Little Rooster not eating or drinking.

[Brian2415]

Being new to keeping chickens we have had a couple of problems that have caused us some distress,after purchasing a new coop and all the kit we needed we purchased two twelve week old Silkie "hens" and a Goldtop hen.As the weeks rolled by it was looking as if Darcy was turning into Mr Darcy and so it turned out to be the case.Meanwhile the Goldtop hen became very sick with a breathing issue,we took her straight to our vet who gave us Tylan to add to the water.Despite this she only lasted three days before dying ...during her illness she still fed and drank as normalSix weeks later we purchased two more black Silkie hens from a great lad near Crook who was very helpful,we put the new girls into the coop with our rooster and white Silkie hen and all was fine that night.Next day while they were all scratting around the garden one of the new hens launched a savage attack on the little rooster which really shook him up.Things were ok that night but next morning the new hens attacked him again and he had to be taken into the house,he seemed to have given up and looked as if he was going to die we nursed him through the next day and he slowly perked up but would not eat or drink that was on Wednesday and he still will not eat or drink my daughter is giving him water by hand and managed to give him a little natural yogurt and some banana and apple baby food.He is quite perky and will go out in the garden with the white hen and wander around for a couple of hours before heading back indoors,the two new girls are kept well away while he is outside.This morning Hayley managed to get a decent amount of scrambled egg and four pellets down his neck.Apart from the lack of appetite he is pretty lively and is sitting in our dogs cage in the living room.He has no injuries but I reckon his pride was dented and he was really shocked....any advice would be more than welcome as he is a little cracker and we would be upset if he fails to recover.....sorry for the long winded explanation.

 

[dinosaw]

How old is he Brian? and how old are your new hens? it would seem from what you describe that they are probably mature and he is not which will be why they have asserted themselves in the way they have. I would give him a little bit of space to eat and drink on his own as some birds can become quite stressed when crowded by humans. Sounds like he has suffered from stress after the attack which will have been added to by him finding himself in a strange environment and from what you say sounds like he is starting to recover and find his feet again, ill birds don't tend to move very much and have a very characteristic hunched up posture.

 

[Brian2415]

He is about 24 weeks old and I reckon the two new birds are at POL and a few weeks older,he has been pestering one of our cats about an hour ago following her around the room flapping his wings.I also noticed some of his droppings in the dog cage are dry and gritty do you reckon he could be a bit constipated through not eating for almost a week? He was scratching the living room carpet about an hour ago as he would do in the garden but did not attempt to pick up a few pellets I scattered around.My wife is out or she would kick off in case he crapped on her carpet.

 

[dinosaw]

Sounds like he is a bit of a softie then unfortunately Brian, he sounds like he is in good enough fettle from what you say and that being the case I've never known a well bird that didn't eat when it was hungry. Sometimes when you try nursing them they get a taste for the nicer foods and start to turn their nose up at pellets but when they get hungry enough they do eat them. When a bird has some kind of problem with a blockage whether it be the crop, gizzard or intestines you normally get the opposite to what your finding namely very runny watery poos.

 

[Marigold]

Hi Brian. It's always going to be problematic introducing new birds, but it can be a bit easier if you pen them separately for a couple of weeks where they can see the established flock through a wire fence but not get to them. This is also a good idea because it gives the new ones a time in quarantine. It's quite common for the stress of moving home to lead to a lowered immune system, which can mean that illness develops, and separating them can help avoid this spreading to your other flock. This may perhaps have happened to your Goldtop who died, as emergent respiratory infections are quite common after moving home. Also, it gives the newbies time to get used to their new surroundings and to bond with each other. Usually, the new ones get a bit of a rough ride when they're eventually put in with the flock, as it causes disruption to the pecking order and the older, established birds will put the newbies firmly in their place at the bottom of the pile. In your case, however, you got the other scenario, where an immature 'teenage boy' resident cockerel was faced with a couple of much more confident new hens, and was unable to assert his authority over them. Consequently they showed their contempt for his inability to take charge by making it clear what they thought of him!
I think you may have to keep him separate from the hens for quite a while, several weeks maybe, not only so he can heal up, but can get his confidence back and become mature enough to take control of the situation. (But maybe not in the living room...) Others more experienced with cockerels will no doubt advise you about this. Or even rehome him, perhaps back to where he came from, and wait a while for the three girls to settle in together before finding an older, more confident cockerel for them. If indeed you actually feel you want or need a cockerel at all.

