Roosters dying?

[AllynTal]

Different dewormers kill different kinds of worms. I don't think any one dewormer kills them all, and if you don't switch up and use different dewormers at each worming cycle, the worms build up a tolerance and you make super worms that are now resistant to the normally used active ingredients. Instead of over-doing the deworming schedule, why not take a poop sample to the vet to check for, first if they have worms, and second exactly what kind of worms they have so you can treat it properly. Just blanket throwing deworming medicine at them won't guarantee no worms and can be more harmful than beneficial.

It just seems funny to me that in the flock your roosters came from, those roosters died and now these roosters-- that came from the same flock -- are also dying. I don't feel like it's the feed. Depending on what state you live in, you might need to report unusual/unexplained deaths in chicken flocks. This definitely qualifies as unusual.

 

[kajira]

Different dewormers kill different kinds of worms. I don't think any one dewormer kills them all, and if you don't switch up and use different dewormers at each worming cycle, the worms build up a tolerance and you make super worms that are now resistant to the normally used active ingredients. Instead of over-doing the deworming schedule, why not take a poop sample to the vet to check for, first if they have worms, and second exactly what kind of worms they have so you can treat it properly. Just blanket throwing deworming medicine at them won't guarantee no worms and can be more harmful than beneficial.

It just seems funny to me that in the flock your roosters came from, those roosters died and now these roosters-- that came from the same flock -- are also dying. I don't feel like it's the feed. Depending on what state you live in, you might need to report unusual/unexplained deaths in chicken flocks. This definitely qualifies as unusual.

I've come to the conclusion, that it may be heat related. The roosters are bigger, our only surviving rooster, isn't a purebred RIR - he seems like he's a cross between a RIR and a Cochin - he's got fluffy feet, and the fluffy butt, like our white cochin does, and he's not much bigger than our white Cochin hen... our female RIR is a lot bigger than he is... and she pants in the afternoon when we have 70% humidity, and the rest of the chickens (and him) are fine - but are known in some ways, for being better in the extreme heat. our RIR hen, we have to give frozen grapes (the kids go feed her popcicles too - frozen water with fruit flavoring in them.) and put ice buckets out there for her.

The male roosters of the RIR are big, and if they appear more effected by heat because of their size, it would make sense why our cross-breed rooster survived because he's smaller and more adaptable in the heat than the RIR roo's. Everyone seems to swear by the RIR, but everyone down here I know loses a lot to the heat (after asking a few people who've had them locally) and while some of the other, smaller breeds dont' lay as big of eggs, or as often, the cochins, and bantam type breeds, survive better in the humidity/heat.

I just hope my easter eggers do okay in the heat too I'd hate to lose my new roosters due to heat and not being able to get it cold enough for them - next year we may try to get fans and some swamp coolers, but for just a few chickens, spending 5000 dollars seemed a little ridiculous. Were going to try ice blocks, and just going out there and wetting everything down for them a few times a day during the hottest part, and giving them ice bottles to lay against.

We didn't pick the RIR - they were given to us.

 

[donrae]

What's happening to the roosters? What are the symptoms?