My Roos got into a fight; I feel so stupid.

[grnidone]

I've given both a bath with plain water as they were bleeding pretty badly. No major wounds as far as I can see: most of the cuts are on the combs and wattles.

They are both inside the house in separate cages with towels because they are too wet to put outside.

Is there anything I need to watch for?

 

[Brahmachicken240]

How many hens do you have ?
How big is their housing area ?

 

[GirlsMommy18]

Check for swelling, weezing and a good once over for puncture wounds. Combs and wattles bleed A LOT. As long as the bleeding has stopped, and there are no other signs of further injury, they should be fine. Roosters can spar, and when they do it can look like a murder scene with only minor injuries present. As long as they have enough hens and space, they should be able to work things out on their own. Maybe they already have. Just keep an eye on their future interactions closely. If one rooster consistently torments the other and will not let it go, you may need to separate or got rid of one.

 

[sourland]

Monitor closely when you return them to the flock, and have a plan B in mind. They may very well resume their fighting.

 

[dawg53]

You can use a hair dryer to dry feathers and fluff. Then put neosporin on any wounds and cuts. You're going to have to keep them separated if you decide to keep them. Or you can sell or give one away, the freezer is an option as well.

 

[grnidone]

>the freezer is an option as well.

The freezer is not an option. I love them both.

And, frankly, I'm sick of people saying the freezer is "an option" for any rooster issue there is.

It was my fault, though, in my defense, they've never fought before and they've been together since the younger roo was a chick. (A little over a year.)

The younger one always respected the older one, and oddly, the older one would be upset if I handled the younger one and caused him to squak.

I brought them inside the house for about a week and put the little roo in his own cage. They were right beside each other the entire time, could touch etc. I put them outside in the enclosure like I always do, came back an hour later to see one roo hiding and both bloody.

I feel so, so stupid and horrible.

I am going to house them separately. I have the capability to do that.

I just need to know what infections, etc to look for.

 

[grnidone]

Check for swelling, weezing and a good once over for puncture wounds.

What does wheezing indicate? What do I do for it?

One of them was wheezing, though, admittedly it was after I put him into the shower and rinsed him off. It may have been that I got water down the wrong pipe.

 

[dawg53]

The freezer is an option. You dont have to do it, but others do and it's food on the table that matters to some.

 

[GirlsMommy18]

What does wheezing indicate? What do I do for it?

One of them was wheezing, though, admittedly it was after I put him into the shower and rinsed him off. It may have been that I got water down the wrong pipe.

Sometimes they can damage soft tissue in the neck or the even larger problem could indicate chest injures, or in the face. Not always serious, but something to be aware of. If they have lived together this long, they SHOULD be able to reestablish their pecking order and live peacefully after that.

Separating them is what caused it in the first place. Anytime you separate chickens, even if they can interact, they need to reestablish their pecking order. With roosters, that means blood sometimes. As long as they don't seriously injure one another and the loser has a place to escape and hide, I'd just let them work it out on their own under close supervision.

Heck, if one was hiding already, they may have already worked out their order again today. As long as it looks worse than it is and the winner isn't relentlessly going after the losing rooster, they'll likely be fine. Assuming there are plenty of hens and space that is.

 

[GirlsMommy18]

Also, I have found a staggered release of roosters from confinement helps reduce fighting.

Release the first (dominant) rooster back to the flock, wait an hour or two at least for him to get settled and some energy expended, then release the second rooster in an area that he can find easy escape and distract the dominant rooster away from the release area. I use scratch or mealworms as a distraction usually.

I've had great success with my roosters not fighting when reintroduced this way. The head rooster still does dominance displays for a couple days, but they eventually fall back into a peaceful coexistence.

Might be worth trying if you are able to watch them for a while. The sooner the better if both boys are in good enough shape so the dominant rooster doesn't feel like he has to make an example again, and the loser remembers his defeat (and his place).