roo pecked head

[stcroixusvi]

We have a 14 week old Polish rooster that had some his head feathers pecked off in a very short period of time. This morning he was fine - maybe missing a feather or two, it rained and the chickens all crowded under the coop. When the rain stopped I went out and Rudy was missing feathers over half his head. It is a tiny bit red, and there is a tiny bit of blood. I fed the others watermelon, and he was pecking away at it as though nothing was wrong, and none of the peeps seem to pay any attention to him. All of our chickens are brooder mates since day 1, and we really haven't had any troubles up until now. We have a head rooster who usually keeps order.

I took him out and put him in a large dog carrier - after blowing dry his wet head and applying some plain neosporin. Tomorrow I will get some blue kote, and give away the rooster I think is responsible for this.

How long should I keep the injured bird out?
Can I put him back in after I put the blue kote on?
Will it be hard to reintroduce him to the flock after he has been away to heal?

Thanks for your help.

 

[nurse_turtle]

I'm in Western NC too (Wilkes). We got a bit of that storm too. I'm sorry to hear about your Roo but it sounds like you have it under control. I would keep him separated for several days and keep the blue spray going. Supposedly the others won't mess with the blue stuff. Good luck rehoming the evil-doer.

 

[stcroixusvi]

Quote:
I feel terrible about keeping him apart from his broodmates, especially since he is never a problem. I hope he will be ok in this small dog crate. He can't fly - he can stretch, but he doesn't have a roost. And he doesn't have his pals.