Hen-pecked polish roo trying to regrow crest

[JLS]

Update:

I applied BluKote and tied his crest up. In short order the ladies pulled off the band and plucked his feathers out again and he is bleeding. I watched them interact for a long time before I went into the house for a few minutes. That's all it took. He is now separated again. I will need to find him a new home.

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have or can you borrow a dog crate with food and water, and place him in that out in the coop with the other chickens. If they can see each other, and he can regrow his feathers over the next month or so, he might be able to rejoin them. Many people would come to my farm and want to buy my polish hens, so you probably could find him a good home easily. But if they have poultry, he may get picked on in a new flock, possibly worse if he is not integrated slowly.

 

[JLS]

Do you have or can you borrow a dog crate with food and water, and place him in that out in the coop with the other chickens. If they can see each other, and he can regrow his feathers over the next month or so, he might be able to rejoin them. Many people would come to my farm and want to buy my polish hens, so you probably could find him a good home easily. But if they have poultry, he may get picked on in a new flock, possibly worse if he is not integrated slowly.

He has been separated from the hens since August but I have kept him inside the coop so they can see each other. I have him back in the separated area of the coop. It took him 2 months to grow the feathers in my original post. The issue I am running into is every time it rains the birds love being in it. Odd.  The polish's feathers separate when wet and it proves to be irresistible to the flock. They pick out all the feathers they can. The polish hens have tight crests so it isn't as bad but the rooster has a large wild crest that separates easily.
I cannot have 2 separate flocks. I don't know what to do. I live in Maine. It will be getting cold here very soon. The coop is not insulated, which is fine, because where the flock stays is draft free. The "isolation" part is very small and not designed to house birds, just supplies. I don't know if anyone will be willing to take him. It's a shame because he is a good boy.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Sorry, finding him a new home or keeping his separated long enough to break your hens picking habit are your only choices. Only you know what's best.

 

[Scampbeds]

Have a hen that has a large spot on her wing where the other hens just keep pecking her feathers off. I keep spraying it with blue stuff but it only deters them for a few days. Is there some kind of patch or something I can put on it to keep them off of it? Have a small coop with a long run but no way of really separating them.

 

[JLS]

Sorry, finding him a new home or keeping his separated long enough to break your hens picking habit are your only choices. Only you know what's best.

I believe I will try applying pinless peepers on the offending hens. The polish hens do not see well due to their beautiful crests so I don't believe I will need to put the peepers on them. I hate the thought of appying the peepers but hopefully it is only temporary.

 

[JLS]

I put the pinless peepers on the 8 non-polish hens last night after they went to roost. It went well. So far they seem to be adjusting well. I was feeling guilty for doing it. Then I thought about how the polish live with hardly any ability to see. It's not an ideal situation but I guess it's worth it if there is peace in the coop.