 

[Brian2415]

Many thanks for the advice folks,my daughter Hayley has managed to hand feed him scrambled egg for the past two days and he is looking fine...in fact he is strutting around as if he owns the place.At the minute I do not have any housing outdoors to keep him away from the girls...he spends a few hours in the garden and my little log cabin with the white silkie who gets on fine with him.When I make more scrambled egg today I will crush some layers pellets and mix them with the raw egg before cooking it, he needs to get a grip and start feeding himself....I reckon he is taking the micky out of Hayley as this morning he grabbed several chunks of egg between waiting for her to tilt his head back and put it into his mouth.Durham Hens who sold us the three birds would swop him for a hen but he would be executed sad to say and my wife and daughter will not agree with that....nor I to be honest.I will construct a small residence for him so he can mature and still spend time with his friendly hen while the two black thugs are kept at bay for now.You have to laugh he is not afraid of our two cats,climbs onto our rescue Lurcher Sammy and is not at all bothered when we pick him up.

 

[dinosaw]

Hopefully he is just a late developer and that is why he was sold to you as a girl. By now he should be treading (mating) with your white one so if he isn't then that is probably what it is rather than him being a soft lad. Just keep them all in sight of each other and it will go easier when you put them back together.

 

[Marigold]

Silkies are one if the breeds where it's often difficult to sex the youngsters early on, so maybe, as Dinosaw says, it's a question of wait and see.
All of us chicken keepers do find, sooner or later, that temporary accommodation for one or two birds is not only useful, but necessary for new birds or those with social or health problems. It needn't be elaborate, just a waterproof box to roost in, no need for perches especially for young birds, and a run or netting enclosure from where they can see the others. This assumes, of course, that your garden is fox proof, unless the temporary area is within a larger, secure run. BTW, how big is your run? If they're crowded, they're much more likely to fight. We recommend 2 sq. metres of floor space per bird, even for bantams, and this is especially important in small runs as there is relatively less room for a bird to get away if bullied. Many of the coops sold with small runs attached have insufficient space for the number of birds that the coop will hold, and this leads to problems if they're confined for more than short periods, early morning and in the evening before they go to roost.

 

[Brian2415]

The little fella was just starting to get matey with Buttons the white hen the day before the two black hens arrived so he is getting there slowly.I purchased a Sussex Coop with an extra extension and then made another myself so they have 42 square feet of free space.We have foxes in my brothers garden about 200 yards from here and they do come through our garden at night sometimes.The main coop is sat on three large paving slabs so they can not dig into it,the run is close to paving on one side and I will put heavy duty mesh under the grass around the rest.I let the birds roam free while we can keep an eye on them and the little fella spends a few hours with the white hen each day.He had scrambled egg this afternoon with ground up pellets which Hayley guided into his beak with frequent drinks of water via the syringe.He jumps about a couple of times during the feeding when he is wrapped in a blanket....when he is finished and released he just sits on the arm of the chair preening himself not at all bothered.Hayley came up with the idea in late January as a birthday gift for my wife on her 70 th as she loves chickens,we are away for a week in the lakes shortly so my brother will look after the cats and birds.So the little fella needs to be eating and drinking on his own in the next three weeks.the birds will not be allowed to roam while we are away because of the fox issues but should be ok if he changes their water and checks that they have enough food.

 

[Marigold]

If you know there are foxes in a very nearby garden, your chickens will be at risk loose in your garden, even if you are keeping an eye on them. Have you read Val's sad story in the Fox Attack thread, when a fox took one favourite bird from right under her nose, in daylight, when she was out in the garden, and next day, had another one taken the same way?

 

[Brian2415]

Thanks for that advice I will need to take steps to prevent them getting in as they can scale a six foot fence with ease, the rooster spent about four hours roaming with his best friend this morning and while he scratched around he did not feed or drink.Other than that he behaves as if nothing is wrong.I wonder if my daughter is feeding him too much scrambled egg in the morning and maybe he is not hungry enough?

 

[dinosaw]

I wonder if my daughter is feeding him too much scrambled egg in the morning and maybe he is not hungry enough?

In a word Brian, yes . Honestly I had my chickens go on strike over food before when I have changed over from mash to pellets, they refused to eat for the best part of two days, moaned at me non stop whenever I went near, but in the end hunger got the better of them and that was that, pellets it was.

 

[Brian2415]

Thank's the little devil has had his breakfast so that's it for today just water he is getting too comfortable in the house I need to crack on and construct a small dwelling for him in the garden.Wife is moaning when he moves off the covers and marks the living room carpet.

 

[Marigold]

Yes, get him out there in the sunshine, it'll do him a lot more good than being indoors. Do your wife good, too, by the sound of it! He needs to be able to see the other hens, scratch about,and eat normally.
I've found that chickens do prefer their pellets served up as a warm mash, with just enough hot water added to make them into a crumbly but not soggy mix. I do this for them on winter afternoons, and they get a bit cross when I stop in Spring and it's back to dry pellets! If you add a small sprinkle of mixed corn, or hulled sunflower seeds this will be a sure fire way to get him off the egg and back on to pellets.
It might not be good to over-handle him, as some cockerels who become too tame as youngsters can turn nasty when they mature, having lost respect for humans, and get challenging, which can be painful.