No crowing

[Kbr42]

Need some help folks! I have all the odd issues :

My Red Plye roo...he's 10 months old and up until this week has been your normal roo. Jumping on the girls doing his thing. I noticed he stopped doing this thing, no crowing, standing off to the side, sitting in the nesting boxes, making cooing noises. And being bullied by my other roo.

I have checked him from head to tail, no bugs no respiratory infection, nothing I can see. He eats when I put food and water in front of him. So, I thought he couldn't see, he now has a nice feather cut. Still no crowing or any interest in being an out of control roo. I gave him vitamins, treats but im stuck. He has fathered a bunch of the little chicks I just hatched.

He has always been the guy I was going to keep. I need some help in bring him back.

I do have injectable antibiotics.

Any thoughts would be welcome.

.

[ross]

Sounds to me like he’s fallen to the bottom rung of the rooster ladder ,gets whopped every time he shows his stuff . Also maybe trim fuzz around eyes so he can see attack coming & escape . Just a few thoughts if he’s otherwise healthy . Beautiful bird , Luck

[WLLady]

with the cooing he is trying to show the girls what to do. and that is likely setting off the other rooster into bullying him. trimming around his eyes can help him see he other coming...and separating the other boy from him will also help. it sounds like hes fine but been knocked down the pecking order...i totally agree with ross there. you may end up needing to remove the bully to reestablish his "breeding rights" especially if hes the one you want to keep

[kenya]

I agree with Ross and WLLady.
Is your other roo a silkie as well?

[Kbr42]

So, answering everyone. He's not really doing anything these days. He isn't eating much and is standing by himself in a corner. When I let Gomer out he goes and stands off by himself and doesn't behave like a rooster any longer. I put him on a perch today and when he jumped off he fell over, so I'm thinking he hasn't been eating much is my guess.

The other roo is a frizzle silkie. Also red...his name is Butler. I was planning on keeping him until I got a couple of frizzle pullets then he was to be rehome.....

So, if you all think Gomer has just been bullied and if I put him outside for a couple of days he'll come back to being top dog?

[ross]

That’s just a observation from afar but if not acting feeling right DON’T kick him out to get better . Put in a small sick pen with some warmth & feed him up till back in shape , if he makes it , but don’t put together with other or any rooster .

[windwalkingwolf]

I agree with the above, Gomer has lost status. The other rooster will keep him from breeding, crowing, or even eating and drinking. It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing, where there's no way to know if he got sick and lost status, or if he lost status and is now getting sick. It doesn't take them long to go "off" if they're not getting enough to eat/drink, or have no interest. I personally always assume the former and remove the bully if I can. If you take Gomer out, even if he recovers, he will likely never be top rooster again as long as the other rooster is in there. My advice would be to separate both roosters out for a few days and see if Gomer regains interest in chickenly things. If he doesn't, he's likely on a downward spiral that won't end well, but if he does, you can at least put him back in and get a few chicks out of him before Frizzle goes back in. If you just separate out Gomer, it will be very hard to ever introduce him to the flock again without Frizzle killing him...frizzle guy needs time out too so he's not quite so cocky when he goes back. Or, you need another coop for bachelors, but then again, we ALWAYS need another coop lol

[Kbr42]

I agree with the above, Gomer has lost status. The other rooster will keep him from breeding, crowing, or even eating and drinking. It's a bit of a chicken and egg thing, where there's no way to know if he got sick and lost status, or if he lost status and is now getting sick. It doesn't take them long to go "off" if they're not getting enough to eat/drink, or have no interest. I personally always assume the former and remove the bully if I can. If you take Gomer out, even if he recovers, he will likely never be top rooster again as long as the other rooster is in there. My advice would be to separate both roosters out for a few days and see if Gomer regains interest in chickenly things. If he doesn't, he's likely on a downward spiral that won't end well, but if he does, you can at least put him back in and get a few chicks out of him before Frizzle goes back in. If you just separate out Gomer, it will be very hard to ever introduce him to the flock again without Frizzle killing him...frizzle guy needs time out too so he's not quite so cocky when he goes back. Or, you need another coop for bachelors, but then again, we ALWAYS need another coop lol

Thanks! Great advice. I have the frizzle in the house...crowing his head off and Gomer is outside with the girls. He has been moving around a bit. I'll leave them this way for a couple of days....I did promise 2 things this year, first no hatching until March...the incubator is full and running with my second hatch of the year. And there wouldn't be any crowing Roosters in the house during the winter ...I'm 0 for 2

And I totally agree I need another coop

[kenya]

With Gomer not eating and fallen when landing off the perch, I'm concerned hes not feeling well. 1've never really had 2 silkie roosters go at each other enough to be a problem,if they've been together and no problems until now. Another possibility is vision he has a lot of beard and poof obstructing his vision which could allow the other rooster advantage and allow him to bully him away from the girls and food.
I would pluck the feathers directly under his eyes and trim his poof a little more till you can see his eyes as well as you can Butlers.
Hes either sick or his vision is so obstructed he just can't see well enough.
I pray hes not sick, such a handsome boy.

[Kbr42]

So, I trimmed him up...he now has a Mohawk cut. I got him to eat and drink and he is back in the coop with the girls. The frizzle is in the house and I have my fingers crossed. Thanks for all the advice. I'm just kicking myself...I saw he was being bullied and I thought I was doing enough separation for him to be ok. Clearly I was not....lesson learned..I hope not the hard way.