Some guy tried to tell me my roosters would fight to the death...

[PrairieChickens]

It is funny that you named your rooster Mars, because Mars was the ancient Roman god of war as well as agriculture. The point being is what will happen one day when Mars slaps some up start roo and the up start doesn't run away with his tail tucked between his legs like a whipped puppy?

There is an old adage that says, "It takes two to tango!" Well it also takes two to fight, and neither you nor Mars knows what will happen when Mars tries to bluff a rooster who is willing to fight Mars for control of his kingdom. The to the death part depends on whether or not one of the rooster cries in time, "Stop, I've had enough."

Like I said many times already, I am aware that roosters DO fight to the death under certain circumstances. MY POINT is that just because you HAVE more than one rooster, doesn't mean that they WILL.

Mars doesn't just bluff. I know he'll fight if it comes to it, because I have seen him do it. He was ready to beat the !@#$ out of our rooster Milton (and I wouldn't have shed a tear for Milton if he had!) and he's fought Gryffindor when Gryff got the notion to try to challenge Mars for dominance. Roosters who accept his position at the top of the pecking order live completely unharassed by him, and are even allowed to mate with his hens--something I have been told by several people is impossible. According to this guy, Mars would have already killed all of the other roosters in my flock, just because they are there, and that obviously hasn't happened.

As for his name, I am aware of the irony. Mars was originally Mary, before we realized he was a he, and the name Mars is just what stuck.

 

[kayruth777]

You have some really beautiful roosters, it is so nice to find out that roosters can live together. I bought some fryers from out local feed store and really do not know much about raising chickes but I wanted to save them from the frying pan and make them our pets while gaining the ability to have eggs. I had two females from a previous flock and then got four more baby chicks. My son was not to happy about my purchase and said he hoped they were all roosters, they were, they all had been getting along fine until yesterday when I looked out the window and saw one being chased around the pen by the other one so I brought two of them in the house and put them in a cage inside and it stoped the fighting amonst all of them, the two roosters I put in the cage are doing fine and the two roosters left out with the girls seem to be doing fine so far. I am hoping that once spring gets here I can just work on another pen and shelter to split them up a little. God bless. I really like the photos of your roosters, the one seems as if he is posing for the photo , so cute.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Roosters will establish a pecking order just like the hens will, and especially when they're young, they'll spend a lot of time sorting that out. I only separate them if they get to the point of bloodshed, but you shouldn't feel pressured to hesitate if you sense things are getting too intense for your boys. From what I've read on the subject, folks who have a lot of roosters will set up a completely separate bachelor run, and the roosters will coexist much more peacefully in the absence of hens to fight over, so your idea to create a new pen sounds just about perfect.

Thanks very much--my boys sure like to pose for the camera!

 

[Chickenlover20]

I have about 12 roosters live together. they are free ranging together. but they will spread out with their own hens.Sometime they will find eachother and fight a little.
I have 1 Black Sumatra bantam rooster, 1 Ameriucana bantam rooster, 2 Light bramha roosters, 1 Welsummer X sexlink rooster, 1 Lakvander X Leghorn rooster, 1 NH red bantam rooster,1 Blue millie duccle rooster, 2 Old english game bantam rooster, and 2 cochin X OEGB roosters.

I have some hens same breeds as roosters i have.

everytime when i see the roosters start the fighting, i would let them fight a little and spray the water hose at them to stop them. Its worked.

 

[terilately]

Here are several roosters living together without incident. Around 20 of them are rescued fighting roosters that are very docile and they all live in harmony. (Not all are in the picture. It's hard to get them all together for a family photo.)

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Apparently your pig doesn't eat the poultry, it's unnatural for roosters to fight to the death, they only fight until someone gives up and runs, or they are too exhausted to continue.

 

[clembone]

"Roosters will always fight to the death."

I wonder where this notion comes from?

I would have said, "Only trapped roosters fight to the death." Or perhaps,

"Any rooster who can get away, will live to fight another day."

Given a chance, a rooster will run for it, save his strength, and try again later rather than stay and die.

Will roosters in an open space, with places to run and hide, still fight to the death?

In my experience, a rooster who recognizes that he has lost the fight [often this occurs at the display-only stage] will retire from the field.

The roosters who fought on beyond the stage where they needed to run did so because they were trapped in a corner somewhere. When they got a chance to run for it, they did.

Indeed, most roosters I have known were happy to receive a "you win, I submit" display from his opponent, and mere visual aggression was expressed after that, with no more violence than with any other common chicken flock, small change, pecking order business. Until the next fight, anyway.

I have known a few jerks who still beat up on a surrendered opponent, but in the open field the loser always got away, and it has never turned any more bloody than a bit of torn comb or wattle. Some feathers flying is pretty common.

So, my experience is just the opposite from the original assertion, namely, "given ways out, roosters will never fight to the death."

In fact, I think that the cock fight arena, blocking the roosters into a small circular space where they cannot get out, is the crucial part of making the "blood sport" what it is.

People find entertainment in some messed up ways.

[I visited chicken keeping relatives in my youth, and I have kept chickens for twenty three years. I have never kept "game" breeds, and I understand that the "game" referred to in the name is cock fighting. I suppose that breeding for behavior might make a difference. All my roosters have been egg laying or dual purpose breeds, mostly brown egg layers.]