Hi All, I don't post much, but I read at the forum daily. I have a kinda embarassing question. I should know more than this but here it goes. I have a Rhode Island Red Rooster who WAS beautiful. Lately he is looking really ragged, especially around his neck. I am first concerned of some type of lice, then I wondered if he is molting, some of the hens his age are looking the same ragged way. Okay now for the REALLY bad question. DO CHICKENS PEE!!! There I just said it. been wondering that. Ha Ha!!!! :') Thank you for not laughing to hard. Karole

-- Karole (Biz3boymom@aol.com), October 28, 2000

Answers

Well, ok, these are a bit strange as questions go, but better to ask and know than not ask. Yes, roosters molt. Watch them because they could have lice, but it is probably a molt. I'm wondering if they aren't sticking their heads through a fence to get at something since they're all about the same around the neck? They'll lose more feathers if it is just molting. If you search in the archives, there has been quite a bit about chickens and lice, and some ideas to help them. Some of them, like giving the birds a dirt bath or wood ashes, probably owuldn't be a bad thing to do anyway.

The answer to your second question is yes, and no. While most animals urinate and deficate, birds have a combined dropping. Think about that bird dropping on your car. The white puddle is the urine, the dark center is the feces. So the urine in a bird's dropping is represented by the moistness-different types of birds do it differently, as do individuals and birds eating different things. If you're asking because you saw one of your chickens expel a very liquid mess, something is wrong with the bird. Watch it and the others to see if it continues. You'll need to have your vet help you if it is continuing. But assuming you saw something, it could have been the bird just ate something unfortunate and will get over it.

I think you ought to post more often, help keep us on our toes! Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), October 28, 2000.