Rooster has bright red blistering vent, broken feathers everywhere

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cinnamonrooster

cinnamonrooster

In the Brooder
Mar 30, 2017
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Our rooster is acting perfectly normal. Normal for him is scratching, pecking, and mounting the ladies. However, his feathers began looking very ratty. He looks furry? Not smooth. His neck, back, and wing feathers are all broken and frayed.

The other day I noticed his vent was bare, raw, and scabbed/bleeding. It looks very angry and is absolutely not normal. I can't find any mites or louse on any of our birds. They have access to clean food and water daily and their coop is cleaned regularly. I have 10 hens plus him. He appears to be the only one affected, although some of our hens have the "saddle" from him getting at their backs.

I already have one chicken inside the house that is recovering from a hawk attack so I don't have room for him too! What is this horrible looking thing and what can I do to help him??

400
 
Hi
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Welcome To BYC

What type of food/treats do you feed?
How old is he?

It looks like he's been plucked. Watch to see if your hens are plucking out his bum feathers. You can apply some Blu Kote or Pick No More to the redness to help the skin start to heal. I think I see some broken feathers and possibly the shaft(s) still in the skin - he most likely won't feather back in until he molts.

Offer him some poultry vitamins and extra protein like egg, tuna, mackerel or meat.
 
Thanks for your response!

They are fed layer pellets. They get one handful of scratch at the end of each day. Sometimes we toss a few kitchen veggie scraps out for them, but we had a problem a while back with thin egg shells so we try to stick to just the pellets.

I will pick up some blucoat asap. I have been watching and no one ever seems to bother him. Interestingly... if he is the worst, and many of the other hens are missing feathers from the base of their tails/back, can I assume that the chicken with the healthiest looking feathers is doing the picking?
 
cinnamonrooster said:
Thanks for your response!

They are fed layer pellets. They get one handful of scratch at the end of each day. Sometimes we toss a few kitchen veggie scraps out for them, but we had a problem a while back with thin egg shells so we try to stick to just the pellets.

I will pick up some blucoat asap. I have been watching and no one ever seems to bother him. Interestingly... if he is the worst, and many of the other hens are missing feathers from the base of their tails/back, can I assume that the chicken with the healthiest looking feathers is doing the picking?
Click to expand...
You can usually assume that
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Sometimes the heaviest picking can happen during roosting time, so take a peek during that time too.

Photos of the hens may help, some of their loss may be due to rooster treading (mating), but if your girls are missing feathers basically the same place as his, then it could be from picking as well.
 
Yes, it is definitely treading. I have been google pictures and it's exactly that. I am relieved to know that it is something normal. However, I am wondering if it is worth having a rooster at all. Our chickens are confined to a large outdoor run (11 including the rooster) of 375' sq and an indoor coop of 150' sq. We eat our eggs rather than use them to make new chickens. Is there a reason for us to have him?
 
cinnamonrooster said:
Yes, it is definitely treading. I have been google pictures and it's exactly that. I am relieved to know that it is something normal. However, I am wondering if it is worth having a rooster at all. Our chickens are confined to a large outdoor run (11 including the rooster) of 375' sq and an indoor coop of 150' sq. We eat our eggs rather than use them to make new chickens. Is there a reason for us to have him?
Click to expand...

People keep roosters for different reasons. Breeding - so you can have fertilized eggs to hatch your own. Flock protection - a rooster can alert the hens to danger, but of course, they aren't really a match for predators. Just because they like them
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If you aren't planning on breeding/raising chicks, there is no real need for a rooster. You can always buy fertilized eggs to place under a broody hen if you want to hatch eggs.

Think about your chicken keeping goals, if you feel that he is not necessary for your situation, then re-home him or butcher and eat him.
 

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