help please with dosage of Penicillin for rooster fight wounds

[Michael Apple]

Groups kept separate have multiple adult males able to fully interact with hens present. Only behavior separates them, no pens or fences. Pecking order is evident most of time although harems with discrete yet contiguous territories also realized annually. Some strife each year but not requiring medical attention. We have acreage with complex habitat making all sorts of free-range keeping possible.

I have numerous postings and multiple threads to this effect. Behavior of chickens is very much of interest to me and this is not a fly-by-night venture. Look up the threads and you might learn a few things.

I know that which you refuse to acknowledge after observing chicken behavior for more than 30 years. No thanks.

 

[centrarchid]

Seven acres, lots of hens, plenty of food. This old rooster picked fights with at least three different roosters in two days. He's almost ready to go back out, but will be put into a cage with a hen or two. No more free ranging for him.

-Kathy

Some males need either shut down time to cool off or you can modify habitat so they have obvious borders they can use use to define territories. I cheat by putting out feeding stations in well separated cover patches so flocks / harem masters can avoid each other. They still get into scraps occasionally at territory boundary but most of that is display which is pretty cool to observe. I have closer to 20 acres but less than half actually used by my birds during production season. This time of year most of my flocks confined in part because flocks become more fluid and cover larger areas during foraging. This is the time rooster most likely to challenge social standings as well. As consequence I have only two males free-range now and their territories are not contiguous where borders are a good 75 yards apart. Balance of penned birds outside of either harem masters territory and set so birds out side pens cannot get within 10 feet of pens.

 

[centrarchid]

I know that which you refuse to acknowledge after observing chicken behavior for more than 30 years. No thanks.

A few have been lost but in my setting always involved at least one gamerooster. I have also lost gamehens to such fighting so put that into perspective of the challenges I juggle quite successfully. This not an all or none approach, rather it is problem management and keeping them to levels you can live with. With confined birds you will have greater limitations. OP's problem involves free-range birds at least in part.

 

[Harry Rooster]

I have 63 acres here with lots of open space and also lots of woods around. Large areas, which is why I thought that the too would keep their borders, as they have up until recently. I have not had problems with them until about a week ago when I first had to break up the fight between them, so I have tried to practice good management in every way with all my chickens, I love them all as pets and the love me too. They come when I call them most of the time. I also had no idea about any gamefowl stuff. I had looked him up before and was convinced that he was a Bantam rooster which didn't say a thing about gamefowl and I have had no idea about the fighting habits of different kinds of roosters as I am not a professional on all this stuff, which is why I come on here when I can or when I need to for help with problems that I encounter. These were my Mother's chicken flock to start with, but my Step Dad died and he was always the one that tended them. So I moved here to help her with her farm and have been doing my very best to take care of everything here and have gotten very attached to the chickens. You must understand Centrachid, that there is a way to give someone advice a bit more tactful rather than accusing someone of purposely hurting their animals, which is an awful thing to do especially when someone is really upset and dealing with something like that with their pets and trying to save their life. I have had chickens now for about 8 yrs now and have not had to contend with this problem until now. Seems to me that you just decided right off the bat that I was fighting my roosters, I don't know why, unless it's because of where I live and you have preconceived ideas about that, but I assure you that this is not the case, and I also have NOT been neglectful with my roosters nor my chickens. I didn't know of course about the fighting habits of these roosters, I just thought that all roosters were like that if they decided that they wanted to fight, but I also thought that since the baby had previously been running from Jr,. that he would see that he didn't want to be fighting with him after I had to break them up. Anyway, you can give good advise and have your opinions about responsible care of the birds without purposely trying to offend and hurt someone's feelings. They would be more apt to take your advise and listen to what you have to say if you presented your case more tactfully. Not nice or a good idea to accuse someone or basically call them liars. I have been on here several times over the years and have always gotten good advise and help from everyone, and everyone has always been so nice, even when telling me that I should have done a certain thing or not done a certain thing. You are the first person I have come across that has presented a post in the manner you did. Ever heard the saying "you catch more flies with honey than vinegar"? If you REALLY are concerned and want to offer helpful and responsible advise, you should do it in a diplomatic and kinder way, it would go down a lot easier. I am still so sad about my baby being gone and it will take me a while to get over it. I hope you will consider what I have said, and be kinder to the next person you want to help. I should have gotten him some girls of his own and this probably wouldn't have happened. It will not happen again!
Casportpony, I hope your roo gets better quickly and glad that you are going to prevent him from getting hurt again.
Thanks to everyone for your excellent advise and all the encouragement you have given me. I so appreciate it very much, and yes, next time I have another issue or something happens, (which I wish I could be as lucky as Centrarchid, and nothing will happen), I will be back asking help again. Hope I don't have to though.

