Cockerel got beat up

[RedIII]

Hey all. So I just came home to an unpleasant surprise. I pulled one of my cockerels out of the coop and found that he has blood all over his head and hackles. It looks like one of the other birds got some good bites in on his comb and the back of his head - I think it may have been my young jake turkey, who is considerably bigger. Wasn't the other cockerel, because he's already separated with a similar wound

I tried to clean some of the blood off of the cockerel and put some neosporin on the worst parts of his wounds, then coaxed him to drink just a little bit of water. He's now in his own cage in the garage for the night, and I plan to keep him separated until he heals up.

Other than making sure his wound stays clean and he gets food and water, is there anything else I can do for him to help him heal? He looks like he's lost a fair amount of blood from his comb, as it looks deflated. He was acting kind of out of it when I was cleaning him up, and it's no wonder. I will not be happy if I wake up tomorrow and find out I'm down a boy

 

[SIMZ]

It sounds like you're doing what you can. How is he today?

 

[arcy liger]

can you just seperate the turkey instead of the rooster because they can recover in two days(normal wounds) and a week (bigger wounds).....you should keep him with the flock but seee for infections......

 

[Michael Apple]

Hey all. So I just came home to an unpleasant surprise. I pulled one of my cockerels out of the coop and found that he has blood all over his head and hackles. It looks like one of the other birds got some good bites in on his comb and the back of his head - I think it may have been my young jake turkey, who is considerably bigger. Wasn't the other cockerel, because he's already separated with a similar wound

I know some people talk of having roosters together in the same yard/coop. I'd rather be safe than sorry so I never mix cockerels/roosters together. One rooster to a flock. Why do you have a Turkey mixed in with your chickens? Or did the Tom just manage to find his way among them?


I tried to clean some of the blood off of the cockerel and put some neosporin on the worst parts of his wounds, then coaxed him to drink just a little bit of water. He's now in his own cage in the garage for the night, and I plan to keep him separated until he heals up.

I recommend keeping him separate from other roosters and Turkeys indefinitely. If his wounds aren't healed completely, the other birds may pick at him.

Other than making sure his wound stays clean and he gets food and water, is there anything else I can do for him to help him heal? He looks like he's lost a fair amount of blood from his comb, as it looks deflated. He was acting kind of out of it when I was cleaning him up, and it's no wonder. I will not be happy if I wake up tomorrow and find out I'm down a boy

So long as he's eating and drinking, you could put some vitamin/electrolyte/probiotic powder in his water. Keep his feeder full and keep him warm. I hope he gets back to health soon.

 

[XavCas]

This happened to my pullet, except it was from the other hens. She is actually scabbing nicely and back to her old self. She just looks beat up. You are doing everything you can. Keep him seperated.. and fresh food and water. Make sure the cage is cleaned regularly too. This is what I did / am doing with her now and she should be fine in a coupole of weeks; same for him..

 

[JerseyGiantfolk]

Definitely do watch for infection. If the comb starts to change color or smell, he could have an infection. Good luck.

 

[RedIII]

Thanks all. He seems to be doing okay today, and I'm happy he made it through the first night. His comb still looks partially deflated, but he is acting perky. I did put some vitamins in his water last night, and he's being kept where the temperature doesn't drop below 50 degrees. He's getting plenty of food and water. I will keep an eye on the color of that comb and see if anything changes.

Michael Apple, I have three turkeys that are normally kept with the chickens, as they have been raised together and until now, I've really not had a problem with this kind of aggression. The jake has two hens, but he must think he owns the pullets, too, so he got booted out of their midst as soon as I saw the cockerel's condition. Call it a bad decision on my part to mix them, but live and learn, I guess. I will not be putting the cockerel back in with his ladies until he's healed up, just because I don't want them to see blood and peck at him. The same goes for the other cockerel, whose comb got bitten by one of the pullets last week, though nowhere near as severe as this. I think that being limited as to where they can go outside because of the snow has made them more irritable.

 

[EEchickens]

im sure it was a animal who heard you and ran off

 

[drumstick diva]

you could put blukote on his wounds so the other birds don't notice or see blood. I think he seemed "out of it," due to shock or blood loss. Did the turkey have any blood around his face? I would keep him apart until the wounds heal a bit before putting him out with the flock.

 

[EEchickens]

well last time a raccoon came to my house in the middle of the night and left a mark green mark on my hen's foot