problem with my rooster and hens pecking feathers out his feathers by his butt and made wounds

[ilovemy11chicks]

hi..i have a problem with one of my roosters....the hens kept picking his feathers in the back....they kept doing it i guess because it made him bleed ..i kept him isolated for a while then someone told me about blu-kote.....so i have been putting on him basically every day for at least 3 weeks...if i dont put it on for a day..the hens keep picking at him......it doesnt look like the feathers are growing back but as long as i put the blu-kote on it seems to dry his wounds out....i dont know if his feathers are gonna grow back......i dont know what to do....im so afraid he wontt get better...i dont know what else to do...i have 2 roosters ..he is the boss and my favorite boy....please if anyone knowa whart to do please help me with any info...thanx

 

[ChickenCanoe]

There could be a lot of causes. One common one is protein. What constitutes their diet?

 

[Judy]

I would keep him isolated til I saw no sign of a wound. The feathers may not grow back til his next molt. If he gets to the point where he is completely healed but still a bit bare from lack of feathers, I'd use the BluKote to hide the "naked" skin and then put him back with the vlock.

Sometimes BluKote keeps the others away from a wound, and sometimes it doesn't. It's still a good antiseptic to use on chicken wounds, though.

Another thought is that feather picking can be a sign that their diet is short on protein. Sometimes this happens because people give too many "treats" like greens and fruits that have no protein, causing their total protein intake to decrease. You could switch to a game bird feed for their treat if you use scratch for a treat. You could offer some BOSS. You could scrabmble them some eggs. You could look for a higher protein % in the feed store. Layer feed is not real high in protein. Many people never buy it; instead, they feed game bird feed or a flock raiser or grower, and offer oyster shell separately for hens who need extra caclium. I buy a can of canned mackerel now and then. Some table scraps would be good protein sources, but be careful that they don't get pieces that are too large. Just some ways to increase protein intake.

 

[seminolewind]

I had a chicken who was getting her head feathers pulled out, I put ichthamol (thick black like tar) on her head every night and it stopped. It wears off by itself.

 

[brookside birds]

What is BOSS ? ..and can you give hens cleaned, cooked, and crushed egg shells as a source of calcium??

 

[datchickendoe]

I heard that vapor rube on all the feathers around the area will help them stop pecking the area

 

[ChickenCanoe]

What is BOSS ? ..and can you give hens cleaned, cooked, and crushed egg shells as a source of calcium??

BOSS=Black Oil Sunflower Seed

Yes on the egg shells. In a separate container from feed. I like to pulverize them and mix with my oyster shell.

 

[Isaac 0]

How much space do they have?. One of the most common causes of feather picking is lack of space.