- Jun 3, 2013
- 14
- 0
- 22
My dark brahma rooster, Sassafras, has become a truly hen-pecked husband. A while ago his comb was minorly injured, probably from tuffling with Solomon, the junior rooster. Naturally the other chickens mercilessly pecked the injury, so that, by the time we let them out, he was bleeding profusely. We cleaned it up with peroxide and Sass lived in a doghouse for a few days while he healed.
A few weeks later Sass showed up on the porch, leaving a pool of blood on every step. This time it was his foot. When I examined it, it looked like a blood vessel had been broken, as if one of his big foot feathers had a blood vessel in it and it had been pulled off. We cleaned it and isolated him.
A few weeks later Sass came to the porch (his favorite forbidden haunt) with both feet bleeding on the middle toes. For about a week we kept him in the dog-run by day, putting Sass in a wire crate inside the coop at night. Black scabs formed over his his injuries, and they were so hard I thought it would be safe to put him with the other chickens again. Nope. We can't even let Sass freerange during the day without a certain determined red star following him around and pecking his toes. Every time they attack his toes, they also pick at his comb.
I'm getting really discouraged. We're having problem after problem with our chickens this summer: a lame hen, sour crop, pullets disappearing, hens not laying in the nesting boxes. It seems like we've had at least one chicken isolated in the dog-run infirmary for the past two months! HELP!
Any suggestions?
A few weeks later Sass showed up on the porch, leaving a pool of blood on every step. This time it was his foot. When I examined it, it looked like a blood vessel had been broken, as if one of his big foot feathers had a blood vessel in it and it had been pulled off. We cleaned it and isolated him.
A few weeks later Sass came to the porch (his favorite forbidden haunt) with both feet bleeding on the middle toes. For about a week we kept him in the dog-run by day, putting Sass in a wire crate inside the coop at night. Black scabs formed over his his injuries, and they were so hard I thought it would be safe to put him with the other chickens again. Nope. We can't even let Sass freerange during the day without a certain determined red star following him around and pecking his toes. Every time they attack his toes, they also pick at his comb.
I'm getting really discouraged. We're having problem after problem with our chickens this summer: a lame hen, sour crop, pullets disappearing, hens not laying in the nesting boxes. It seems like we've had at least one chicken isolated in the dog-run infirmary for the past two months! HELP!
Any suggestions?
