- Dec 26, 2010
- 10
- 0
- 22
This is my first post - hope you can help. About 5 weeks ago, my rooster, Shadow's comb started to look like he was suffering from some disease. It had white and black spots and was bleeding in spots. I took him to the bird vet and was told that he probably had gotten into some thorns and then the hens had started to peck at his comb. I tried all the remedies I had read about here and on other sites, including putting Vicks, rooster-booster, Blue-Kote and Red-Kote and pine tar on the affected areas but nothing helped. He would put his head down and the girls would peck at him. I put him in a seperate yard and coop and I sold the hens who were very good layers and only about 1 year old and got 6 new Rhode Island Red hens who are quite young and have not yet started to lay. I put Shadow back in the chicken yard and then let in the new girls. His comb is completely healed and totally red, no spots no scars, looked really good, but you guessed it, he put his head down and the new girls started to peck at his comb. I picked him up and again it is bleeding. So, I have put him back in solitary and do not know what to do. This is a great rooster, he is sweet and has no bad habits. I could keep him by himself but he seems unhappy without the hens and I can't just let him be bloodied by them. Please help. I also have another hen with chicks who was brooding at the time of the first hen-pecking. She is in a seperate small yard with her 5 chicks who are now 4 weeks old. I think I have another rooster there, and my husband says get rid of Shadow and keep the young rooster, but I am really having a hard time with this as I really like Shadow and I know I can't terminate him and don't know of anyone who would just want a rooster for a pet without having any hens.
Vicki
Vicki
