3 Rounds of Out and Out Brawling

I am beside myself right now and I definitely need some advice. I have no idea what is going on but all out warfare broke out today between Hattie and Aurora. That's right Hattie. I can't believe it.

They went 3 rounds that I have seen. Lilly broke up the first two by wading into the fight. I filmed the 3rd one in which Lilly was actually involved as it broke out. No joke, they looked like roosters going at it. I have never seen anything like this.

Here is the video of the 3rd bout. I'm putting most of this behind a spoiler. I did not intervene. I need to know if everyone thinks that is the right policy moving forward. They are each wounded. The wounds are not serious, they are their combs up by their beaks. I will also put photos of the wounds behind spoilers.

Patsy and Jabber never fought like this. It is quite vicious.



About 30 minutes after the fight, this is how the flock is grouped.
View attachment 2420045
View attachment 2420047

I'm looking for anyone with experience with something like this or even just common sense. @Shadrach I am guessing that roosters don't let this happen but maybe not. Any thoughts?
Shame it doesn't show who started it.
Roosters do let this type of scrap happen. What's more, if it's two hens from different tribes the roosters will back up their hen. But, usually as soon as the rooster steps in the fight stops. A lot depends on the hen.
Dink and Bluespot didn't get on. Different tribes and both the main sitters and hatchers for their tribe. Two mums basically. Blue Spot had a go at Dink and Dink fought back and was a lot more than Blue Spot had reckoned on. Along came Punch and then Harold. Dink took them all on. Harold put a stop to it by having a go at Blue Spot and then Punch.:confused: Blue Spot and Harold used to fight most mornings for a couple of months immediately after I set them free.
Bottom line; hens fight just like roosters.
The injuries are very minor Bob.
What you now know which you may not have known before is when the shit hits the fan Lilly is boss. That might help you later.
What you have to watch for is one hen getting isolated.
You get involved with chicken politics at a great risk. I let them fight. If they don't get it out of their system it will just boil over some other time. I intervene when bits are getting ripped off and they are still fighting. They usually go again, but so far, with the hens at least, one already knows she's lost and the next round doesn't last long.
My thoughs are look away if you find it distressing and patch them up when it's over. If it goes on and on day after day then you have to make a very hard decision; one will have to go. Here that means I have to kill one. It's not a good place to find yourself. I won't elaborate.
 
A bit about rooster peacekeeping.
What the roosters here do is not let it get to the point where the hens fight. Somehow, they know when a fight is brewing. They drive the aggressive hen away usually. Also, given the tribal nature of chickens, when allowed to be tribal, the opportunities for hens from different tribes to fight are reduced because the roosters herd their hens together and drive off the intruder.
Strangely here at least they are great comforters to the hens when that hen loses a fight. You probably don't get this in an all hen flock. This is important because it stops a hen that has lost a fight from getting isolated. The other hens in the tribe tend not to be so empathetic.
 
I would never tolerate a weasel. They will decimate your chickens. I know this from personal experience.
I had the same thought later today, sadly you are right, we cannot have both. I will take some mice over dead chickens. It's too bad they would be indiscriminate and not just go for the mice. They do have incredible hunting skills, are insanely courageous, and take on prey much bigger than them. My current coop is very well-fitted but not chew-proof. It would be very hard, I would guess impossible, to fortify a run or coop against a weasel, they can fit through the tiniest of spaces. The weasel would have to go. I am sure there's no weasel under the house now. The drawer traps are regularly catching mice.
 
Pricey!
I will consult with my fur chickens - they might offer a discount. ... ... ..
Oh. No. I was mistaken. They think that is a very fair price and have no intention of waking up long enough to consider a discount.
I ran it past Blossom and she doesn't even get out of bed for less than two cans per hour and a handful of dental treats.

Her attitude is getting worse and worse. Don't anyone hire her. :gig

all untrue, she's very energetic for her age but she wouldn't dream of catching a mouse :gig
 
3 Rounds of Out and Out Brawling

I am beside myself right now and I definitely need some advice. I have no idea what is going on but all out warfare broke out today between Hattie and Aurora. That's right Hattie. I can't believe it.

They went 3 rounds that I have seen. Lilly broke up the first two by wading into the fight. I filmed the 3rd one in which Lilly was actually involved as it broke out. No joke, they looked like roosters going at it. I have never seen anything like this.

Here is the video of the 3rd bout. I'm putting most of this behind a spoiler. I did not intervene. I need to know if everyone thinks that is the right policy moving forward. They are each wounded. The wounds are not serious, they are their combs up by their beaks. I will also put photos of the wounds behind spoilers.

