Rooster With Problems And Leg Bleeding

[longtimescout]

Help help help help!. My 3-5 yr old rooster lost feathers on one side of his neck about a month ago - they havent grown back, & the skin of his neck is bright red in area he lost feathers. His breast bone now has the red patches like his neck, and the red has gone down his left leg and now (noticed today) his scales are bleeding on the left leg. He is eating fine, drinking fine, doing his chicken duty with the hens fine but seems to be "crying" a lot - not to be confused with his crowing and he is not as aggressive as he was before. Does anyone out there know what may be going on? he has no mites that i have noticed. I really need help with this. There is no chicken vet in my area.

 

[ranchhand]

Any way you can post several pics? That will help a lot.

 

[longtimescout]

i will get the pics and uploaded them tomorrow afternoon. thanks

 

[threehorses]

On the neck feathers, if they were broken off (not plucked) they won't grow back until he molts. So I wouldn't worry about that.

do you happen to have buffallo gnats in your area? They can bite birds, make them bleed, and make whelps like that on their skin.

Do you have any other roosters that might be injuring him? Any possible predator issues? Are his scales on his legs nice and flat, or are they at all raised and inflammed? (Trying to rule out scaley leg here.)

You can bathe his legs in warm water and some gentle antiseptic like nolvasan or even some betadine ointment mixed with water into a very very weak tea colored solution. Then dress his bloody spot with neosporin ointment rubbed in well. (Don't get the ones with pain killers or any cortisone - just old fashioned triple antibiotic ointment).

In the mean time, pick him up and examine under all his feathers, etc, for any signs of mites or lice. Do this at night when the mites come out. Use a flashlight (coop lights on of course) to really help you see. do this several times within the next 2 weeks. Mites and parasites can irritate a bird til they will make themselves bleed with scratching.