Rooster Behavior

I came home from work yesterday to find out that my two roosters, (brothers and have been together since hatching and are 14 months old) decided they were going to beat the crap out of each other. My father went to water them after lunch and they just started going at each other. They did this off and on all afternoon. When I got home and went to check on them, they both had tons of missing feathers, both's waffles were swollen, missing chunks and bloody and they both just looked horrible. These two roo's are both Buff and were beautiful. Now they look horrible. What is odd is that the dominant one was the one who got the most damage done. I separated them last night after having to break up more fighting. They have never ever fought so I'm confused as to why after a year they would try to kill each other. Is the submissive one just trying to win over the dominant position? Can I safely put them back together or do I need to forever keep them separate? They are in a pen with an upper house and a run so they have room. I am adding a 50ft run to the area this weekend so would that help with them being back together?

The birds on the bottom of the pecking order are always looking for an opportunity to improve their position. The less dominant bird has figured out that maybe his brother isn't all that tough. They will continue fighting until the situation is resolved. A bigger run with enough space for the loser to get away may or may not help. Good luck at resolving this.

They may continue to fight until one of them ends up killed, or they may work it out in one of their brawls. Bottom line is that the underdogs will always take a crack at those on top if they feel like they have a chance at winning; pecking orders are constantly shifting and changing and the bigger the upheaval the messier it is.

You can try putting them back together, but during a time when you can be around to keep and eye on them most of the day. See what they do. But even if they behave and continue to do so for a prolonged period of time, you have to keep in mind that they can return to going at each other's throats at any time, especially if there are fewer than 8-10 hens or so per roo and not enough space for them to roam/escape each other if they need to.

Before last night there were just 2 hens and 2 roos in my pen. Once I took out the one roo I actually added 3 more hens that are 4 months old. I'm hoping that since the dominant roo got his butt kicked that he'll stop being aggressive to me since I saved him from being ripped apart and the new dominant roo won't start being aggressive towards me. Guess it's just time to part with one of my beautiful silkie roos so there is only one to deal with. I didn't like watching them hurt each other.

kmessman said:

Before last night there were just 2 hens and 2 roos in my pen. Once I took out the one roo I actually added 3 more hens that are 4 months old. I'm hoping that since the dominant roo got his butt kicked that he'll stop being aggressive to me since I saved him from being ripped apart and the new dominant roo won't start being aggressive towards me. Guess it's just time to part with one of my beautiful silkie roos so there is only one to deal with. I didn't like watching them hurt each other.

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You were really short on hens, and are still on the short side for two roos with the ones you've added. No, chances are the roo won't associate you with the start/end of a fight or saving his tail feathers. All they see is a competitor that must be defeated so that he can have all of the ladies he wants. You're just in the way so far as they are concerned when they are fighting. If you have the space, start a second flock and keep them separate from each other. Otherwise, see about finding a home for your extra roo; silkies are usually easier to rehome than most breeds.