I'm based in South Africa so it is Summer here. Our hand raised rooster Oliver (2 years old) has been looking bad for around 5 days. He is unsteady on his feet, feels thin with droopy pink comb and is a shadow of his former self. He is roughly 2 years old and is our only roo (flock of 20+ hens).
Loads of our hens are broody and we have half a dozen hens with chicks ATM and another half a dozen hens that are broody but we're not letting them sit on eggs.
Initially we suspected that Oliver was just a bit overworked looking after his flock, but he has gone downhill fast over the past 5 days. He usually jumps out the coop first and chases and mates with several hens within the first 5 minutes. A week ago he wasn't as eager to leave the coop and wasn't mating with the hens.
I picked him up and he felt lighter than I would expect. He felt a bit scrawny rather than being a nice robust rooster. He was slightly unsteady/clumsy, although he was eating. The hens get layer pellets (15% protein) and we also supply pullet growing mash to the chicks. All the chickens like to eat growing mash. We noticed that Oliver was more interested in food than usual and would eat. I haven't seen him drinking and even when I offered him fresh water doped with apple cider vinegar he wouldn't drink a drop. I suspect that he isn't drinking at all for some reason and is severely dehydrated. His poop is watery and an off-white colour.
We don't worm our chickens with commercial de-wormers. We just add ACV and occasionally garlic into their water. I'd also add electrolytes to the water if a hen looks run down, but Oliver seems to be refusing water. Our chickens free range in the garden and I haven't isolated Oliver. He usually struts around the garden with 8-10 of his favourite hens closely following, but Oliver is mostly alone now. He joins the hens when I put new food down and is eager to eat - racing for the food and pushing other hens away.
What is wrong with Oliver? The 1st photo is Oliver in August and the 2nd is him today.
Loads of our hens are broody and we have half a dozen hens with chicks ATM and another half a dozen hens that are broody but we're not letting them sit on eggs.
Initially we suspected that Oliver was just a bit overworked looking after his flock, but he has gone downhill fast over the past 5 days. He usually jumps out the coop first and chases and mates with several hens within the first 5 minutes. A week ago he wasn't as eager to leave the coop and wasn't mating with the hens.
I picked him up and he felt lighter than I would expect. He felt a bit scrawny rather than being a nice robust rooster. He was slightly unsteady/clumsy, although he was eating. The hens get layer pellets (15% protein) and we also supply pullet growing mash to the chicks. All the chickens like to eat growing mash. We noticed that Oliver was more interested in food than usual and would eat. I haven't seen him drinking and even when I offered him fresh water doped with apple cider vinegar he wouldn't drink a drop. I suspect that he isn't drinking at all for some reason and is severely dehydrated. His poop is watery and an off-white colour.
We don't worm our chickens with commercial de-wormers. We just add ACV and occasionally garlic into their water. I'd also add electrolytes to the water if a hen looks run down, but Oliver seems to be refusing water. Our chickens free range in the garden and I haven't isolated Oliver. He usually struts around the garden with 8-10 of his favourite hens closely following, but Oliver is mostly alone now. He joins the hens when I put new food down and is eager to eat - racing for the food and pushing other hens away.
What is wrong with Oliver? The 1st photo is Oliver in August and the 2nd is him today.
