My Silky Serama 2yr. old rooster has broken feathers

[airmom1c05]

I don't know why nobody is answering my post on this forum? Maybe I didn't do it right. If anybody has ever had a rooster with broken feathers (not wings) I would sure like to know. The feathers are not in the coop! I don't know if he or his matched mate hen bit them off. There are still little stubs where the feathers used to be. Are those called quills? Will they grow back and if so do you know how long it will take. I have him isolated from the 3 hens I have (One is just a very young pullet - still peeps) because his mate hen had pecked his feather stubs to the point of drawing blood! My vet gave me a series of 7 antibiotic shots to give him one each day alternating breast sides daily. Today was the 4th shot. I don't know what kind of antibiotic it is. I flush the area with warm water each day, apply hydrogen peroxide and triple antibiotic ointment. He is much improved, but I don't know if I should wait until all the feathers in the area look normal before I let him out of his isolation pen. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!

 

[dlhunicorn]

That is the age where an adult molt will occur... add a good supplement ... a scrambled egg on occasion (that is if you are sure it is not a pecking or parasite issue)

 

[airmom1c05]

Thank you so much. I was thinking of adding scrambled eggs to all four birds' diets today. I don't know if his feather loss started as a peck wound or not. I don't think so. Could his Serama Bantam mate be pulling his feathers out? I just know the area wasn't infected or bleeding until the 2nd or third day I noticed the broken stubs. I use food grade Diatomaceous earth to dust my birds for parasites every two weeks and I sprinkle it in the litter and nesting boxes, too, so I wouldn't guess parasites. I am going to buy some yogurt at the grocery store today. I read on this site to look for probiotic yougurt. I hope they have that at my grocery store! I'm hoping the young Americauna pullet's stool will firm up if I add that to their diets. The three new birds don't roost as they spent their lives before I got them 11 days ago in pens and cages. I have a roost about 2 feet off the ground for the bantams and the baby Americauna. Brandy's roost is way up in the rafters of the coop. Each day I catch the small birds and place them on the roost. Hopefully they will learn to roost because I think they will be much cleaner in the long run when they do.

 

[silkiechicken]

Don't feel bad if nobody answers. Often it is because people who read it don't know what to say, or don't have any advice that would be helpful.

If the tiny shafts you are seeing are "fat" and blood filled, they are pin feathers, and are often tempting to get picked out by others. Like dl said, increasing protein would be good. My hens did this to my roo in the same place just by the wattles on the neck when they all went into moult!!! I got a bag of layer supplement and with some blue kote on the area, he's growing back just fine now.

I don't really see why the vet gave antibiotics for this as it seem unnecessary for feather picking... blood often is due to the pin feathers bleeding after they are pecked on. But since you started a course of antibiotics, always finish it, as stopping early increases the risk of developing stronger strains of resistant bacteria.

 

[airmom1c05]

I think he gave me the antibiotics because I wasn't certain just how deep the peck wounds were and I was a nervous wreck after reading about internal bacterial infections. Also, he didn't have the advantage of actually looking at the bird. I love my vet. He always returns calls and will talk on the phone for free for HOURS! I had read that a chicken can die within 24 hours from a deep peck wound bacterial infection near the head, neck and upper breast areas. Even if the outside heals from topical treatments, we can't see what's going on in the bloodstream. That's why I was practically hysterical that day.

 

[silkiechicken]

Ah, no need to be too panicked by wounds on chickens. Most, especially in back yard flocks have very high immune systems and can survive dog bites, and having their skin torn open on their backs due to over zealous roos. I do recommend antibiotics for dog bites, but small pecks in a non cramped housing environment isn't that bad. Relax a bit and they'll be fine.

Just keep the guy away from the pesky girls though, mature roos will let girls peck them bald if the girls had the desire to.