Henpecked rooster. Literally....

[wordgirl]

Okay, guys – I need your help.

Over a month ago, our roo's tail was chomped off by Something (we think, a coyote or fox) and left with a single tail feather and a nasty wound. The wound has since healed, and his feathers are growing back, but – every time I try to put him back in with the girls, they peck his new pinfeathers to get to the blood.

Do I need to wait until his feathers are all grown in before he can spend a night with the girls in peace, or is there some other way that he can be with the girls without being harmed? Ever since the end of September (except for the playtimes we give him now and again) he has been banished to an X-Large dog crate by himself, and I'd really like for him to be able to go back in the coop. Anything I can do?

ETA: I'm sorry if this is in the wrong place. Please tell the mods if it is, so they can move it.

 

[Plain Old Dee]

I'm no expert, but it sounds to me like he's going to have to start all over achieving his place in your flock heirarchy.

Not too long ago, I bought some mutt pullets that were fairly small. When I introduced them to my BO's and RIR girls, it was a horrible thing to see. One of the pullets looks pretty much like she's been scalped! We rounded all the small ones (I'm not sure whether they are bantams or not - but they are smaller than the BO's and RIR's and are not much younger) and put them in a cage in the henhouse. This let them get acquainted with the big girls and still be protected by the wire cage. After a couple of days, we tried letting the little ones out again, and this time there was no problem at all.

You might want to put the dog crate in your henhouse for a couple of days - if you have room - to let them get re-acquainted?

 

[wordgirl]

Well, I'm not sure that they're pecking him to show him his place – I think they just want the blood. But you could be very right – this could be partially a pecking-order problem, but I don't think that's the main thing. They don't attack him to his face, which I would think they would try to do if they were fighting???