Patsy and Jabber never fought like this. It is quite vicious.



About 30 minutes after the fight, this is how the flock is grouped.
View attachment 2420045
View attachment 2420047

I'm looking for anyone with experience with something like this or even just common sense. @Shadrach I am guessing that roosters don't let this happen but maybe not. Any thoughts?
Oh Bob. How upsetting. I had a couple of observations.
One is that Lilly is very much in charge and she does break it up and she clearly chastises Aurora. Second is that Hattie may or may not have started it, but she gives as good as she gets. I don’t know what that means but the one time something like this happened Diana literally stood on top of Maggie and just beat the crap out of her head and Maggie didn’t fight back at all.
Third is not an observation but just a thought. Something is going on with Aurora. She got more assertive at roosting and she has been sleeping late. My guess is whatever is going on with her is making her generally more aggressive.
I know, none of that helps.
I don’t know what Shad will say, but he has roosters to control this stuff. If you are your flocks rooster (sort of) then wouldn’t it be natural just to wade in to break it up. Doesn’t mean you need to interfere in ongoing dynamics but just to break up the fight.
My guess is you will want to supervise roosting tonight.
 
I also rescind my comments about the under the deck coop...as an overall, not in regards to what you rescues Patsy and Lilly from! this is more what I’m thinking like, but probably taller thanks to my slope and FIL’s insistence on a large crawlspace. DH and I fought to keep it as small as possible but it is still a 5’ drop, or I may continue to excavate some, do cinderblocks under the deck and backfill heavily to create a root cellar... though I’m not sure how
Well it will work with our climate.
I quite like deck coops for small and snowy backyards, if there's enough headroom and the sun can get in.
 
3 Rounds of Out and Out Brawling

I am beside myself right now and I definitely need some advice. I have no idea what is going on but all out warfare broke out today between Hattie and Aurora. That's right Hattie. I can't believe it.

They went 3 rounds that I have seen. Lilly broke up the first two by wading into the fight. I filmed the 3rd one in which Lilly was actually involved as it broke out. No joke, they looked like roosters going at it. I have never seen anything like this.

Here is the video of the 3rd bout. I'm putting most of this behind a spoiler. I did not intervene. I need to know if everyone thinks that is the right policy moving forward. They are each wounded. The wounds are not serious, they are their combs up by their beaks. I will also put photos of the wounds behind spoilers.

Patsy and Jabber never fought like this. It is quite vicious.



About 30 minutes after the fight, this is how the flock is grouped.
View attachment 2420045
View attachment 2420047

I'm looking for anyone with experience with something like this or even just common sense. @Shadrach I am guessing that roosters don't let this happen but maybe not. Any thoughts?
Something is making them cranky. The rat? Maybe they're sick?
 
Shame it doesn't show who started it.
Roosters do let this type of scrap happen. What's more, if it's two hens from different tribes the roosters will back up their hen. But, usually as soon as the rooster steps in the fight stops. A lot depends on the hen.
Dink and Bluespot didn't get on. Different tribes and both the main sitters and hatchers for their tribe. Two mums basically. Blue Spot had a go at Dink and Dink fought back and was a lot more than Blue Spot had reckoned on. Along came Punch and then Harold. Dink took them all on. Harold put a stop to it by having a go at Blue Spot and then Punch.:confused: Blue Spot and Harold used to fight most mornings for a couple of months immediately after I set them free.
Bottom line; hens fight just like roosters.
The injuries are very minor Bob.
What you now know which you may not have known before is when the shit hits the fan Lilly is boss. That might help you later.
What you have to watch for is one hen getting isolated.
You get involved with chicken politics at a great risk. I let them fight. If they don't get it out of their system it will just boil over some other time. I intervene when bits are getting ripped off and they are still fighting. They usually go again, but so far, with the hens at least, one already knows she's lost and the next round doesn't last long.
My thoughs are look away if you find it distressing and patch them up when it's over. If it goes on and on day after day then you have to make a very hard decision; one will have to go. Here that means I have to kill one. It's not a good place to find yourself. I won't elaborate.
Thanks Shad. I knew Lilly was boss. She had not seen it necessary to do anything when Aurora was beating up on the three below her in the pecking order. But today she was in the thick of it. I was unprepared for this to happen so I missed who started it. I'll watch closer now.

It is distressing. My instinct is always to let them work it out as I can't be there all the time. They need to manage their own society. It's very hard to watch.
 

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