He's a very handsome boy and I'm glad that he's doing so much better! Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to give him some vitamins/electrolytes in his water, too? I mix ACV and vit/electrolytes into my water (but my feed doesn't have vitamin supplementation, so I'm not double dosing them). If your feed already has the vitamins mixed in, and you feel it could be a benefit to him, perhaps some unflavored pedialyte would suffice. I'm sure it's not a big deal if you don't do this, especially if he's already responding.
Although it doesn't sound like a big thing, I let Dude go into the spare run for a dirt bath and some sun. Dude has been sick and based on the people I have spoken to we are all surprised he is still alive. Last week his body temperature dropped off. A lot. I could put him out in the sunshine for a while and he'd still be cold and sluggish. He stopped eating and drinking and refused to leave the spot where he was perched. I would go out to check on my chickens and Dude was always in the same spot. I tried putting him alone with food and water, he wouldn't eat or drink. I tried tempting him with treats, he still wouldn't eat. He was so cold and lethargic that I decided to bring him inside and put him in one of my infirmary cages. He has been in here off and on for a week and I haven't gotten much sleep. Yesterday I finally found something he would try to eat - plain yogurt and chicken feed, a rooster parfait. He has eaten a lot of it in the past day, his body temperature is getting closer to normal and he crows non-stop. His treat for today was alone time in the spare run so he can stretch his legs and play in the dirt. He chased me around the run because he didn't want me to leave but settled into it and started trying to act like a big boy to the neighboring roosters with his wing down and doing the "I'm bad" dance. It looks like whatever it was is starting to improve and must not have been contagious since none of the other chickens that were with him had the same problems. His whole treatment for lack of a better word was giving him fermented feed (when he would eat it), sunflower sprouts, yogurt and ACV. If you saw him right now you wouldn't know he was ever sick.
My little girl, Chocolate, ran to me first thing this morning and wanted her daily ritual of being put into the tractor and given fresh sunflower sprouts. She loves the alone time and the fresh greens.
