Survival of the fittest !!

[PoppasGrill]

We have a Brahma rooster that has a hurt leg, he hobbled around but mostly hops on one leg. The younger roosters are attacking him to the point of him hiding in small nooks so they can’t get at him. He was the Alpha until he injured himself, now the others are trying to take the crown from him.
We’ve put him in a small coop to keep him from getting attacked, but the others are still taunting him from outside.
hard to find a vet around here that will look at a chicken, seems it’s a specialty practice, unless we take him to the university animal hospital , but that cost more than a human hospital to walk in the door .

 

[MinnPeeps]

Have you examined the injured leg area and feet? The fine BYC veterans here will need that info for starters. Hang in there, someone will chime in. I wish we all had a Dr. Pol in our hometown.

 

[WoDia]

If there are open wounds, be sure to clean them and apply antibiotic (Neosporin) at the very least. Then, wrap the leg. Clean and change every day. If it’s not an open wound, just do supportive care (food, water, comfort). You did the right thing by separating him. Keep him separated until the leg heals. Consider rehoming the cockerels, if you’re attached to your main rooster. If they don’t get along, there will just be more conflict. This advice comes from my experience ONLY. Hopefully others will chime in soon to give additional advice.

 

[PoppasGrill]

If there are open wounds, be sure to clean them and apply antibiotic (Neosporin) at the very least. Then, wrap the leg. Clean and change every day. If it’s not an open wound, just do supportive care (food, water, comfort). You did the right thing by separating him. Keep him separated until the leg heals. Consider rehoming the cockerels, if you’re attached to your main rooster. If they don’t get along, there will just be more conflict. This advice comes from my experience ONLY. Hopefully others will chime in soon to give additional advice.

Thank you
There are no open wounds, got him in a small isolation coop with food and water for now.
We do need to get rid of some roosters, though no one wants them, and we don’t want to kill them.

 

[Mrs. K]

We do need to get rid of some roosters, though no one wants them, and we don’t want to kill them.

This is a problem. Thing is, they won't just be nice. And really fighting and bullying comes easy roosters. They don't really have to work at cock fighting, for some birds it is just in them.

So - I think that you are hoping that someone here will have a secret where if you do this, they will all be nice. And as AArt says, roosters are where the romance of keeping chickens meets reality. And reality is not pretty.

What you can do:

• Separate the old boy, into his new permanent home. Some people will give him a hen or two. But he is never going back into the original flock.
• Butcher and eat, the young boys, or cull and bury the young boys.
• Butcher and bury the old boy (I know some people can cook an old rooster, but I have tried twice, and dog couldn't eat it)
• The thing is multiple roosters incredibly increase the tension in the flock, highly increase the chance of fighting. Some birds work it out, a LOT of birds do not, and it can get a whole lot worse than what you are describing.

Mrs K

 

[WoDia]

Thank you
There are no open wounds, got him in a small isolation coop with food and water for now.
We do need to get rid of some roosters, though no one wants them, and we don’t want to kill them.

I dont kill my roosters either. I house them in their own bachelor building. You can place a few hens with him for company…. permanently. My personal experience has shown me that once an older rooster begins to get targeted, it usually doesn’t get better. They end up remaining scared and hiding in corners. Fear of the younger cockerels will actually prevent them from getting food and water. You don’t want him to suffer. If you want to keep him, it’ll be permanent separation from the flock. He can have his own mini flock with a few hens though, and that will keep him happy. Good Wishes!