Injured Shunned Rooster

[biscuit7]

A few days ago our free range chickens got too close to the dog. :/ One of the roosters has crooked toes and an top of that had been limping a few days prior (we are unsure why). Since he's at an obvious disadvantage, she got a hold of him. I did not see it happen but found lots of feathers and a small amount of blood. Once I was able to catch him I could see that one of his claws was barely hanging on. We bandaged it and separated him. He was only kept separate maybe 2 days max and seems to be improving, however, he's very far away from everyone in the flock (now 2 additional roosters and 17 chickens). It seems the other 2 roosters gang up on him. Will they always shun him or will this wear off? He's a good size rooster and I think he can hold his own but I'm worried about him being separated. Any help is welcome and appreciated! Thanks!

 

[GitaBooks]

How old is he and what size is he? How old and what size are the other two?

I'm glad he seems okay.

 

[biscuit7]

They are all 6 months old, have been together since birth and fairly large already. All 3 roosters are about the same size. If I had to use a comparison I would say they are about the size of a basketball? He seemed to be the top rooster of the 3 once the other 2 were culled. Could an injury change the pecking order? I just hate that they chase him out of the coop and also don't like that he's alone all day. I separated him from the rest tonight but hope I don't have to make a habit of it.

 

[GitaBooks]

When my top rooster had an injured leg, it didn't change his position. Of course, he is the largest of the lot and older then most of the others. A bad injury, however, could change the pecking order. How many hens do you have?

 

[biscuit7]

We have 17 hens. 16 of them are new. Haha. 1 is the same age as the roosters and has been with them since birth, 3 we acquired from a friend and are 42 or so weeks, 13 are 22 ish weeks.

 

[GitaBooks]

Roosters fight if they don't have enough hens. They do best with at least 8 hens each.

 

[biscuit7]

I read about different numbers of hens per rooster several places. Some said 10-12 a piece, some said 6-8. I figured we would be ok with our ratios since they were raised together. I really don't think the hen ratio is the issue as they never had any issues until the rooster was attacked. I've seen them run him off several times today and one of them seems to stand guard at the door of the chicken house. Poor Lois (hurt rooster) hangs out by himself in a different part of the yard. :/ I'm just wondering if this will stop or if we will have to get rid of one. I know we won't get any more hens.

 

[GitaBooks]

Yeah, it can be hard. I have four adult roosters at the time (multiple teens and chicks that are roos). My two silkies get along with one another, but my Barred Rock chases them and my OEG and my silkies chase my OEG. My poor OEG is at the very bottom and has a tattered tail. I'm going to try to rehome him and one of the silkies, since I'm keeping other bantam roosters for my breeding project and they'll just get bullied more.

I've had up to five or more adult roosters at a time, and some fought more then others and during certain seasons more then others. Injured chickens are far more likely to be bullied. You could try penning them with-in sight of them but wait to release him until he is healed enough to get away or fight back.

Best of luck!