A lot of people have commented to me that my fbcm roo did not look very nice and was scrawny. I admit my pics of him were bad but there was a reason for it and today having taken new pics and feeling so good about him I finally gave my fbcm roo a name and want to share his full story.
Marty (that's his new name) arrived from a well known breeder and the beginning of his life was like all the others in the brooder. He and one other roo quickly became my favorites and they were both sweet and gentle unlike some of the other roos. As they all started to get their mature colors and crow I was happy that he and his buddy were the nicest in my group. He had good coloring and a nice comb, unfortunately his buddy had better coloring but a comb that was already looking 2 big. I put the 2 of them in a new home along with the Ameraucana cockerels I was keeping and sold or ate the rest.
After all the other boys were gone Marty became lame. To this day I honestly do not know if it was Mareks or an injury. One day he was limping and the next he could no longer walk on one leg. since he had swelling in the leg I assumed it was an injury and made him a sling hoping it was an injury and not Mareks. His buddy took care of him the whole time and for a long time he did not improve and I had resolved myself to culling him but at the time had decided to wait a few more days. Well before I culled him he started to finally improve, I had been giving him all sorts of good food and organic treatments as well as living in the sling so I guess it finally started working. Today I do not think it was Mareks as I have dealt with it before and I think maybe it was a foot injury.
Soon Marty went from the sling to being in a brace I had made with a samsplint and got to stay in a box with his friend always by his side. By this point he was able to stand up on his knees a bit. Here are some pics I have of them.
by this time it had been at least a month and it took another month before Marty could walk well again and even then he had a limp.
Eventually I sold off his friend with a few pullets to a BYC member where they are having a great life and Marty went to live with the girls. no matter how much I fed him he had never gained good weight while injured and was very thin. So every night for a while I would bring him in to let him eat with out the desire to share with his ladies as he was always a gentleman with them. He would sleep in the garage and then back out in the day with the girls.
It was during this time that I took the pic I had been using.
he looked rather ratty and it was hard to get a better pic. Then for a while he had a super scraggly tail and I did not want to take any full body pics lol
Well today he must weigh at least twice as much and is a big strong boy and sire to all of my chicks. I am very proud of him.
Although I often say I am going to cull a bird when injured severely I have a very hard time doing it and can tell you from experience that if you want to put in the time and devotion that even some of the worst cases can come through with great recovery.
Here is Marty today he is still gentle with me and my ds and with all of his hens. :
(apparently he smells nice too
just as the Ameraucana)
Marty (that's his new name) arrived from a well known breeder and the beginning of his life was like all the others in the brooder. He and one other roo quickly became my favorites and they were both sweet and gentle unlike some of the other roos. As they all started to get their mature colors and crow I was happy that he and his buddy were the nicest in my group. He had good coloring and a nice comb, unfortunately his buddy had better coloring but a comb that was already looking 2 big. I put the 2 of them in a new home along with the Ameraucana cockerels I was keeping and sold or ate the rest.
After all the other boys were gone Marty became lame. To this day I honestly do not know if it was Mareks or an injury. One day he was limping and the next he could no longer walk on one leg. since he had swelling in the leg I assumed it was an injury and made him a sling hoping it was an injury and not Mareks. His buddy took care of him the whole time and for a long time he did not improve and I had resolved myself to culling him but at the time had decided to wait a few more days. Well before I culled him he started to finally improve, I had been giving him all sorts of good food and organic treatments as well as living in the sling so I guess it finally started working. Today I do not think it was Mareks as I have dealt with it before and I think maybe it was a foot injury.
Soon Marty went from the sling to being in a brace I had made with a samsplint and got to stay in a box with his friend always by his side. By this point he was able to stand up on his knees a bit. Here are some pics I have of them.
by this time it had been at least a month and it took another month before Marty could walk well again and even then he had a limp.
Eventually I sold off his friend with a few pullets to a BYC member where they are having a great life and Marty went to live with the girls. no matter how much I fed him he had never gained good weight while injured and was very thin. So every night for a while I would bring him in to let him eat with out the desire to share with his ladies as he was always a gentleman with them. He would sleep in the garage and then back out in the day with the girls.
It was during this time that I took the pic I had been using.
he looked rather ratty and it was hard to get a better pic. Then for a while he had a super scraggly tail and I did not want to take any full body pics lol
Well today he must weigh at least twice as much and is a big strong boy and sire to all of my chicks. I am very proud of him.
Although I often say I am going to cull a bird when injured severely I have a very hard time doing it and can tell you from experience that if you want to put in the time and devotion that even some of the worst cases can come through with great recovery.
Here is Marty today he is still gentle with me and my ds and with all of his hens. :
(apparently he smells nice too
