My hens won't leave my rooster alone.

[cluckcluckluke]

I have a White Leghorn rooster and he has a HUGE comb, ear lobes and wattles.
Now, either at feeding time or foraging he has done damage to his comb and the hens have taken notice. They pecked at his wound making it worse. They then figured out that if they peck at his comb it starts bleeding so each day there is a new and bigger scab and he doesn't even seem to care, he just lets his girls make it worse.

How can I stop them and fix this problem for good?

 

[lilypad]

Purple spray is great - Order it online, it's called "Gentian Violet Antiseptic Spray".

I also use a little plain flour to stop small amounts of bleeding and cover the area in Sudocreme - it's nice and thick and shouldn't rub off too easily

 

[Judy]

Separate him til he heals. You can buy some BluKote at the feed store or online, which may mask the wound enough with its purplish color that they will leave it alone.

 

[cluckcluckluke]

O.K.

I live in Aus though. I don't think we have BluKote.

 

[Judy]

Sorry, I should have explained it's gentian violet, an antiseptic. You used to be able to buy it in a drug store; it's an "oldy goldie" remedy. Lots of brand names. Amazon has it, too.

And the flour (or corn starch) works to stop bleeding. The trick is to mask the red color of the wound as this is what attracts them to peck. Some people have even used blue food coloring in a pinch.