Stupid Birds! Gah!

[StupidBird]

Just Another Rooster Rant:

Ok, I have two beautiful roosters (Feb hatch, from local breeder) that are stunning examples of Buff Orphington and Austrolorp breeds. Friendly with the hens, standoff-ish with people, protective of flock, got along with each other. Ideal, right?

UNTIL last evening. Then it was nasty. This morning they were so bad when I got back from taking Dog to vet, that I picked up the black roo, soaking, bedraggled and bloody, no fight left - didn't even run from me as usual, and put him in the tool shed. Golden Soup Boy evaded capture and is also muddy, soaked, tattered and bloody.

And it is all my fault.

Yesterday I had the guys move the chick's tractor into the run to finish socializing before introduction. They'd been face to face with a foot between fence and tractor for over a month. And all this hubub has confirmed a least one chick is a rooster, got crows this morning from the tractor. The roosters couldn't take the change and their truce was over.

Well. It's raining and cooling rapidly. Great weather for chicken soup, huh?

 

[StupidBird]

Update:

I guess I am asking ya'll if this is predictable behavior? There's no kiss-and-make-up between roosters, once war has been declared? My newbie is showing, I'm afraid.

Will their torn combs and exhaustion, combined with the sudden cold and rain (and being soaked) bring harm? The tool shed is warm and dry with feed and water for the loser, the winner is back under the coop with the hens hiding from the rain. It's all very quiet out there now.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

Sorry, I don't have any advice , just

Maybe someone else can help. Maybe clean up the wounds and keep the roos seperated.

 

[StupidBird]

Thanks, Hillbilly Hen. Anybody want a roo or two? It was iffy about having them at all, DH is going to soup pot 'em both soon. The roosters will stay separated until whatever happens.

this is not my year - 9 out of 12 chicks were roos, now the 3 new ones are 2 roos. Now at 4 roos, 2 of eating age but oh so beautiful. Now if they'd attacked me and not each other, I wouldn't have any problem with this.

The two tiny ones are mutts, collectively called soup.

 

[Dutchess]

Bump up-

Don't be afraid.

I don't have a lot of experience with roosters, sorry. But logically, If they were that rough on each other already, IMHO they are bound to fight again.
Torn combs will heal and rest will help with their exhaustion. And most will tell you here that the rain and cold do not hurt chickens. I'm sure if the rooster that is in the shed is warm and dry, no worries. The other rooster has the hens to keep him warm!

Everything will be okay.

 

[gryeyes]

Roosters CAN co-exist if there are enough ladies for 'em. Well, in many circumstances. I've had multiple roosters in my flock for almost 2 years, and only had to cull one for being brutish with the girls and maniacal towards any roo other than the dominant one.

Currently I have eleven sexually mature cockerels and roosters in my flock. They all coop together, but during the day range freely over my nearly three-quarters of an acre.

 

[StupidBird]

I have 12 adult hens. Not counting chicks in the tractor, and a silkie hen.

 

[freestargirl]

We had 2 roosters that weren't quite mature when we got them from a friend and they'd been together since they hatched. (She too ended up with far more roosters than she wanted out of 14 day olds). They turned on each other and then the big one, Red Floyd quickly showed Pretty Boy who was boss. Pretty still acted kinda petty with our 5 hens though. They both turned on us so they went into the stew pot. We got a 3rd rooster from the same friend, and the chickens all get along happily now, but you have to time your movements just right or new Big Red will get you too. He's not as vicious as the other 2 were and I think that's because they were together.