Rooster's are dying, dropping like flies! Calcium??

[Newbiechickchic]

No hens, just my rooster's! So this calcium issue seems to be a problem for me this past month.. This is my 8th year having chickens, and plenty of rooster's, and never has this happened before until this spring! I have lost 4 rooster's in the past month, and another one seems to be falling ill with the same problem. They die in 2 days! At first I worried they had a flu, but no hens are succumbing to this problem. It has to then be the calcium, right?? The rooster's all get black spots on their combs, then they turn rough a dull looking which begins to turn a dark reddish-purply color (like a starfish texture and color) once they start getting sick. They get listless in just a day, and die within the following 24 hrs. I have been using Puritan's Pride, but just switched back to Nutrena. Yet another rooster is still going to die. What else could it be, and how can I save him with emergency care before it gets too far?

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

No hens, just my rooster's! So this calcium issue seems to be a problem for me this past month.. This is my 8th year having chickens, and plenty of rooster's, and never has this happened before until this spring! I have lost 4 rooster's in the past month, and another one seems to be falling ill with the same problem. They die in 2 days! At first I worried they had a flu, but no hens are succumbing to this problem. It has to then be the calcium, right?? The rooster's all get black spots on their combs, then they turn rough a dull looking which begins to turn a dark reddish-purply color (like a starfish texture and color) once they start getting sick. They get listless in just a day, and die within the following 24 hrs. I have been using Puritan's Pride, but just switched back to Nutrena. Yet another rooster is still going to die. What else could it be, and how can I save him with emergency care before it gets too far?

Purple comb means some type of organ/respiratory issue.
Medical approach is water-based tylosin for at least thirty days, or an antibiotic.

If thats not available, mix a lot of honey and apple cider vinegar into their water.

also try fanning out the coop to get rid of dust and stuff.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

could also be genetic. What breed are they?

 

[MysteryChicken]

No hens, just my rooster's! So this calcium issue seems to be a problem for me this past month.. This is my 8th year having chickens, and plenty of rooster's, and never has this happened before until this spring! I have lost 4 rooster's in the past month, and another one seems to be falling ill with the same problem. They die in 2 days! At first I worried they had a flu, but no hens are succumbing to this problem. It has to then be the calcium, right?? The rooster's all get black spots on their combs, then they turn rough a dull looking which begins to turn a dark reddish-purply color (like a starfish texture and color) once they start getting sick. They get listless in just a day, and die within the following 24 hrs. I have been using Puritan's Pride, but just switched back to Nutrena. Yet another rooster is still going to die. What else could it be, and how can I save him with emergency care before it gets too far?

Get pictures of the sick birds? It's always helpful.

The black spots on face/combs could be from either hen pecking, or fighting. Calcium toxicity doesn't do that to roosters. It damages the kidneys, but may also cause other organ damage as well that may lead to death in the long run.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

Just got a couple of videos, but he's active in them, trying to get away from me. You can't really tell in these that he isn't acting or looking right. But he is otherwise showing signs of inactivity, hunching down, tail feathers down, and doesn't seem to be eating. Same behavior as the previous 3, so if it continues he'll die by tomorrow. It's very quick. When the other's died, I looked up possible causes here and there were posts about too much calcium in layer feed, and explained these symptom's. These rooster's have all been hatched from my light brahma rooster, and mostly ISA Red hen's, though one was black, so that one must have been from my black hen.
Videos are not uploading...?

 

[Newbiechickchic]

I shou!d also add that they were just hatched last fall, so none are even a year old.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

Purple comb means some type of organ/respiratory issue.
Medical approach is water-based tylosin for at least thirty days, or an antibiotic.

If thats not available, mix a lot of honey and apple cider vinegar into their water.

also try fanning out the coop to get rid of dust and stuff.

It's a huge shed (16x20) attached to the barn, with a dirt floor. It is very dusty when they're scratching around, but the sliding door is always open during the day, with several screened windows high and low for circulation. Is dust bad for them? Don't they love rolling in dirt?

 

[Eggcessive]

What is your location? How old are the birds dying? Can you post a picture of any or the combs? Most state vets will do an necdopsy/autopsy on 1-2 birds to look for a cause of death. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

 

[Newbiechickchic]

The site won't upload my videos for some reason.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

What is your location? How old are the birds dying? Can you post a picture of any or the combs? Most state vets will do an necdopsy/autopsy on 1-2 birds to look for a cause of death. Here is a list of state vets:
https://www.metzerfarms.com/poultry-labs.html

All hatched last fall. They've all been buried, except this one. Hens have no issues, no comb spots, so it can't be contagious. I'll snap pics, maybe they'll upload.