer that would be helpful.
I would still offer extra poultry vitamins, along with extra protein daily to see if there is improvement. Unfortunately diseases like Marek's can wax and wain with symptoms and there is no cure, but some do fight through it with extra care and nutrition.