 

[Harry Rooster]

What do you mean Centrachid by "at least in part"? It does involve free range chickens altogether. The problem was that he didn't have girls of his own and he wanted some (girls of his own that is). Typical male.

 

[Harry Rooster]

BTW, I am not a male! I am actually a female, if that makes any difference to you Centra.

 

[centrarchid]

BTW, I am not a male! I am actually a female, if that makes any difference to you Centra.

My references to you are as female or gender neutral to my memory, The "in part" means at least one bird runs about and does not preclude both. Your acreage is good but having them use entire area will get you into predator issues without serious predator management that likely cost more than you currently expend.

Getting him girls may help some but the gamerooster part of the equation makes so he would be more problematic in how he interacts once he meets with a rival rooster / harem master / territory holder. He will not back down while roosters of other breeds will. You are in Alabama where you kind find locals that can give you first hand insight on such.


Create a picture showing how birds range during the day and include roost site. I can do similar using Google Earth. It is very likely you will see where a given group ranges has very little overlap with other groups. In my setting only juveniles deviate from that pattern. I also run a higher male to female ratio where the number of males approaches 1 male for every 3 females free-ranged.

 

[ten chicks]

I have 4 silkie roosters that have been together for years with never any issues,they will chase each other,but there has never been any bloodshed nor any wounds,so yes it is possible depending on breed to keep roosters together.

My orpington boys on the other hand i would not keep together,even though they were hatched together they will still fight,so these bad boys are kept separate to prevent any injuries.


All my birds are confined to pens for their own protection,but i do have several feeding/water stations for my roosters to prevent any bird from not receiving enough,especially one silkie rooster that has been frail since hatch.

 

[ten chicks]

Neglected to mention that i do have safety zones in silkie pen for the "just in case scenario" where a rooster if needed could escape into safety area and no other bird could reach him to inflict damage. I do believe this is a must if you are going to keep roosters together.

 

[Harry Rooster]

Well, I now have only 1 rooster free ranging, All the others have pens and even my last little cockerel from the last litter is in his own pen and I have to take him in and out on cold nights and stormy days and keep him in the shop during the bad weather, which he doesn't seem to mind. He has just gotten used to staying out in his pen at night. He is scared of the dark since he was raised up with a night light on every night. He would first pace back and forth at bedtime instead of getting on his roost, wanting me to come get him and take him inside. He does have shelter out there and a roost also, but not enclosed all the way around like a chicken house is so he just doesn't feel safe I guess since he is used to being inside at night. He is right outside my door though and quite safe and also Scarface the gander sleeps beside him all night protecting him too. He will be coming inside tonight though with the heat lamp on his pen in my shop since it is supposed to go below freezing, so he will be very happy tonight being back in his usual sleeping place with extra treats to boot! No more than 1 free ranging rooster around here anymore whatever kind they are. Just too painful for me to deal with this kind of thing happening. Still so sad over the whole thing. These lessons learned by experience are costly and not soon forgotten.
Oh btw, we do have several live traps that we put out occasionally when we suspect that there is a predator around and have caught quite a few critters in them, skunk, coon, possum in the past. Even lost a few hens in the pen in the past, so when you live where I do, no matter what you do outside of having a totally enclosed pen on top and all around, things happen anyway. Just terrible.