Rooster bloody tail, being pecked, feathers broken off

[minaayindra]

Actually yes. I thought stopping the bleeding first and then cleaning and medicating. Do you have coconut oil? You could try that as an ointment until you can get something. You must have some sort of store around that will have Neosporin or triple antibiotic ointment. You have gotten a lot of good advice from others here too. I agree with isolating him until you can get this under control.

I just threw away my coconut oil 2 days ago since I thought I wasn't going to use it any more- figures. I have the triple antibiotic and I made my own saline. I have styptic powder for my dogs, don't know if that would do any good.

 

[ValerieJ]

I just threw away my coconut oil 2 days ago since I thought I wasn't going to use it any more- figures. I have the triple antibiotic and I made my own saline. I have styptic powder for my dogs, don't know if that would do any good.

that all works! Good job!

 

[minaayindra]

How is he doing?
Can you post some photos of the wounds/broken tail feathers?

Hard to say, but from your description, he may have some broken blood feathers that will bleed or continue to bleed if bumped - those may need to be pulled out with pliers (photos are always helpful).

Saline can be used to flush wounds, if you have nothing to flush with, since it's the tail, you can always use warm soapy water for cleaning, rinse generously with plain warm water. Hibiclens (Chlorhexidine) or Betadine can be found at drugs stores or
Walmart.
Plain triple antibiotic ointment can be used on wounds too.

Depending on the damage, you may need to keep him separated until he heals fully. Blood is attractive to chickens, if a blood feather was bleeding, it may have caused the frenzy, but hens remember things too So putting him back too early, they likely will pick and investigate - roosters are known to let them too.


View attachment 1945213

I'm just astounded that a rooster would let an 18 week old hen brutalize him! She has always been the most assertive in the coop and has gone after other hens at times, but never hurt anyone. I'm sure it is sexist but I thought roosters were supposed to keep everyone under control. He could easily stomp her if he needed to! I'm afraid she will just start chasing him around and picking at him again. I'm going to keep him separated and, maybe, any suggestions on keeping him safe from her at that time would be very helpful.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am trying to come up with an alternative method of isolating him so the hens aren't stuck in the outside run. My husband will just have to squeeze the dog kennel into the roost and the hens will have to crawl over it- it's too cold to leave them outside.

He was VERY uncooperative with my irrigating it with saline. I am going to wait until my neighbor can get over here and catch him in a towel, then it shouldn't be a problem doing that temporarily. I will then try rubbing triple antibiotic on there.

I do want to post a picture since I haven't seen anything like it before (but that's not surprising). As soon as my neighbor can wrap him up, I'll get some.

Thank you everyone- you are REALLY helping us out!

I just threw away my coconut oil 2 days ago since I thought I wasn't going to use it any more- figures. I have the triple antibiotic and I made my own saline. I have styptic powder for my dogs, don't know if that would do any good.

I'm just astounded that a rooster would let an 18 week old hen brutalize him! She has always been the most assertive in the coop and has gone after other hens at times, but never hurt anyone. I'm sure it is sexist but I thought roosters were supposed to keep everyone under control. He could easily stomp her if he needed to! I'm afraid she will just start chasing him around and picking at him again. I'm going to keep him separated and, maybe, any suggestions on keeping him safe from her at that time would be very helpful.

Can you please post some photos?
How old is the rooster?

Is he still bleeding? You can use the stypic powder, but likely if the feathers are bleeding and broken, you need to pull those out.

18wk pullet - I assume he's young too. Broken feathers bleed and can continue to bleed, a pullet may be much more assertive than a cockerel - hard to know. But yes, she may chase him down again to see if she can get some more blood. How much space do you have in your coop/run along with how many pullets/cockerels do you have?

 

[ValerieJ]

I actually keep a dog kennel sick bay in my garage. My garage is heated, so I can keep a sick bird in a warm place. I love it for healing a wounded chicken, but have to admit reintegration is more complicated. If you have a way to keep him in a see/don't touch pen that's better. I also keep a small coop in an adjacent run set up for integration and segregation needs. I know not everyone has the space for that but it has made my life so much easier. It was worth the investment.

 

[minaayindra]

Can you please post some photos?
How old is the rooster?

Is he still bleeding? You can use the stypic powder, but likely if the feathers are bleeding and broken, you need to pull those out.

18wk pullet - I assume he's young too. Broken feathers bleed and can continue to bleed, a pullet may be much more assertive than a cockerel - hard to know. But yes, she may chase him down again to see if she can get some more blood. How much space do you have in your coop/run along with how many pullets/cockerels do you have?

