Roos bum pecked / blucoat?

[Jakenhoss]

I have a roo that has been getting his bum picked constantly. Yesterday the girls picked at it so much that he was very bloody which developed into more picking. I cleaned him up and when it was time for bed, the girls started in again. My question is; is it safe to put blucoat on his bum? As long as the girls keep pecking on him he will never be able to grow his tail feathers. But my main concern is the picking/pecking his bum. Does anyone have some help for me?

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Yes, you can use blukote - but more important will be getting to the root of the cause of their picking or your efforts to heal and regrow will be for naught. How long has the picking been going on?

 

[justplainbatty]

I have a roo that has been getting his bum picked constantly. Yesterday the girls picked at it so much that he was very bloody which developed into more picking. I cleaned him up and when it was time for bed, the girls started in again. My question is; is it safe to put blucoat on his bum? As long as the girls keep pecking on him he will never be able to grow his tail feathers. But my main concern is the picking/pecking his bum. Does anyone have some help for me?

I would keep him separated for a few days. Try putting some triple antibiotic w/o pain killer on the wounds to help healing. Once the wounds are scabbed over, apply blu kote liberally and return him to the flock.

 

[cafarmgirl]

I agree, pull him out for several days so he can do some healing. But you'll have to watch closely when he goes back. This may now be a habit they won't easily forget. How many chickens do you have and how much space do they have?

 

[Jakenhoss]

The pecking has been going on for about a little over a month now. The girls that are doing it are my new chicks that I've had for 10 months. I've no idea why they started pecking at his bum, unless it was because of feather regrowth. I put blucoat on him yesterday and that didn't seem to stop any of the picking. I saw the culprits with the blue beaks but....
I have 24 chickens right now and they are in a 50X20 pen with four houses and a egg house which they very rarely use. I keep it in for the few that do use it and because some of the girls decided they would rather sleep on top of it than go into one of the houses. There is a fence which I put up to keep one of my roos in because he tries to or does attack my old man and the little roo, but the girls can go in and out of the yard at their leisure. It only takes up about 5-6 feet of the 50 foot yard. The roo in question is in with the main flock but I guess I'll have to make another yard just for him temporarily. I'm thinking of putting a bandana on his bum area to see if that would help in the pecking. I figure if they can't see it they won't peck it. (?)
Thank you all for your input and if you have any more suggestions please help my boy, Roo Roo.

 

[azygous]

Isolating the roo is probably a good idea to give him a chance to heal. For some unknown reason, some roosters are helpless victims of this and they won't do anything to try to protect themselves.

You might consider putting pinless peepers on the problem pickers. It might re-program them to leave feathers alone.