Polish Rooster's Head Feathers

[Mistyray_lynn]

I have a small flock of chickens about 10 months old. I got the hens together as chicks, there are 6. Then someone I knew couldn't keep the Polish Roo and I took him in. When he showed up he had a huge bald spot with just a ring of feathers. Apparently, his former flock-mates would not let his head feathers grow in without plucking them out.

I'm having the same problem. And with winter confinement the hens are tormenting him more. I was very excited that after keeping a blue salve on his head small feathers had filled in nicely. They were about a 1/4 inch long yesterday. This morning I was dismayed to find every single shaft plucked out and his head bloody again.

Any thoughts on what I can do for the poor guy?

TIA

 

[sourland]

It's a sad reality that for some reason flockmates tend to pluck the crests of Polish. I would put him in a separate pen and keep him away from the flock until his crest regrows completely. Free ranging with the hens on a supervised basis might also work until he regrows his crest, but I would recommend not penning him with the hens.

 

[mszekely]

I had this problem with my Polish hens. The other members of the flock constantly picked on them, plucking all the feathers from the topknot of one of my Buffs! Fortunately we have a large hen house, and I created a Polish wing for the 6 Polish girls. I wish I had a rooster for them, that is the next thing I am looking for. I just got a barred rock rooster this weekend for the rest of the girls. Isn't he beautiful? His name is Checkers.