Hen Pecked??!!!

[harri]

So tonight got had a busy day and did not get out to the girls till 10pm. i noticed one of my 5 monthg old tetras had a bald spot onn her but just above the tail feathers. it was bloody and oozing. It did not appear to have skin damage other than the missing feathers. The bald spot is approx. 2 inches . I put together and old dog cage we had to deperate her from the rest of the gang for a few days. Is there any treatment i should give her? how long should i keep her in confinement and how hard will it be to reintroduce her again?
thank you
Jim

 

[FuzzyButtsFarm]

Sound like you have a feather picker and she has decided to pick on this one. I would put some Blue Coat on it and put her back in with the rest. You are going to have to watch them to find out who is doing it cause they will do it again. When you find out who it is I would give them a time out in the dog cage. How much room do they have? Feather picking is a sign of stress boredom or it could be a lack of protein in the diet. Good luck with your chicks.

 

[nurse_turtle]

Get that girl a saddle for protection.

 

[harri]

What is blue coat? can i get it at my local feed store or tsc?

 

[harri]

I have 12 birds. I think one is a rooster and i am beginning to think i may have a second rooster. they have 60 sf in the coop, and 120 sf in the run.

 

[RoeDylanda]

Harri, you can get Blu-Kote at the feed store or TSC. Mine is a yellow spray bottle. My chickens all went crazy yesterday too, and started pecking each others' heads. 2 are now separated, one for injury and one for aggressiveness. Are any of yours pooping blood? Two of mine are and I can't tell if it's blood she swallowed during PeckFest or a separate issue. Going to the feed store today to consult-- I'll repost here if I find out anything useful. Good luck to you.

 

[harri]

No they are not pooping blood that i noticed. I'll have to pick up some blue coat on my way home tonight.
thanks

 

[newchick13]

I had the same problem when mine were little. I tried to find blu-kote and pine tar because they were suggested here but none of my local stores sold them. I isolated the poor little thing and ordered this stuff called rooster booster no-peck. Worked great, but stains like crazy! It is a month later and we can still pick her out from a distance because of the tint on her feathers.

 

[harri]

So the one that was originally picked on is doing fine now.(with her purple tail!)
However a second one was picked on. When i put the 1st one back in the run, the second one started to peck her. I noticed the second one had also been pecked at, but i put her in the dog cage. Then i noticed the real bully and put her in the cage also. when i checked on them about an hour later the second one was bleeding from the bully. i removed her from the cage, but she was now bleeding so all the others went after her. So i had to make a quick cage to keep her safe from the others, I was also getting ready for hurricane irene and also working that night. I tended to her wound but she died over night.
I left the bully in the cage for a couple of days and then let her back with the gang, but she went after the 1st one immediately, so she is back in the dog cage.
Any suggestions?? Or is she gonna be dinner?