Roosters cough

[Farmerkolle]

I raised these chickens from birth and now my roosters are not crowing and seem to have a cough and two have died. Does anyone have ideas what it could be? It doesn't seem to have affected the hens so much just the roosters. They aren't mating either so I don't know if they have a parasite or what. I put tetracycline in their water, but it hasn't seemed to help.

 

[Eggcessive]

Welcome to BYC. You could have a respiratory disease such as infectious bronchitis, mycoplasma (MG or CRD,) ILT or coryza, or a fungal disease from mold going on. Make sure that your coop has good ventilation and not too warm, and it is kept dry with fresh bedding. Since chickens usually won't drink enough of the medication to treat their illnesses, so giving Tylan 50 shots into the breast may work better. You can also dose them with it orally, alhough the shots are best. Another antibiotic may work better in the water--Tylan Soluble Powder, Gallimycin, or Oxytetracycline are some to chose from. Worming may also help, since they can get run down from them. SafeGuard liquid goat wormer or Valbazen are good to use. Your state vet can recommend where you can get one tested, or do a necropsy to tell you what you are dealing with. Here is a good link to read about diseases and 2 links to find your state vet:
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ps044
http://agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/AnimalHealth/statevets.aspx
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_dis_spec/poultry/participants.shtml