Hello. We have 3 rooters sharing a coop. No hens yet. We've had the roos only a couple months, and today I noticed one looked like his feathers were ruffled. Upon closer observation, I saw that there is a small bald spot starting on the back of his neck. The other roosters appear to be fine at this point. When we first got these three, we suspected that they had some type of bug because I found a TINY light colored thing in my hair after laying on the ground and taking their pictures. To remedy this, we provided a dust bath made with dirt, wood ash, and diatomaceous earth. I don't think they use the dust bath much. So my question is: what is causing the bald spot? Is it a pest or is it that he is being picked on by the other two? Also, what can we do to make the dust bath more attractive to them?
I will attempt to post photos of the coop and run, in case anyone has any suggestions. Please know that this is a temporary coop until we get the proper one built, hopefully by end of this summer.
I will attempt to post photos of the coop and run, in case anyone has any suggestions. Please know that this is a temporary coop until we get the proper one built, hopefully by end of this summer.
and Welcome To BYC! X3 on check very carefully for lice/mites... if they are already infested DE etc will not do much good, you'll want to treat them with Sevin or Poultry Dust etc, you can usually find them at any feed store. Whether or not the roosters will get along later depends a lot on the breeds, game type roos will usually not get along when older, a lot of the heavier breeds may be fine... if you get hens and intend to run all three roos with the hens you will need a lot of hens and a lot of room for them to move around in to avoid fights over the hens/ territory.
