Hi all, not sure what to make of this.
My rooster, Bert, (Bluebell Bantam cross) has had these red streaks on the outside of his legs for months at this point, and I'm not sure what to make of it? I didn't think anything was amiss until I noticed my younger bantam rooster (Bruce) and his hatchmate (female bantam, Pepper) both have distinct feathering down their legs. This lead me to think that Bert might be pulling out his own feathers?
The redness is on the outside of his legs, so it's not friction from mounting his hens (if that's even a thing? I doubt it is
), and none of my hens in the past have ever had this. He's otherwise perfectly healthy, so the only thing I can think of is that he's pulling out his own feathers? Something like that I would presume stress - he had been quite aggressive when he was younger until I got more hens for him (six total) and he calmed down noticeably. At the moment two of them are broody (one in the main house that he has access to, the other in an entirely separate run/house as her eggs have been hatching) so he only has the four girls with him, but again this is something I've been noticing for a while now.
I'm not sure at all what to make of this, as it doesn't seem to hurt him or massively bother him (anymore than any chicken enjoys their legs being handled) but it's understandably very alarming to see his legs so red. I would have said something sooner but he doesn't appear to have any issues standing or walking (or jumping six foot straight up in the air to try attack my brother
) so I didn't worry about it.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated - the only thing I will note is that I definitely have not *seen* him picking at his legs, nor do any of the hens pick at him, I'm only guessing at that because I can't think of any other reason than stress
My rooster, Bert, (Bluebell Bantam cross) has had these red streaks on the outside of his legs for months at this point, and I'm not sure what to make of it? I didn't think anything was amiss until I noticed my younger bantam rooster (Bruce) and his hatchmate (female bantam, Pepper) both have distinct feathering down their legs. This lead me to think that Bert might be pulling out his own feathers?
The redness is on the outside of his legs, so it's not friction from mounting his hens (if that's even a thing? I doubt it is
), and none of my hens in the past have ever had this. He's otherwise perfectly healthy, so the only thing I can think of is that he's pulling out his own feathers? Something like that I would presume stress - he had been quite aggressive when he was younger until I got more hens for him (six total) and he calmed down noticeably. At the moment two of them are broody (one in the main house that he has access to, the other in an entirely separate run/house as her eggs have been hatching) so he only has the four girls with him, but again this is something I've been noticing for a while now. I'm not sure at all what to make of this, as it doesn't seem to hurt him or massively bother him (anymore than any chicken enjoys their legs being handled) but it's understandably very alarming to see his legs so red. I would have said something sooner but he doesn't appear to have any issues standing or walking (or jumping six foot straight up in the air to try attack my brother
) so I didn't worry about it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated - the only thing I will note is that I definitely have not *seen* him picking at his legs, nor do any of the hens pick at him, I'm only guessing at that because I can't think of any other reason than stress
