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Hello! We're having a bit of a problem out here and hoping some of you might have some advice for us. I've read the other posts about coughs and I think this is a bit different.
Three weeks ago we bought two roosters at an action, to add to our flock of nine happy hens and one rooster (who was much much happier before company arrived). The new pair looked great - we wondered if they had ever been shown, they were in that fine shape - and seemed to be about the same age as our rooster (14 weeks or so).
About a week after bringing them home, one of the new roosters, Red, developed a really funny cough. It's in between a cough and someone clearing their throat, particulary a much older someone. We were concerned about the rest of the group and wanted to monitor him so we separated him for a week. He seemed to be much better - hardly heard the cough/snort/? - and looked even better than before. Didn't notice any unusual poops. Through it all, his appetite and water consumption were also good. His appetite for hen company had also not diminished.
He's been back with the group for a week and we're definitely hearing the sound again, and I think the other new rooster is making the sound too. (Red is a Buff Orp, and the other one, Whitey, is a White Orp.) Even worse, it seems Red may have a pooh issue - back to the observation tank on that one.
Red and Whitey are in quarantine at the moment while we decide what to do. Any ideas? The family elders have advised us to give the suspicious ones the axe before the rest of the birds get ill. We're very attached to our originial group, but feel equally responsible for these two. (Plus by now, I wonder that they haven't all been plenty exposed already.)
One more thing, all poultry shows in our area have been suspended through July due to a suspected case of avian flu in a nearby county. (Not the kind people get.)
Has anyone out there had a similar experience? Any advice? Worth the $$$ for a vet or better to take care of it the old-fashioned way?
Thanks for reading through our plight. Wishing you happy hens and not so many eggs you don't know what you're going to do with them all!
Luke & Laura in Fauquier Co., VA
Three weeks ago we bought two roosters at an action, to add to our flock of nine happy hens and one rooster (who was much much happier before company arrived). The new pair looked great - we wondered if they had ever been shown, they were in that fine shape - and seemed to be about the same age as our rooster (14 weeks or so).
About a week after bringing them home, one of the new roosters, Red, developed a really funny cough. It's in between a cough and someone clearing their throat, particulary a much older someone. We were concerned about the rest of the group and wanted to monitor him so we separated him for a week. He seemed to be much better - hardly heard the cough/snort/? - and looked even better than before. Didn't notice any unusual poops. Through it all, his appetite and water consumption were also good. His appetite for hen company had also not diminished.
He's been back with the group for a week and we're definitely hearing the sound again, and I think the other new rooster is making the sound too. (Red is a Buff Orp, and the other one, Whitey, is a White Orp.) Even worse, it seems Red may have a pooh issue - back to the observation tank on that one.
Red and Whitey are in quarantine at the moment while we decide what to do. Any ideas? The family elders have advised us to give the suspicious ones the axe before the rest of the birds get ill. We're very attached to our originial group, but feel equally responsible for these two. (Plus by now, I wonder that they haven't all been plenty exposed already.)
One more thing, all poultry shows in our area have been suspended through July due to a suspected case of avian flu in a nearby county. (Not the kind people get.)
Has anyone out there had a similar experience? Any advice? Worth the $$$ for a vet or better to take care of it the old-fashioned way?
Thanks for reading through our plight. Wishing you happy hens and not so many eggs you don't know what you're going to do with them all!
Luke & Laura in Fauquier Co., VA
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