What is wrong with my cockerel ?

Question

i keep a few chickens (4 isa browns & 2 marans) & a lovely big proud sussex cockerel. he is over 2 yrs old and yesterday i found him lying on his belly with his head covered in blood. i cleaned him up and he had a wound behind his left eye. i put him back in with the hens and he just stood there. some of the hens came over and started pecking at his wound. i took him out and kept him separate until night when i put him in the coup with the others.

this morning i went to check on him. he was the last one out and looks a bit slow on his feet. he crows o.k. , but isn't eating as much as he should.

also ,quite significant is , when he is at the food trough and not eating fast , one of the hens starts pecking at his beak ( not his wound ) as if to tell him to eat and he eats a little. she keeps doing this and he eats some more.

this is where i have come in and ask this question. from what i describe , can any one tell me what might have caused the injury and why the hens were pecking

Answer 1

The wound might have been caused by an attack from either a crow (like you said) or possibly another chicken, although he is the cockerel, he might not actually be the most dominant, he might of just been attacked by one of you hens?

or it might have just been a tiny scratch to start with; if one of your chickens is bleeding, you must separate it, or at least keep a very close eye on it because chickens are attracted to bright colours and they WILL peck at it.

hope he gets better =]

good luck

x*x

Answer 2

Magpies are awful for attacks on chickens etc. We had a hen killed by a magpie. The first thing you need to do is cover the hen area over to stop this happening again. You need to separate your cockerel until his wound is healed. Bathe it in warm water, add salt unless you think some water might get in his eye. Make sure he has food and water available all the tim but keep an eye on what he eats. Keep him separate from the others until he is better. Keep an eye on him as it sounds like this attack has knocked him for six. Phone the vet if he's still "slow" in a few days. For now, he may be concussed. I know this sounds silly but it happened to our cockeral once!!! The vet confirmed it! You can get vitamin supplements from pet shops to add to his water if he's not eating enough.

Answer 3

Hi,

It sounds to me that your cockerel has been either attacked or has cut his face on something sharp.

Your hens will peck at the wound, as they are prone to cannibalism.

What you should do is, remove him for the hens get him treated either by a vet or an experienced poultry keeper. Keep him quite and warm and within a day or two, you'll see him bouncing back to health.

Once you are satisfied the wound is completely healed, introduce him back into the flock, there may be a bit of pecking, but nothing to worry yourself about.

Answer 4

like everyone else is saying I am going the same way .. with some kind of attack .. I am thinking as the cockerel is a light Sussex (which are big heavy birds) i don't think crows or magpies  are the top culprit ... although it's a possibility .. because they go for the head and eyes .... I'm thinking a hawk ... or maybe a dog? or even a fox :O?

because hawks WILL attack chickens .... same with Foxes and dog although a fox will take it's prey away ..

but a dog wouldn't usually .. all depends on dog .. some just play .. more kill for fun !.

.I do not however think a cat is likely at all cos it wouldn't have the guts to take on a fully grown rooster like yours ...

it could be another chicken .... but only a rooster (cos males never fight with females) ... but you don't have another male?

to answer you other question the hens were pecking him because chickens have tendencies to be cannibalistic ....if they see bits of open flesh ..

They go for a weak chicken or rooster

for the time being keep you rooster away from the others and give him time to heal ... I think he will recover he has survived the first 48 hours afterwards.... also keep a really close eye on you other chickens ... cos their is a risk that they too will be attacked like the rooster eg a fox Will ALWAYS come back to where he/she can get source of food .. in this case you chickens.... the mother fox wills sometimes bring  her cubs to a place where they can practise attacking things eg a rooster

if they are in a run .. that would explain the rooster not disappearing cos then the attacker couldn't take it out

anyway look after the rooster and watch your chickens VERY closely

good luck and best wishes