Isaac, My 5 Year Old Delaware Rooster....Old Age is Closing In On The Big Guy (Long Story)

[1muttsfan]

Do you have a picture of his feet?

 

[chicken farmer8]

i hope he gets better soon he look like a nice rooster

 

[speckledhen]

Do you have a picture of his feet?

I do have some from today, but I'd rather not post them in this thread, at least not now. I emailed them to my friend who is helping me with this one. This thread is not really for diagnosis or I'd have put it in Emergencies. It's more for telling Isaac's story, which I'm afraid may be coming to its conclusion in the not too distant future.

i hope he gets better soon he look like a nice rooster

Thank you. Welcome to BYC!

 

[Happy Chooks]

I'm thinking about you and Isaac. Hoping for a good outcome.

I know how you love him.

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks, Kel. He wasn't handled much as a youngster because I was picking from a group of males, growing them out and didn't want to become attached to one I wasn't going to keep. He really didn't become my close buddy until later on. Now, he's very attached to me, much more so than Tom, though he seems to be fond of Tom as well. It's a truly touching moment when a rooster looks up into your eyes, straight into your eyes from 2" away, nose to beak, and seems to be yearning to communicate something. He has the kindest, softest expression when he looks into my face. I wish I could read his mind. He is really one of the smartest roosters I've ever owned and I've had a few who were quite special.

 

[1muttsfan]

One of my Swedish Flower cockerels looks at me like that, even at his young age - the same kind of ESP look that my Cattle Dog gives me at times. I am afraid when in comes time to pick a flock master there will be a favorite.

 

[crazyhen]

Cyn, I hope that your roo is better. It is so hard to lose the ones we have raised from eggs or young chicks. I get so attached. Right now I have a Dell. from Kathy. I am looking forward with this one. He is less than a yr. old but is really nice so far. A good roo who's also good with his hens are rare. So far he is gentle with his hens . To me that is vey important. I have 4 hens of the same line also. Maybe later if you want them you could have some of the eggs. I know you do not take live birds from anywhere and understand why. I am npip and A1 tested clean this month.
Again I sure hope he is better. Thank you for getting me started in Chicks when I first got them from you. I will be back in Franklin later. I am on the coast of NC for a bit.

 

[speckledhen]

Thank you, Gloria Jean, I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to probably get some more Stukel Rocks, some old line RIRs and some Brahmas next time I add to the flock, other than an egg or three under the occasional broody hen. You're a sweetheart!

Remember when I said that it looked almost like frostbite in places back on post #8? It didn't make sense that he could have it, though my friend mentioned that when we spoke on the phone, because no one else had it and Ike's comb was okay. Well, I sent photos to my friend in south GA and after seeing good clear pictures of Ike's feet (picture is worth 1000 words) his consensus is that because of his suspected bad circulation in the legs at his age (he does have arthritis in his hock joints, I know that already, especially the right one), he said it appears not to be gout but to be frostbite. Surprises me because no one else in the coop had frostbite and Isaac's comb isn't even really affected *he had a black area on the back of the blade but after rubbing vaseline with cocoa butter on it, it seems back to red again*, but because of the pain in his legs, he's been laying on the floor, which is naturally much colder. I've never had a bird with frostbitten feet, first time for me.

My coop is raised off the ground so winds howl under the floor; in spite of the shavings, it could have been frigid at floor level. We had a couple of nights at 1* with windchills at -15*, which is way below what any of my birds have experienced. Naturally, they were inside for a couple of days until that bad stuff passed by. No one else appears to have frostbite, other than maybe a tiny spot on the back of Rex's comb. We kill ourselves keeping the coops clean and dry inside, but we can't control the weather and the coops are not heated at all, only a couple of those dim red 75w reptile bulbs for heat spots, one over where Ike's usual roost spot was.

He has one toe that is really bad, white and stiff from the last joint to the nail. Unfortunately, it's the middle toe and he may lose that one, or part of it. I'm not sure what will happen with his feet. He's crowing and his poop is super healthy and solid and he's having no trouble standing and walking around in there so I guess I need to get him back with his flock before Rex thinks they're all his and challenges his daddy. But, Ike cannot go out in cold or cold/damp weather until these feet are healed or whatever is going to happen with them happens.
ETA: Today, his left foot appears MUCH improved and the toes that are not bandaged on the right also seem much better. We have one bad toe bandaged with antibiotic ointment on it. That one is the one I'm worried he may lose, which unfortunately, is a middle toe. Otherwise, he's crowing, seems more energetic and happy and wants out.

We let him out in the yard briefly since it's warmer (mid to upper 40's and sunny and dry), then to test the waters, let out the main flock. What I feared would happen, did. Rex challenged him and they started fighting. Isaac plainly cannot do that with his compromised feet and his lessened breathing capacity he's had for the last couple of years since a fungal lung infection over a very bad summer. If we had not separated them, Isaac would have probably just keeled over dead right then and there. We have a solution for it for when Ike goes back, but for now, he still has to be treated daily with epsom salts soaks and ointment until his feet are healed. Then off to Home Depot or Lowes for fencing, posts and wood to build a new ramp and pop door. Thankfully, the coop is not difficult to divide up and we already have a door for the doorway between the original part and the addition, just have to reattach it and add a latch.

I'll do what I can to make the last part of his life a good one. He's a treasure and my good buddy. I'll give Rex the Barred Rocks since Isaac hates them anyway and Ike can have the older hens and the EEs and Tiny, which are his favorites and they love him as well. I think Deacon can maybe stay there with Isaac; the other males can stay on Rex's side.

This makes what happened with his son still a mystery but since his owner also lives in the mountains not far from me and I don't know her coop setup, perhaps he got frostbite at some point as well, hard to say. I'm trying to contact her to see what her vet said about it.

 

[Happy Chooks]

Poor boy.

 

[speckledhen]

Poor boy.

Yup, I hate this for him. Getting old is the pits. This wouldn't have happened if his leg circulation wasn't already impaired. He's such a love.