Roosters fighting

[Agathe]

I have two roosters that appear to be fighting. I haven't actually seen them fight but on three occasions have found blood in the coop, twice today. The first time there was minimal amounts of blood and the bigger rooster had a wound on his comb. Nothing more seemed to happen for a couple of weeks. The smaller rooster was the boss, but is today sitting in the coop, afraid to go outside. I assume the bigger rooster has fought to change the pecking order and that he's now boss. They are less than a year old and have grown up together. Question is, should I butcher one of them? That was my initial instinct, but when reading online, it seems maybe it is less dramatic than I originally thought. There was more blood today, sprayed up on the walls, but I'm not seeing considerable wounds, again the comb, but this time on the smaller rooster. I cleaned up only to find more blood again two hours later, not as much this time though. I understand that I can't let it go on if one of them aren't able to eat or go outside out of fear from the other. I don't have room to permanently separate them. Since I haven't seen them fight, I have no idea how long the fights have gone on for or how vicious they are. The other question is also who to butcher, if it comes to that. The new or the old boss? The smaller has been a little aggressive towards us, but never to the hens. I've got him under control though. The bigger I've seen be aggressive once during mating when he pulled a hen out of the nesting box to mate with her. Other than that, he's always been friendly to us and the hens from what I've seen.

 

[Agathe]

One more piece of information that might be relevant... We've had some terrible weather lately and for 2-3 days I've had to close the door to the coop in order to avoid the rain blowing in. They aren't outside anyway in such weather. They've had minimal outdoor time. So they've been cramped up a lot indoors, which might have contributed to some friction.

 

[589205]

What breed(s) are they and how big is the coop/run area?

 

[Agathe]

What breed(s) are they and how big is the coop/run area?

They are a mix of Australops and Lohman. The coop isn't super big, maybe 3 square meters in floor space plus nests and roosts. They mostly roost when they need to keep indoors because of the weather. The run is quite big, but I'm not sure how big. I close the door in the evening and open in the morning when it's either wet, windy or very cold, which it has been for a very long time. When the weather is nicer I usually leave it open during nights because they tend to get up earlier than I do. There are no predators here, so I can safely do so.

 

[589205]

They are a mix of Australops and Lohman. The coop isn't super big, maybe 3 square meters in floor space plus nests and roosts. They mostly roost when they need to keep indoors because of the weather. The run is quite big, but I'm not sure how big. I close the door in the evening and open in the morning when it's either wet, windy or very cold, which it has been for a very long time. When the weather is nicer I usually leave it open during nights because they tend to get up earlier than I do. There are no predators here, so I can safely do so.

When they’re young and first hitting maturity they tend to display dominance trying to establish their hierarchy within the flock. Do you have pullets and/or hens living with them in the same coop?

 

[Agathe]

When they’re young and first hitting maturity they tend to display dominance trying to establish their hierarchy within the flock. Do you have pullets and/or hens living with them in the same coop?

Yes and they have been living together peacefully in the coop since June. There has been very little friction between either the roosters or the hens. This is a sudden change and I'm not sure if it's a coincidence that it happens during a period of bad weather where they have had to do with less space than normal, or if it would have occurred anyway. I haven't seen the smaller rooster come down from the roost all day.

 

[NatJ]

Comb wounds bleed a lot, which makes them seem serious, but they aren't really a big deal. They also heal quickly.

If they are having trouble now because they had to stay inside during the bad weather, and this is only November, things are likely to get worse as the winter goes on. So you might want to just butcher one and not have to think about it anymore. (But if you live where this is springtime, then you are already past the worst for this year, and they may be fine all summer when they can spend more time outside.)

If you do butcher one, I'm not sure which one would be better to keep. I've read that a subordinate rooster may change his behavior if he becomes dominant (through fighting or through you butchering the other one), so you might need to re-evaluate the one that just won the fight, in case he starts to change how he acts. For the one that used to be dominant, you already know how he acts when he is in charge.

 

[589205]

I think it has something to do with the bad weather and them picking on each other when they’re in a tight space. If you could maybe put some kind of coverage or roofing on and around the run, maybe even adding an extension that will give them more comfort room to do their thing

 

[Agathe]

Comb wounds bleed a lot, which makes them seem serious, but they aren't really a big deal. They also heal quickly.

If they are having trouble now because they had to stay inside during the bad weather, and this is only November, things are likely to get worse as the winter goes on. So you might want to just butcher one and not have to think about it anymore. (But if you live where this is springtime, then you are already past the worst for this year, and they may be fine all summer when they can spend more time outside.)

If you do butcher one, I'm not sure which one would be better to keep. I've read that a subordinate rooster may change his behavior if he becomes dominant (through fighting or through you butchering the other one), so you might need to re-evaluate the one that just won the fight, in case he starts to change how he acts. For the one that used to be dominant, you already know how he acts when he is in charge.

Thank you! It's a good point. The one that used to be in charge, despite being somewhat aggressive towards us, has been a good boss to the chickens, which is why we've kept him all along while butchering his other brothers. It might be better to just get it out of the way and butcher one. We are at the start of winter here, but it has been extremely wet for a very long time. I live in a mild area so when it's not so wet and windy, I can still leave the door open for them even in winter. The rain just seems to have no end.

 

[Folly's place]

Wet and windy, unless it's nearly a hurricane, won't bother those birds! But, there will still be times when they need to be locked in. Every night, and when there's a predator problem. Upgrade your run so it's safe enough, and block the wind on the windward sides, so it can be used all the time.
Then, still consider removing one of these cockerels. And 'sometimes human aggressive' doesn't sound good to me.
Mary