Many here have questions concerning conflicts between roosters. Currently two of mine are involved in conflict that has been going out for about 10 days and is complicated by my taking out feed in buckets in a manner that makes incursions into another territory more likely.
The two players are harem masters each with his own harem and home range. The pure American Dominique (Voterboy) is a cock just over two years old and has a territory out in pasture with six American Dominique hen / pullets from which I am taking eggs for hatching so no broodies. The second (Ralph) is one of my bullstag Missouri Dominiques about 16 months old that is a composite of American Dominique (3/4) and American Game (1/4) that has a territory centered on house and yard with two game cross hens that are both about a week into incubation of their respective clutches.
They have had several drawn out battles at the border of their mutual territories where both birds are bloodied and bruised but afterwords they go back to their respective territories before scrap starts again about 2 days later. Until then they chase occasionally chase each other back and forth across the territory boundary in a comical way before going back to their own hens.
Today Voterboy penetrated the core of Ralph's territory and the scrapping started again with the two morons chasing each other back and forth across yard and around all manner of vehicles, bushes and house. Scoob (dog) noticed something was amiss but could not get out of house because my visiting mother (to help with newborn in household) locked dogs in house so she could drive to town. I released both dogs and they promptly went to chasing Voterboy and Ralph. The roosters were so engaged in the scrap that the dogs were ignored even though the chase went here and yonder over a distance of a good three football fields and ended up under tree in Voterboy's territory where Scoob and Lucy (other dog) penned both birds down. Ralph gave a squawk and ran all the way back to house and Voterboy ran to his roost in middle of field. I could tell neither bird was running from fight, rather they were running from the cops (dogs).
The fighting will stop because tomorrow Voterboy will be going back to a pen beyond Ralph's world of awareness.
The two players are harem masters each with his own harem and home range. The pure American Dominique (Voterboy) is a cock just over two years old and has a territory out in pasture with six American Dominique hen / pullets from which I am taking eggs for hatching so no broodies. The second (Ralph) is one of my bullstag Missouri Dominiques about 16 months old that is a composite of American Dominique (3/4) and American Game (1/4) that has a territory centered on house and yard with two game cross hens that are both about a week into incubation of their respective clutches.
They have had several drawn out battles at the border of their mutual territories where both birds are bloodied and bruised but afterwords they go back to their respective territories before scrap starts again about 2 days later. Until then they chase occasionally chase each other back and forth across the territory boundary in a comical way before going back to their own hens.
Today Voterboy penetrated the core of Ralph's territory and the scrapping started again with the two morons chasing each other back and forth across yard and around all manner of vehicles, bushes and house. Scoob (dog) noticed something was amiss but could not get out of house because my visiting mother (to help with newborn in household) locked dogs in house so she could drive to town. I released both dogs and they promptly went to chasing Voterboy and Ralph. The roosters were so engaged in the scrap that the dogs were ignored even though the chase went here and yonder over a distance of a good three football fields and ended up under tree in Voterboy's territory where Scoob and Lucy (other dog) penned both birds down. Ralph gave a squawk and ran all the way back to house and Voterboy ran to his roost in middle of field. I could tell neither bird was running from fight, rather they were running from the cops (dogs).
The fighting will stop because tomorrow Voterboy will be going back to a pen beyond Ralph's world of awareness.
