I posted in the diseases/injury section and have gotten no response so I am teying again here:
When I let my chicks out into their run this morning I found one of my two 15 week old cockerels with a severely pecked tail and bleeding. This is a buff brahma and he is the roo that behaves more like the hens, not the top roo.
He has some patches at the root of his tail pecked bare and long tail feathers bit off and bleeding at the stumps.
I took him inside with me and sprayed some vetericyn on the wounds - not easy, he does not want to be handled.
Now he is unhappily standing in the little oen I set up for him.
Grrr. I saw one of the hens pull one of his tail feathers (one of the more dominant hens), then a girl on the very bottom of the pecking irder take a peck at him - that's when I saw that he was bleeding.
So: what do I do now?
I have 13 pullets, 2 cockerels (this brahma was a sexing error from the hatchery, the other, a Welsumer was the one I ordered), they are 14 and 15 weeks old.
Do you think this was the other cockerel who started it? That one is very much the top chicken. Or just the hens?
I know I can only keep one of the roosters anyway - should I just give away the brahma roo now? And what would be the best way to find a new home for him then?
When I let my chicks out into their run this morning I found one of my two 15 week old cockerels with a severely pecked tail and bleeding. This is a buff brahma and he is the roo that behaves more like the hens, not the top roo.
He has some patches at the root of his tail pecked bare and long tail feathers bit off and bleeding at the stumps.
I took him inside with me and sprayed some vetericyn on the wounds - not easy, he does not want to be handled.
Now he is unhappily standing in the little oen I set up for him.
Grrr. I saw one of the hens pull one of his tail feathers (one of the more dominant hens), then a girl on the very bottom of the pecking irder take a peck at him - that's when I saw that he was bleeding.
So: what do I do now?
I have 13 pullets, 2 cockerels (this brahma was a sexing error from the hatchery, the other, a Welsumer was the one I ordered), they are 14 and 15 weeks old.
Do you think this was the other cockerel who started it? That one is very much the top chicken. Or just the hens?
I know I can only keep one of the roosters anyway - should I just give away the brahma roo now? And what would be the best way to find a new home for him then?