Death Match in the Coop: Gabriel vs Scout (Stopped by DH, Thankfully)

[speckledhen]

Big commotion in the coop late last night, heard over the baby monitor we keep in there. Sounded like a battle royale. DH went out. Gabriel and Scout, both sons of my Delaware rooster, Isaac, raised together, were in a serious fight. Scout is an EE cross with pea comb and no wattles. Gabriel is the spitting image of his Delaware father.

Rex, their 1/2 BR older brother who is my avatar, was with the hens over to the side, not interfering as he normally would, being large and in charge, so this was definitely a fight for 2nd position. They would fight on the roost, fall off then get back up and go at it again. Scout was on the bar one up from Gabriel and neither was backing down. Tom grabbed Gabriel, didn't check him, just wanted to make it stop, left the coop and went over and threw him in my late Zane's cage for the night.

This morning, I asked DH how Gabriel was in the light of day. He said he was a bloody mess. Scout seemed fine. When I finally went out to look for myself, Gabriel had blood all over him with marks on his comb and wattles, blood down the back of his neck, etc. Scout didn't have a scratch on him. He had some light blood marks but it seems all the blood on him belongs to his brother. Gabriel is about 1/3 larger than Scout.

When let out to free range today, Rex kept chasing Gabriel away from the group. Finally, he went underneath the Orp coop to sulk. He and Scout were ignoring each other. There is blood slung all over the roost bars and one wall of the coop.
Here are the combatants:







This is Scout, the apparent winner, or I guess he might have been if DH had not interfered, hard to say what would have happened. Baby monitors in the coop come in handy



ETA: After talking with wekiva bird today in South Carolina, I found out that about the time of the Big Fight, there was an earthquake in SC, felt all the way to Atlanta, GA. I didn't feel it, but I wonder if that had something to do with the situation in the coop last night.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Sigh... rooster drama... They seem to coexist fine, and then something upsets the social order. I know what its like. I suppose an earth tremor is as good a reason as any. I hope Gabriel heals up well and doesn't have to hide and sulk for too long. If he didn't have such a big comb he may not have looked so bad.

 

[speckledhen]

Well, I don't know what the heck happened to upset the flow of things, but Gabriel decided to become aggressive toward DH this morning so his days are numbered. It's odd to have any son of Isaac's behave that way since they usually inherit his sweet temperament, but sometimes, you get one that just does not make sense.
What is bad is that, though he needs to be culled, DH said with his father dying of cancer and his brother in the hospital as of yesterday, he's had enough death and will find it hard to kill even a chicken that needs killing. So, I just wish I could handle Gabriel on my own. He's so big and strong and my shoulder is strained at the moment so I don't think I can do it, either. I wish someone would just come get him for their own stew pot and take it all out of our hands. In the meantime, I guess Rex will have to deal with him, if he will.

 

[Suzierd]

Maybe it's just all the ruckus lately and given a little time he will settle down. He sure is a beautiful Roo. You could advertise him on CL someone might want to give him a try with their flock that doesn't have other Roosters to get him riled up.

 

[speckledhen]

Gabriel has been up for rehoming here for quite a few weeks already, mainly because we were tired of all the antics and competition/chaos. I have an ad on the co-op bulletin board as well. He wasn't a real problem then, only skittish, which to me is bad enough. He sure is gorgeous, looks just like Isaac except for the red streaks he gets from his mother. And he may be entirely different in another situation, but we have so much going on here right now, that unless someone gets him soon, if he flogs hubby again, he may lose his life over it. He hasn't done it to me yet, but I don't trust him and haven't fully trusted him for awhile now, just a feeling I got from him.

 

[speckledhen]

Problem solved, for both Scout and the poor hens. Gabriel has a new home with six hens of his very own. Yea! He's been much calmer lately, guess he has some pent up energy from winter and the dynamic in the coop was getting to him. He was very sweet when we pulled him out to show him to his potential new owners and sure did look handsome.

 

[Suzierd]

Great news!

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, it is! Thank you Suzie.

 

[familyfarm1]

That's good everything is fine! In our first batch of chicks we had 4 roosters and one was mean, like you couldn't even turn your back on him in the coop! He all ways caused fights but gave him away for meat. I'm glad every things ok!

 

[speckledhen]

Hopefully, Gabriel will blossom as the only rooster with his own hens. He has the potential to be a great leader, had a good teacher in his dad growing up. This winter, I think all of the youngsters got a touch of cabin fever. Delawares are very active chickens, even the crosses for the most part, and being locked inside makes them really antsy, especially at their ages with the raging hormones. Now that he doesn't have to compete for position or run from his big brother, he may be a great rooster. He sure has it in his genes! He never flogged me, never really did anything except act afraid like he was ready to defend himself. And on occasion, he'd let me pet him while on the roost, though he was shaking the entire time. It was like he was wound up too tight. Now, he can settle down. We just can't keep those skittish types here and it might have just been a combination of factors that led up to that in him.