Hi All,
So this isn't my first rodeo--have 2 dozen mature birds (different breeds) from 2 years ago, variety of breeds, all raised from 1 week old. All good so far.
Two weeks ago I bought a dozen Welsummer babies . They seemed to be of the same age when I first brought them home, but as the days progressed it appeared that some had nice little tails while the others had none. Two days ago I saw that one of the tail-less ones had a bloody stump. I looked at the others and noticed that 5 more also had bloody stumps, and that their tailed sisters were picking at them.
I've since soaked and cleaned each of their little rumps and painted the red areas with activated charcoal paste and they should clear up ok.
My question is this: Has anyone else seen this kind of problem in a young flock of Welsummers? My other breeds never had this problem (Ameraucana, RIR, Buff Orphington, Bard Rock).
PS: If anyone wants to know why I use activated charcoal it's because a) it absorbs any poisons, infection or fungal presence; b) it eliminates scent--such as bloody tissue--thereby lessening the chances of further picking by others; c) it's completely non toxic to the birds themselves. I use activated charcoal for burns, scratches, cuts on myself as well as our dogs and cats. It's very useful.
So this isn't my first rodeo--have 2 dozen mature birds (different breeds) from 2 years ago, variety of breeds, all raised from 1 week old. All good so far.
Two weeks ago I bought a dozen Welsummer babies . They seemed to be of the same age when I first brought them home, but as the days progressed it appeared that some had nice little tails while the others had none. Two days ago I saw that one of the tail-less ones had a bloody stump. I looked at the others and noticed that 5 more also had bloody stumps, and that their tailed sisters were picking at them.
I've since soaked and cleaned each of their little rumps and painted the red areas with activated charcoal paste and they should clear up ok.
My question is this: Has anyone else seen this kind of problem in a young flock of Welsummers? My other breeds never had this problem (Ameraucana, RIR, Buff Orphington, Bard Rock).
PS: If anyone wants to know why I use activated charcoal it's because a) it absorbs any poisons, infection or fungal presence; b) it eliminates scent--such as bloody tissue--thereby lessening the chances of further picking by others; c) it's completely non toxic to the birds themselves. I use activated charcoal for burns, scratches, cuts on myself as well as our dogs and cats. It's very useful.
