i went out to feed the flock this morning and both my roos were bloody from their combs to their shoulders. they are both SLW about 8 1/2 months old. Big Boy has been the dominate roo since they started breeding while White Wings was the second most dominate roo out of 11 roos from the batch. the others went to freezer camp. the boys have 12 hens they share in their pen. the run and house is more than big enough for all the birds and they get regular treats like grass clippings and watermelon rines. none are extremely social. but back to the point, neither have spurs yet. i went in and looked both over and both have "cuts" on their combs. i assume this is from pecking each other since Big Boy has been extra aggressive towards White Wings. i'm guessing that they were having a dominance dispute. this is the first time this has happened. before now they both shared fairly well. BB would bully WW every now and then but nothing more than chase him a few feet. they both seemed to want to breed the same hen at the same time though and would some times breed her 3 times apiece before they would let her up. will these fights continue or is this just a once every few months thing?
now to the first aid. they were but still oozing blood from their combs and maybe their waddles. they both have large rose combs and about 3 inch waddles. both were pretty covered in blood. will this seriously hurt them, or is this more like a scalp wound on a person. bleeds like hell but isn't really serious. i checked their heads and no damage to their heads or necks. what do i need to do to patch them up if anything? are they likely to continue fighting till one is dead? they are hatchery birds so while i know they probably have a little bared rock in them i doubt they have any game in them. i have no interest in fighting chickens. what i do want is to have a spare roo incase something breaks into my coop and eats one of them. if they are going to continue to fight constantly i will have to get rid of one but if it's just an occasional thing over dominance i can live with it. suggestions would be helpful.
now to the first aid. they were but still oozing blood from their combs and maybe their waddles. they both have large rose combs and about 3 inch waddles. both were pretty covered in blood. will this seriously hurt them, or is this more like a scalp wound on a person. bleeds like hell but isn't really serious. i checked their heads and no damage to their heads or necks. what do i need to do to patch them up if anything? are they likely to continue fighting till one is dead? they are hatchery birds so while i know they probably have a little bared rock in them i doubt they have any game in them. i have no interest in fighting chickens. what i do want is to have a spare roo incase something breaks into my coop and eats one of them. if they are going to continue to fight constantly i will have to get rid of one but if it's just an occasional thing over dominance i can live with it. suggestions would be helpful.