The rooster is the same age and grew up with everyone else. He has always had a very nice personality but I still thought he might have some self-preservation motives! The coop contains Billy and 6 hens, it is 6 deep, 12 long and 8.6 high. It runs half outside and half inside except they can also run under the coop, so that gives them the outside run of 6 x 12. The inside coop must be 6 x 6.

 

[minaayindra]

I actually keep a dog kennel sick bay in my garage. My garage is heated, so I can keep a sick bird in a warm place. I love it for healing a wounded chicken, but have to admit reintegration is more complicated. If you have a way to keep him in a see/don't touch pen that's better. I also keep a small coop in an adjacent run set up for integration and segregation needs. I know not everyone has the space for that but it has made my life so much easier. It was worth the investment.

I have 3 coops so everyone has lots of room but it never seems enough if I have to kennel them. The coop is heated on the inside (have to with the weather around here) so it's very comfortable. Since the kennel is completely open, these guys can see each other and stay calm about being separated. When I had to return 2 girls, kenneled in a cage in the inside coop, to the group last week everyone was great to them and they are healthy as little pigs. I'm hoping the same for him if I can figure out how long to keep him in a kennel. This has to be traumatic just being tricked into coming inside and then have the door shut so you're away from your gals. They seem to be very unhappy too.

 

[ValerieJ]

I have 3 coops so everyone has lots of room but it never seems enough if I have to kennel them. The coop is heated on the inside (have to with the weather around here) so it's very comfortable. Since the kennel is completely open, these guys can see each other and stay calm about being separated. When I had to return 2 girls, kenneled in a cage in the inside coop, to the group last week everyone was great to them and they are healthy as little pigs. I'm hoping the same for him if I can figure out how long to keep him in a kennel. This has to be traumatic just being tricked into coming inside and then have the door shut so you're away from your gals. They seem to be very unhappy too.

Well, I think you only have to keep him separated as long as he is actively bleeding, and until you have the Blu-Kote. I think she is pecking at him because she sees the blood. If you have 3 coops, can't you just put some temporary fencing up to isolate one coop and keep him there? That's exactly what I do. I'm doing it right now for my new chicks. Sounds like you have the perfect set up.

So, when I have a really sick or badly injured chicken, they come into my heated garage to sick bay. This is partly because it's next to my house and my chicken coop is not. I don't feel comfortable going out to my chicken run after dark because we have bears and cougars around here, and it is a long way away. But, if I'm just trying to keep someone safe, I fence off one of the coops and keep them there, sometimes with a friend who I know wont pick on them. In fact, sometimes it's just the aggressor I separate for a few days.

I think you are doing great, and you know what works for you.

 

[minaayindra]

Well, I think you only have to keep him separated as long as he is actively bleeding, and until you have the Blu-Kote. I think she is pecking at him because she sees the blood. If you have 3 coops, can't you just put some temporary fencing up to isolate one coop and keep him there? That's exactly what I do. I'm doing it right now for my new chicks. Sounds like you have the perfect set up.

So, when I have a really sick or badly injured chicken, they come into my heated garage to sick bay. This is partly because it's next to my house and my chicken coop is not. I don't feel comfortable going out to my chicken run after dark because we have bears and cougars around here, and it is a long way away. But, if I'm just trying to keep someone safe, I fence off one of the coops and keep them there, sometimes with a friend who I know wont pick on them. In fact, sometimes it's just the aggressor I separate for a few days.

I think you are doing great, and you know what works for you.

Unfortunately, all of my coops have different groups of chickens or guineas in them. I would end up with an even more traumatic situation for everybody if I tried to put him in a space with others. I have the same predator overload up here but my coops are in sight and easy reach of the house.

Interesting you said to separate the aggressor. Do you think the rest would leave him alone if I put her in the kennel instead? He is the injured one so I'm not sure how the other hens would react to the bloody areas, even if they have been ignoring it so far.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Unfortunately, all of my coops have different groups of chickens or guineas in them. I would end up with an even more traumatic situation for everybody if I tried to put him in a space with others. I have the same predator overload up here but my coops are in sight and easy reach of the house.

Interesting you said to separate the aggressor. Do you think the rest would leave him alone if I put her in the kennel instead? He is the injured one so I'm not sure how the other hens would react to the bloody areas, even if they have been ignoring it so far.

Since this is a Cockerel, I would keep him separated. Leave all the pullets together.

Space may be an issue too - you have about 72sqft and 7 chickens, that's 10sqft per bird, but...some flocks need more space in order to get along better, some don't.