Ok, so I have a lovely little flock of chickens. 8 hens, 1 rooster. They are about a year and 2 months old. A few months ago I noticed a few of our hens had some bare backs, and one had feathers missing on her head. I asked about it on a different forum, and was advised it was due to a young, over zealous, inexperienced rooster and that he may get better as he got older. Now it's a few months later and I'm wondering what to do. 4 of the chickens have bare backs still with red skin, no new feathers are growing. Is this normal?
The rooster seems like a real sweetie with the hens, but he can get mean with us humans. Anytime he tries to attack me I confront him, and hold him upside down, and he is good as gold for awhile. I'm hoping as he ages he'll get nicer and more gentle with both me and the chickens, but is that realistic?
I'm also thinking there may be a mite, or lice problem. The red skin on the ones that have bare backs, and today when I grabbed the rooster I noticed he had red skin on his chest. What is the best way to determine whether it's mites, or lice, and how and what should I treat for them?
The rooster seems like a real sweetie with the hens, but he can get mean with us humans. Anytime he tries to attack me I confront him, and hold him upside down, and he is good as gold for awhile. I'm hoping as he ages he'll get nicer and more gentle with both me and the chickens, but is that realistic?
I'm also thinking there may be a mite, or lice problem. The red skin on the ones that have bare backs, and today when I grabbed the rooster I noticed he had red skin on his chest. What is the best way to determine whether it's mites, or lice, and how and what should I treat for them?
