*GRAPHIC PICTURES* Roo almost pecked to death...

[Jazzymond573]

Hey guys, i know i havent been on here a lot, but thats because i havent had any problems until now. First to vent, when we ordered chickens, we asked for 2 roos. 1 brown and 1 white. Long story short we ended up with 3 roos (ALL white leghorns :

) and 5 browns unstead of 6.
Well our roos have been maturing, with the hens laying eggs and all. Yesterday when i went out to give them treats, i spotted blood on the roosts. i figured i should let them out anyways, so i went outside to open up the run door. (The wind was blowing like crazy, but they hate being cooped up)
there in the corner i spotted a rooster, (one of the smaller ones) with blood (dried) all over his front. I ran like crazy down to the back door to tell someone. after about a minute of discussing what to do, we decided we would put him in the old bunny hutch. I took out the wire flooring and poured some shaving in. I grabbed some regular food and put it in a dish and put some water in a small cup. we grabbed a big flood light and put it in front of the hutch for heat. Yesterday when i first had put him in he was shaking badly and kind of wheezing (no blood). when i got home today from a friends party, you could tell he had been drinking (It was red from the blood down his front). he had some afterdroppings mixed in with the shaving (not a lot).


What i want to know is,

1When/how/if i should introduce him back to the flock
2 should i make him a hot mash to get him to eat more?
3 how can i clean the dried blood off the front of him?
4 should i use shavings?

Thanks for reading this,
Jazz PS I had someone there checking on him, and i could call whenever i wanted to see if he was ok

BTW how do i submit pics?

 

[Lmarie]

I'm so sorry to hear that!!

I had the same problem, but with two hens!
Kiln dried pine shavings are best (I think). I'm not sure how long to keep them apart. My hens still go at it, so they're still apart.
Try a warm damp sponge on the dried bloody feathers. And electrolytes in water.
Lauren

 

[orcasislandchickens]

How many hens did you say you have? And how many roosters? Chicken guys like a harem, I think the ratio is about 10 hens for each rooster. So you may have too many roosters for the number of hens available. If that is the case you will have to get rid of some or they will fight and kill each other off.

It is good that you separated him and he is drinking.

 

[BeckyLa]

If I understand your post correctly, you have 5 hens and 3 roos, right?
If this is the case, you have way to many roos for the number of hens, the rule of thumb says 1 roo for 12 hens. With too many roos there is fighting which is why your poor boy got hurt. You might want to rehome/cull your extra roos. Now, as for your hurt roo, since you have a heat source, you can take a damp cloth and clean his feathers to get rid of the blood. The shavings are fine if they are pine and not fine saw dust. If you rehome your extra roos, you can either make him one that you rehome, or once the others are gone put him back with the flock. Yes, you can make him a warm mash of feed, maybe some extra cracked corn, and add a bit of plain yogurt. He is probably still in some shock and confused which is why he is not eating much. He'll probably be fine tomorrow. But do not put him back out with blood on his feathers, it will cause them to attack him again. I hope he will be alright.

 

[ranchhand]

He probably needs some Gatorade, (electrolytes) in there, red works best. Keep him warm. If it were me, I'd start him on some tetracycline from the feed store, in his water. Separate from the Gatorade.

I think your biggest problem is too many roosters. Sounds like you need to find new homes for two of them. If I read it right, you have 3 roos and 5 hens. Not a good balance, best bet is 1 roo per 10 hens. I have 1 roo and 7 hens, but I watch them VERY carefully!

1. Don't put him back in, find him a new home.
2. Oatmeal, cream of wheat, anything warm and nourishing might help. Hard boiled egg chopped and mixed in.
3. Leave it for a few days, he might clean himself. If you want to check for wounds, clean with a soft, damp and warm cloth or sponge. But make sure he isn't damp and cold afterward.
4. Pine shavings are fine, NOT cedar. I use wheat straw, because it's cheap here and they don't eat it.

GOOD LUCK!

Re: pics- there is a very cool and user friendly upload button in the menu! I LOVE it!

 

[Jazzymond573]

UPDATE-

Gave him hot mash and he started munching down......

WARNING GRAPHIC PIC





Here he was with all of his injuries

Here is his set-up for now.... (sorry its kind of blurry!)

Zooming out

by the way, i have 5 browns, and 7 white leghorns Browns - all hens Whites- 4 hens 3 roosters

The lady that we got them from as chicks gave us 2 extra roosters i guess...

 

[ranchhand]

Poor guy, he's had a really bad roo day. Best find him a new home, because he'll forever be the low man on the totem pole. So total, is 9 hens, 3 roos- Yup, time to rehome or cull 2 roos.

Glad he ate some mash, needs some antibiotic ointment or something in water. Wish we were closer, I'd take him out of sheer sympathy!

 

[Jazzymond573]

The only problem is every time i try to get close to him to touch him or look at his wounds, he freaks out and im scared hes going to hurt himself. Any suggestions on how to get him out without him running away?
Thanks everybody for the quick responds

Jazz

 

[Teresaann24]

do you have like one of those fish netting catcher things? for big fish? I use one to help me catch my shy/scared chickens I also leave them in it and hold them down in it while I check them. Noone gets hurt not bird nor I. Just a suggestion!

 

[BayCityBabe]

I have a big, gorgeous Andalusian roo in my wine cellar right now. My Silkie roo has torn him up about three times.

(I know, I know... whooped by a Silkie!) What I have learned is that beyond an initial clean compress and some ointment (w/o painkiller in it), I cannot do much to help the wounds. His blood clots fast & he heals in a couple of days. I have actually seen him clean his feathers of blood. If he is eating & drinking, he should be okay.
I must second what others have said about roo to hen ratio. We got rid of alot of roos and I thought we were good. The past couple days have been sub-zero here in Michigan, so my birds were locked in. It was enough to inspire a fight. I will be caging and rehoming...