9 week old baby attacked last night

[Eggcessive]

Glad to hear that there seems to be improvement and eating. I would agree that a wire dog crate with food and water would be good to place him in to get back to his flock. Chickens will attack one that shows lameness or disability. But you willl want to get him back, at least in a crate or for supervised visits before too long.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Well, he got to visit everybody in the run for about 30 minutes... Then we got a surprise downpour so my daughter and I had to go retrieve him since I can't carry the dog crate alone. My daughter, the chick, and I all looked like drowned rats in the process.

I think the other chickens were more interested in what was in his food and water bowl than him.

I may not get much opportunity to socialize him this weekend because it is supposed to storm all weekend...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Well, he got to visit everybody in the run for about 30 minutes... Then we got a surprise downpour so my daughter and I had to go retrieve him since I can't carry the dog crate alone. My daughter, the chick, and I all looked like drowned rats in the process.

I think the other chickens were more interested in what was in his food and water bowl than him.

I may not get much opportunity to socialize him this weekend because it is supposed to storm all weekend...

Eh, I didn't think of that when I decided to "break a broody" today! This is gonna be fun ... not!

 

[TJAnonymous]

Rain cleared up after a morning shower so I decided to put the dog crate in the run for some socialization. He was out there for several hours in a nice shady spot. After about 4 hours, I decided to see how the others would react and I let him out of the crate. Most of the adults pretty much ignored him, but one of his rooster brothers immediately started to intimidate him. I just watched closely to see if his brother was just play fighting... But nope, sure enough, his brother leaped on his head, pecking at his bad eye and neck... Poor baby was squawking like mad so I jumped in to save him since his brother wouldn't stop. The brother drew blood... Not badly but still...

Also, his eye is looking the same every day besides treatment. It is not weeping or goopy. It just won't seem to open all the way. I'm beginning to think maybe the muscle to the bottom of the lid has been severed beneath the skin or something?

Here's a picture of the eye... The red/bloody spot is from his brother attacking him.

 

[Eggcessive]

Poor guy. The other cockerels will definitely be a problem trying to reintegrate him. I would leave him in his crate until he is better. What are your plans about the extra cockerels? Most will start fighting eventually when hormones come into play. They will drive the pullets crazy as well.

 

[TJAnonymous]

That's a great question and I'm not sure what to do with them... By state law, you must buy a minimum of 6 chicks at a time. Of the 6 Ameraucana chicks I bought from TSC, only ONE appears to be a hen. Go figure...

I currently have one rooster right now. A very docile Silkie I call Roo. I have no idea how old he is and I have only seen him attempt to mate the hens once in 3 months. I currently have somewhere in the range of 18 - 20 hens.

I was kinda hoping I could keep 2 or 3 of the Ameraucana roosters as I'd love to get some baby chicks... I've heard Ameraucana roosters can generally be polite to people and not attack you at any opportunity. My chicken run is large... About 125 - 150 ft by 30 ft with 2 separate coops in it? Plus I allow my chickens to free range on several acres throughout the day....

So any advice or expectations on these baby cockerels would be appreciated. My husband would cull them without the blink of an eye cause he doesn't really care... But some of them are quite pretty so I'd love to keep them around.

 

[TJAnonymous]

This is Roo.... He's such a gentleman. He's scared of people and won't let you pick him up without thinking you are about to eat him... But in the 2 times I've had to actually catch him, he's never once tried to bite, spur, or scratch. And he is so soft.... I was amazed. It was almost like petting a dog (once I caught him.)

 

[Frankiegirl]

I hope all is working out for you. I wish I had some advice but simply want to send good wishes your way for continued improvement.

 

[Eggcessive]

I had 5 roosters at one time, 2 that stayed with the hens, and 3 that stayed together in a rooster pen away from the hens who were to be used for breeding during breeding season. Whenever I bred and hatched chicks, I always ended up with too many cockerels, and it became very hard to rehome them. A friend butchered the extras for awhile, but he was slow to take them which created havoc. So I stopped breeding.

Can you post pictures of the suspected cockerels? Are they ameraucanas, or easter eggers? Most hatcheries and feed stores falsely advertise EEs as ameraucanas. The males can look very colorful.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Eggcessive....being a chick newbie...are there any positive reasons to keep Roos if your purpose of chicks is to have a few egg layers and the fun of hanging out with the flock?