Rooster's are dying, dropping like flies! Calcium??

[LaFleche]

I have been looking for mites on those that die, and on the hens. I haven't seen any.

Mites hide in the crevices of the coop and crawl out in the dark to suck the birds' blood.

Check at night using a head lamp or flash light, you can also use double-sided adhesive tape along the underside of the roosting bars so the mites will get stuck to it on their way to the next meal.

 

[Mo_fawaazzz]

It's a huge shed (16x20) attached to the barn, with a dirt floor. It is very dusty when they're scratching around, but the sliding door is always open during the day, with several screened windows high and low for circulation. Is dust bad for them? Don't they love rolling in dirt?

dust is ok for them, but too much poopy dust and feather dander is not ok for them

But I guess that a large shed with an open door thats cleaned often is fine.

maybe its a genetic issue

 

[Eggcessive]

Are the roosters or cockerels by any chance getting bullied away from feeders and waterers? Depending on your location, a necropsy is affordable, and then you would know what is killing them. Also check the feed or any scratch grains for any moisture or mold. It can appear overnight if a little rain gets into the container.

 

[nuthatched]

Upload your videos to YouTube or a similar site and link back.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

Have you looked in his beak or throat? Those black spots may be fowl pox, which is spread by mosquito's usually. The dry form has just the spots/scabs and usually passes in a few weeks with no real issues. The wet form can cause lesions in the mouth and throat and is more serious. The picture is to far away and not focused enough for me to tell for sure, but I would definitely look in his beak and throat.

Okay, I will go check. We are in the northeast, no bugs out yet (except ants), so no mosquitos yet. But I will go check! Thx!

 

[Newbiechickchic]

Are the roosters or cockerels by any chance getting bullied away from feeders and waterers? Depending on your location, a necropsy is affordable, and then you would know what is killing them. Also check the feed or any scratch grains for any moisture or mold. It can appear overnight if a little rain gets into the container.

I haven't seen any bullying between them at all. And they go through feed so fast, and it is put into my unplugged freezer at night (due to rats), so it rarely has a chance to get moldy. We did have quite a lot of rain over the past month, but their food still doesn't stay out long enough to get wet.

 

[sdm111]

I had a rooster die after I had him for a year or two. Ignorantly, I was feeding layer feed to him and the hens. His comb got dark purplish, and he was very lethargic/depressed. He even let me pick him up, which was unusual. After a couple days, he died. I'm guessing it was a calcium overload.

Roosters can be fed grower feed or an all-flock feed. Then, you can supplement calcium to your hens by feeding them eggshells, or putting out some oyster shell.

I hope you can solve the issue!

I've been feeding roosters for a very long time layer pellets and have never had any issues. Whatever someone says i actually did it.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

Have you looked in his beak or throat? Those black spots may be fowl pox, which is spread by mosquito's usually. The dry form has just the spots/scabs and usually passes in a few weeks with no real issues. The wet form can cause lesions in the mouth and throat and is more serious. The picture is to far away and not focused enough for me to tell for sure, but I would definitely look in his beak and throat.

No spots in his beak or throat, thankfully.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

I've been feeding roosters for a very long time layer pellets and have never had any issues. Whatever someone says i actually did it.

I have never had any feed issues like this either, until all of a sudden. We're getting a Show & Grow feed just for the rooster's, just in case.

 

[Newbiechickchic]

This morning's update: the food he had in his crop yesterday, which I now think was from the day before, since I didn't see him eating at all yesterday, is as hard as a rock this morning! So it seems his digestive system has shut down, with no acid or enzymes to break the food down..?!? I can't even squoosh it! Which means I can't force it up for him, without causing injury or suffocation! The previous rooster's did not have a full crop, it actually was empty from not eating, and on the day of their death their body's were light (as in they probably lost weight), as well as dead-feeling, as in hard. This guy's body is definitely starting to feel that way. I added ACV to his water yesterday, but didn't force-feed it so he didn't drink any. I will have to force-feed it this morning. Any insight into this new detail?