Sick rooster... HELP!

[Heny Penny]

Hello chicken lovers! I have a sick rooster and I need some advice. He's a 4 month old Black Austerlorp, I just adopted him from craigslist last week. He has been doing normal rooster things until today: eating all the food, chasing hens and guarding the coop. Today when I went out to feed, I found him sleeping in the coop. He will wake up, but only for a few minutes. If I set him on his feet, he acts drunk and wobbly. I separated him from the girls and gave him some food and water to monitor consumption. What else should I do? Any ideas on what it is? Do I need to do anything to protect the rest of my flock? If I can't rehabilitate him, do you think it would be safe to eat him? (Sorry to those reading who disagree with this practice. Nothing goes to waste here...) Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[A Gray]

I just had this a couple weeks ago. I found one chicken that I thought was asleep dead in the coop, the next day another hen was still alive, but was almost gone. Same as yours. After I lost 3 chickens I took one to get it tested, it was Coccidia. I had gotten a couple new chickens and didnt quarentine them first, my mistake and I will always quarentine from now on. I lost one more before the antibiotics started working. Google Coccidia or Cocci in chickens, it tells you the symptoms and what to use to get rid of it. I hope its not what yours has, but check it out! Have you noticed and blood in any droppings?

 

[A Gray]

good luck!

 

[Heny Penny]

Thanks. My rooster did die, within the hour of posting. None of my other chickens seem to be affected. It's hard to tell if he had blood in his poop because they are free ranging. In the stools I can find in the coop, I don't see any blood. Did you get your chicken tested at a vet? If I start to see symptoms in any of my other girls, I'll take mine to get tested too. Thanks