Rooster lost a toe

[jbird512]

Our rooster lost a toe to unknown cause. He is a sultan and has feathered feet. Several of his toe feathers are mangled. No feathers, just the spine of the feather. His feet look fine. No bleeding or swelling but one of our other chickens keeps pulling on his injured feathers. Should we clip them? If so, any advice on how? Or where on the feathers? The base? Any advice is welcome.

 

[Eggcessive]

Is it cold where you live where frostbite could be a problem? Have you seen any rats, since some have been known to bite toes while chickens are on the roost? You can pull out damaged feathers. If they are blood feathers and you cut them short, they can bleed, so pulling them out may be better. I would probably first try some BluKote spray on the feathers to prevent pecking. Make sure that your chickens are getting plenty of protein--at least 16-20% in their chickens feed. A lack of protein, overcrowding, and not getting outside to roam and peck can cause feather picking.

 

[jbird512]

We live outside of Seattle, WA and it has been cold lately. We suspected he could have lost the toe by sitting in a metal fence and getting frozen on it. Pretty brutal to pull off your own toe! His feet look fine though as do the rest of the flock. The feathers are blood feathers as they do bleed when our Wyandotte pecks at his feet. The other seven birds don't bother him. We put some Vicks vapor rub on his feet today and that seems to deter her from pecking his feet. I will get some blu kote. They are fed purina chicken feed and they are allowed to roam in the big backyard. The actual coop area is about 20 feet by 20 feet and the flock is 9 total so I think they have enough space. I just want to make sure he doesn't keep getting injured. He's a sweet rooster. He's eating, drinking, crowing and doing all his roosterly business so I don't think he's doing poorly. Thank you for responding.

 

[Eggcessive]

If the Vicks is working so far, just stick with that. People use menthol ointment, Bag Balm, and many things to try to prevent pecking. Some things to entertain them or preoccupy them may be food also. Flock blocks, throwing some scratch grains into the bedding to search for, and things to climb on are other suggestions.