Help with reintroducing injured roo back into the flock

[Sunny Dawn]

I have a 4 month old EE Rooster (Gorgeous BTW) named Danny Boy. He was severely injured last Monday night by my rat terrier

. I honestly thought there was no way he would make it....disappeared overnight and showed up next afternoon with a chunk removed from under his wing and all the skin ripped off. He has been in my new "Chicken ICU" for a week now and doing remarkably well!

He actually hopped on a pole I put in there for a small roost for the first time tonight. Now that he is doing better...I have been taking the dog crate he is in out to the yard so he can get some fresh air and see the other chickens. Although he is doing better - the wound is still open and he is no where near ready to return to his feathered family. I do want to try and not isolate him to much as I know it is stressful for him to be alone. How do I keep him from being isolated and yet let his wound heal? Also - how do I introduce him back into the flock when it is safe for him to do so without being picked on? He is the beta roo and has been quite happy with being #2 as he has been with alpa roo since birth and Roo #1 (King Louis) is only 3 weeks older.

Please any advice and experience both good and bad would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Buffygirl]

I am so sorry to tell you this, but you might need to get rid of one roo.

I used to have 2 roos, brothers raised together from the time they came out of an egg. They lived together perfectly. Until one got sour crop. I healed him up, and when he was healthy again I put him back into the flock. The other roo forgot who he was, and upon coming home one day I found the healed roo dead

.

If you were absolutely sure that your roo was completely healed and strong again, you could try. I would. Just make sure that you are there for a while after you put them together again.

I just introduced new pullets into my existing flock. They lived side by side for a while with just chicken wire between them, which is why when I let the pullets out, nobody cared.

It might work, or it might not. I hope you have good luck with this.

 

[Nsampsel]

The best way would be to allow for as much interaction all along as possible. To just toss the injured boy back in the coop once healed like nothing ever happened would probably NOT be good. I would take him out in his pen & sit him inside the coop or close to where the others are free ranging as much as possible every day so they all remember each other & no one loses their place in the pecking order. Once the roos injuries are close to healed, I would move his crate to the coop/run full time until he is ready to return to the group. I would then place him on the roost at night while everyone is asleep & allow them to all wake up together in the morning as tho he had never been gone. You will definitely want to keep an eye on the 2 boys for a few days after to make sure they drop back into their old roles without any problems.

 

[Sunny Dawn]

The best way would be to allow for as much interaction all along as possible. To just toss the injured boy back in the coop once healed like nothing ever happened would probably NOT be good. I would take him out in his pen & sit him inside the coop or close to where the others are free ranging as much as possible every day so they all remember each other & no one loses their place in the pecking order. Once the roos injuries are close to healed, I would move his crate to the coop/run full time until he is ready to return to the group. I would then place him on the roost at night while everyone is asleep & allow them to all wake up together in the morning as tho he had never been gone. You will definitely want to keep an eye on the 2 boys for a few days after to make sure they drop back into their old roles without any problems.

Thank you! You have affirmed what I thought. Great to have the feedback of some more experienced chicken owners. Much appreciated!

 

[Sunny Dawn]

Just wanted to share that Daniel has been with the rest of the flock for a month now. His wound has completely healed and is doing extremely well!

 

[Sunny Dawn]

Here he is - feathers are still growing in - but doing much better!