- Apr 21, 2008
- 30
- 1
- 22
Dear Experienced BYCers,
Our white crested polish black "Pom-Pom" is suddenly quite bald in the middle of his "crown"...all of the feathers have been pulled out by their roots, and his/her poor head there looks sore and just a little bloodied.
He is in a chicken coop with a spacious pen, with 13 other chickens that he has been with since birth, and they were all hatched on March 13th. Also, there are 7 young aracaunas. I"m not sure yet if "Pom-Pom" is a hen or a rooster, but there are definitely 2 roosters in the bunch of them. Most of the others are easter eggers, while one looks to be a RIR roo who recently found his crow, and the other is as large as that rooster, but i'm not sure of the sex yet. (No eggs yet).
They have all gotten along together just fine, but now this. There were 15 cornish rocks in there as well until 3 weeks ago, when they went to be in my freezer. But, we've never seen a fight, and I would think that if someone were after him, that he would have plenty of space to get away. Also, I don't think our chickens are bored at all.
His head looks as if he just stood still while someone pulled out all his feathers in the middle of his beautiful crest. Do you think this is cannibalism? Do you think it is a pecking order dispute, that will soon pass? Do you think I need to find someone a new home? Or, could it be something else?
I did inspect the area on his head for mites, bugs, or anything like that. It seemed quite clean. If you have any ideas on what is going on, I'd be grateful. These are our first chickens, and we love them.
Thank you in advance for sharing your experience with me!
Sincerely,
Jennifer in Texas
1 loving husband, 4 special children, 2 corn snakes, 2 parakeets, 3 goldfish, 1 dog, and 20 chickens. Oh - and a rex rabbit.
Our white crested polish black "Pom-Pom" is suddenly quite bald in the middle of his "crown"...all of the feathers have been pulled out by their roots, and his/her poor head there looks sore and just a little bloodied.
He is in a chicken coop with a spacious pen, with 13 other chickens that he has been with since birth, and they were all hatched on March 13th. Also, there are 7 young aracaunas. I"m not sure yet if "Pom-Pom" is a hen or a rooster, but there are definitely 2 roosters in the bunch of them. Most of the others are easter eggers, while one looks to be a RIR roo who recently found his crow, and the other is as large as that rooster, but i'm not sure of the sex yet. (No eggs yet).
They have all gotten along together just fine, but now this. There were 15 cornish rocks in there as well until 3 weeks ago, when they went to be in my freezer. But, we've never seen a fight, and I would think that if someone were after him, that he would have plenty of space to get away. Also, I don't think our chickens are bored at all.
His head looks as if he just stood still while someone pulled out all his feathers in the middle of his beautiful crest. Do you think this is cannibalism? Do you think it is a pecking order dispute, that will soon pass? Do you think I need to find someone a new home? Or, could it be something else?
I did inspect the area on his head for mites, bugs, or anything like that. It seemed quite clean. If you have any ideas on what is going on, I'd be grateful. These are our first chickens, and we love them.
Thank you in advance for sharing your experience with me!
Sincerely,
Jennifer in Texas
1 loving husband, 4 special children, 2 corn snakes, 2 parakeets, 3 goldfish, 1 dog, and 20 chickens. Oh - and a rex rabbit.
