Bad rooster!

[fruehter]

HElP! I have 10 hens about four months old ,one turned out to be a rooster and has singled out one hen pecking her head and pulling lots of feathers.she hides in fear! some scalp injury. now another hen decided to join in and pluck her too! flock seems upset didnt plan for a rooster .will things change? should I seperate or cull?Or wait?

 

[sadies chicks]

Separate the wounded hen and let her recover. Now that she has been injured, she will be the object of the other birds constant plucking and it can get pretty bad. She may be the rooster's "favorite" and he may be trying to mate with her alot. If you were not planning for a rooster try to rehome him.

GOOD LUCK!

 

[NanaLantana]

Take a toenail clippers and nip the beaks of the peckers. If the 'underchick' has an open wound, you'll have to separate her, as they'll peck her to death. Chickens love to peck blood - they'd eventually kill her. When you clip the beak, just take a tiny bit off the TOP beak only, so it doesn't hang over the bottom. Then look at it straight on - you should see a little curved open area. Feathers slip thru a clipped beak. Don't clip too far, or it will bleed. If you do it right, it will grow back and it doesn't hurt. But this will stop feather picking, as the feathers will slip thru the beak. Later, if this bad habit starts again, check the beak and clip again. I use this method, and I only have to do it once and the plucking stops. Hope it works for you. It may or may not be because you have a roo - sometimes dominant hens do it, too.

 

[fruehter]

thanks for the rapid advise!I will try.