Hi everyone. I'm new to this forum and relatively new with chickens. Before introducing you to my four feathered friends, I want to tell you what's going on with Pocket, my 2 yr. old recently acquired Silky Serama Bantam rooster. I noticed Thursday a small almost bald spot just above his breast on his neck. Upon closer examination, there were quill stubs - about 8 - and I don't know if my mixed hen broke them or if he pulled them off or if his 1 yr. old matching mate pulled them off. Anyway, Friday the area was really an angry red and I noticed his mate, Penny kept making it worse by pecking him there every chance she got. By 11 A.M. she was drawing blood. I isolated him from the other three birds in a separate pen and came inside to Google "peck wounds on chickens". What I read scared me to death. The best I could do quickly was pour hydrogen peroxide on the area and apply triple antibiotic ointment. I read that he should be kept isolated and calm. Since I had only had him for 9 days, I didn't want to carry him to the vet, so I went by myself. The vet gave me 7 antibiotic syringes and told me to give him a shot in the breast muscle each day for 7 days. That has been going better than I thought. He is a very sweet rooster. He looks much better. I clean and medicate the area each day, too. He still has all those little stubs where whole feathers used to be. I counted 12 today. Will they grow back? How long will that take? Should I keep him separated from the others until they are all grown back? Any help will be greatly appreciated.
