Noticed my rooster was being chased around the run by my 5 hens this afternoon and each one was taking turns lapping up blood coming from the top of his back near the base of his tail feathers. They wouldnt leave him alone and kept pecking at the bloody area.
I was able to grab him and it appears he has 1 freshly broken tail feather near the base of the quill which has been bleeding out. It's congealed and looks like it's not very bad, but I isolated him and he's now in a separate coop/run next door to the main one.
It looked like there was a prior broken quill next to this one, that had a new feather starting to poke through. Do you think one of the hens is bullying him and did this? The chickens never left their run today and I cant think of a good reason a feather like that would be bleeding. I did not find the broken feather in the coop or run, either. The coop is an Omelet Eglu coop and is fully closed in, so it couldnt have been a hawk.
I was planning to keep the rooster isolated for a few days. I cleaned up most of the blood and let him be. Anything else I should do or be concerned about regarding his health or a potential bully?
Thanks!
I was able to grab him and it appears he has 1 freshly broken tail feather near the base of the quill which has been bleeding out. It's congealed and looks like it's not very bad, but I isolated him and he's now in a separate coop/run next door to the main one.
It looked like there was a prior broken quill next to this one, that had a new feather starting to poke through. Do you think one of the hens is bullying him and did this? The chickens never left their run today and I cant think of a good reason a feather like that would be bleeding. I did not find the broken feather in the coop or run, either. The coop is an Omelet Eglu coop and is fully closed in, so it couldnt have been a hawk.
I was planning to keep the rooster isolated for a few days. I cleaned up most of the blood and let him be. Anything else I should do or be concerned about regarding his health or a potential bully?
Thanks!