rooster fighting!!!

[theadvocate19]

Please help. Somehow my bantam oeg and my silkie got into a fight. There is bleeding and feather loss. I am at work and was told so by my s/o. Therefore I can't say how bad it is. I believe the birds have been cleaned up, but I'm mostly concerned about what's in store for the future. Do I need to always keep them separated? Do I need to rehome one?

Needless to say, we haven't experienced this ever before, and we certainly don't want it to happen again...

I can attach pictures, but they certainly are graphic....

 

[sourland]

I would guess that they are maturing adolescents? Each wants to be boss of the flock. Sometimes a peaceful truce can be reached once one concedes that the other is dominant. This is most likely to happen if there is enough space to avoid one another and there are enough hens in the flock. Good luck -

 

[Wyandottes7]

They are probably fighting to see who is dominant, as Sourland said. Have they been with each other before? If you just put them together, they might be seeing who is higher in the pecking order.

 

[theadvocate19]

No, we've had the silkie for about 6 months, after our poor, poor sultan was scooped up by a hawk. This bantam trio is approximately 8 months. They sleep in the same coop. Really not a lot of space either with only the one hen. They always free ranged together with my other groups of chickens, normally with very little or no fighting at all. The old English game rooster had always been alpha and typically the more docile silkie was forced to conform to be the beta male.

That is until today. The s/o was apparently indisposed at the exact time so although we can not rule out the culprit of our cockfighting, it should be noted that typically the ever so confident oeg is the more aggressive of these two, but he is also the one who took the biggest blows. The silkie on the other hand has a lot of feathers plucked from the 'crest', but no noticeable blood or cuts.

At present, both roosters are in private pet carriers quarantined. Not really sure what to do next, and it leaves our poor hen solitary. Can't lock her in with her older siblings or her younger ones. Kinda poses a problem all on its own, where do I keep her overnight?

Boy, just when you think you've got things all figured out.... they are somewhat graphic, but the pics may help...?

THANK YOU!