# Please help-Found my rooster like this



## imnonnie (Mar 14, 2013)

I went out to my coop this afternoon to find my little Polish rooster looking like this. It looks like the other chickens (hens only) must have done this to him. His feathers never really have filled in on top of his head and now he's bleeding. I isolated him in a dog crate but don't really know what to do next. I am new to chicken keeping and just started last May. Any help would be appreciated.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Clean him up with saline and then slather his head with antibiotic ointment. It looks like there is a patch of skin missing there. 

If you care to provide more info about your setup, size, number of birds, breeds, we might be able to help you fix the problem. 

Have you treated or checked them for mites? Crested birds are notorious for getting mites in their crests.


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## imnonnie (Mar 14, 2013)

Thank you. I"ll clean it up asap. I have 12 chickens including him. I have 4 Golden Sex Links that were hatched in May. About 3 weeks later I got 8 more assorted chicks. 2 polish (one was this surprise rooster), 2 Barred Rock, 2 Ameracauna and 2 Buff Orpington. I have been wondering when the rest of his feathers would fill in on top of his head. It looked like the feathers were there but not fully emerged. Then today I found this. I suspect maybe the "older" chickens have done this because they do like to pick on him a little but really I have never seem them do anything but give him a quick peck when he gets too close. I can't imagine that he would sit there and let them do this but obviously something happened.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Do they free range? Or have a large outside compound? If you have large fowl they need a minimum of 48 square feet to move around in. And if they're confined, boredom could cause this. 

Next step is determining who the culprit is. There is at least one that gets this started and then the other follow. Once you figure out who it is, pull that bird or birds out and isolate them away from the flock for a while. That should reset the flock hierarchy.


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## imnonnie (Mar 14, 2013)

I got him cleaned up and antibiotic ointment on him. He really didn't act like it was hurting. Here's a picture of it cleaned up. I didn't see anything that looks like mites. I put him back in a crate with his own food and water for the night. How long should I keep him away from the others?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Let the raw flesh heal a few days. And before putting him back carefully put some blue kote on the bald area. That should deter them from picking at his head.


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## imnonnie (Mar 14, 2013)

They have a 10'x8' coop and an attached yard that is about 13'x10' so they have a fair amount of room. Lots of perches and I let them out a little before dark a few nights a week to roam around. We are on 5 acres but there are hawks and eagles overhead so I'm trying to only let them out when I'm there to keep an eye to the sky. I'll be watching tomorrow to see if I can find the culprit(s).


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## imnonnie (Mar 14, 2013)

Blue Kote? I'll check Amazon to see if I can get some shipped to me.

Thank you so much for your help.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

Blue Kote can be had at the feed store. Generally its the same area as other wound treatment stuff.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Is your run covered? The reason I ask is that doesn't look like a simple case of getting pecked..that looks like something held the bird down and plucked the feathers out. Possibility you had a raptor attack in your run? I can't see a small flock of hens doing that much concentrated damage in one afternoon on a bird's head...and if so, I'd be culling that whole flock because that is just too, too much violence. 

He would have had ample room to run from the flock unless they all ganged up, got him down and plucked him like that and if that is the case, you have some pretty bad birds. I'd not have a one of 'em on my place.


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## imnonnie (Mar 14, 2013)

My run is about 3/4 covered. I also have wondered if this was more than just the hens pecking at him. He was fine yesterday and I honestly have never seen the others do anything more than one little peck when he gets too close. He was also not hiding from the others when I went out today and found his injuries. His feathers were not all in on top of his head yet so whatever got to him didn't pick all of them out but now I just don't know what to think. I have a neighbor that said a hawk got thru the openings in her run last week and couldn't get back out. It seems strange that the hens would only target him as all the others are perfectly fine. I'll be keeping a close eye on them to see if there are any sign the others have gotten more aggressive and my husband will have to finish enclosing the whole run just to be safe. Poor baby. He is not happy in the crate. Thank you.


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## Bee (Jun 20, 2013)

Polish have a more difficult time avoiding aerial preds due to their crest obstructing their view. It sounds like you have a hawk in your neighborhood that is bold enough to enter the confines of a run, so it's definitely a possibility he was held down and plucked by a small hawk.


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I've seen this before, other chickens will do this kind of damage. It seems to be more of a problem for crested breeds, especially when co-habbing with non crested breeds. Whoever the instigator was drew blood and then it was on for others to join in.


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