We have a flock with two roosters, raised together who are generally best friends. They dust bathe together, sleep in the coop together and aside from one or two minor dust ups with zero injuries, they get along fine. They are about 10 months old and have a flock of four hens (a fifth died at around four months). We've added another five hens who are 21 weeks and the first of them laid an egg today. We've seen the dominant rooster mate with a few of them. Tonight when I checked on our coops I found the smaller rooster covered in blood on his feathers and beak, but not looking harmed, and the larger rooster covered in blood with bleeding parts of his comb. They were both sleeping, and not a foot apart from each other. They had gone to bed in the new coop with the younger hens rather than their original coop. Both coops have auto closing doors and are moveable inside a fenced area that we also move. The group has been mixed for a couple of months with no incident. The hens have tried out both coops on a schedule that I can't fathom, but the roosters have always stayed in their old coop until tonight.
It seems most likely that they fought, but it's also possible that a predator had something to do with it. I honestly can't tell for sure. I did see a small amount of blood on the smaller rooster earlier in the evening, but not enough to concern me. He is an all white easter egger and any speck of blood shows on his feathers. I didn't see an injury on him at the time and the flock were all acting normal. The larger rooster is a silver cuckoo marans. He is more dominant in his behavior, but still is a pretty chill guy by rooster standards.
I have no idea what happened with them, and I'm not sure what to expect going forward. Their fenced area is about 250ft of moveable fencing, and the coops are Eglu cubes with runs and automatic doors. The runs are closed at night for early morning safety, but otherwise they have the whole area all day. Two food and three water areas. I'm really happy with the set-up and so far I've been pleased with how well everyone gets along. I worry that separating them would be permanent, and I'm still hopeful they will be okay together. Is that possible? Thanks for any ideas.
It seems most likely that they fought, but it's also possible that a predator had something to do with it. I honestly can't tell for sure. I did see a small amount of blood on the smaller rooster earlier in the evening, but not enough to concern me. He is an all white easter egger and any speck of blood shows on his feathers. I didn't see an injury on him at the time and the flock were all acting normal. The larger rooster is a silver cuckoo marans. He is more dominant in his behavior, but still is a pretty chill guy by rooster standards.
I have no idea what happened with them, and I'm not sure what to expect going forward. Their fenced area is about 250ft of moveable fencing, and the coops are Eglu cubes with runs and automatic doors. The runs are closed at night for early morning safety, but otherwise they have the whole area all day. Two food and three water areas. I'm really happy with the set-up and so far I've been pleased with how well everyone gets along. I worry that separating them would be permanent, and I'm still hopeful they will be okay together. Is that possible? Thanks for any ideas.
