Hi all,
I hatched five eggs in mid-march. Knowing that I wasn't going to keep any roosters around, I added four more from Tractor Supply. Two starlight eggers and two straight-run silkies. They all live together in a coop. My big girls live with their rooster pals about 100 yards away in their own coop. When the babies got big enough, I was going to join them with the big girls and boys.
Yesterday, my daughter found the male silkie under the coop not moving. I finally was able to coax him forward with a stick so she could grab him. He seemed to have a broken leg or something that was preventing him from standing. He must have been under the coop all day, and was definitely hungry and dehydrated. We put some food and water in front of him and he happily ate and drank and seemed to perk up. We separated them from the rest of the flock and put him in a large Tupperware with food and water and bedding. He eats and drinks occasionally but never stands up. I'm picking him up to clean his bottom, and his poop is bright green. Looks just like photos I see of Mareks poop online. Otherwise he's really perky keeping his head up and looking around. When I lift him up and mess around with his legs a little bit, they don't seem paralyzed, but he won't put any weight on them. The left one is definitely weaker than the right.
I am beside myself with anxiety about this whole situation. I was going to cull this rooster when we knew absolutely for sure which birds were boys and which were girls, and now I'm caring for him like 24/7, because I am not going to treat any of my animals inhumanely. However I'm devastated to think that the rest of my flock is at risk, and don't even understand the disease enough to know whether my big girls are also at risk. I'm just super sad right now and feel like I don't even know what I'm dealing with.
I hatched five eggs in mid-march. Knowing that I wasn't going to keep any roosters around, I added four more from Tractor Supply. Two starlight eggers and two straight-run silkies. They all live together in a coop. My big girls live with their rooster pals about 100 yards away in their own coop. When the babies got big enough, I was going to join them with the big girls and boys.
Yesterday, my daughter found the male silkie under the coop not moving. I finally was able to coax him forward with a stick so she could grab him. He seemed to have a broken leg or something that was preventing him from standing. He must have been under the coop all day, and was definitely hungry and dehydrated. We put some food and water in front of him and he happily ate and drank and seemed to perk up. We separated them from the rest of the flock and put him in a large Tupperware with food and water and bedding. He eats and drinks occasionally but never stands up. I'm picking him up to clean his bottom, and his poop is bright green. Looks just like photos I see of Mareks poop online. Otherwise he's really perky keeping his head up and looking around. When I lift him up and mess around with his legs a little bit, they don't seem paralyzed, but he won't put any weight on them. The left one is definitely weaker than the right.
I am beside myself with anxiety about this whole situation. I was going to cull this rooster when we knew absolutely for sure which birds were boys and which were girls, and now I'm caring for him like 24/7, because I am not going to treat any of my animals inhumanely. However I'm devastated to think that the rest of my flock is at risk, and don't even understand the disease enough to know whether my big girls are also at risk. I'm just super sad right now and feel like I don't even know what I'm dealing with.