We have a white mixed-breed bantam with very feathery feet who is, appropriately, named "Swiffer". He has a great temperament, a real gentleman with the hens, docile & easy for his humans to handle, doesn't usually cause a fuss with the other roosters.
He was living happily in one of the layer pens along with an older large Buff Rock rooster named Ol' Yeller. Swiffer & Ol' Yeller never fought and slept together with their hens in the coop each night. During the days Swiffer would hop the dividing fence over to the other layer pen as soon as their resident rooster Beaker, an EE, would himself hop out to roam the yard with a few adventurous hens. It was a satisfactory set-up for everyone, a peaceable arrangement.
Then the pecking order changed when Ol' Yeller Crossed The Road. A new young roo named Ronald, a Dark Brahama, was installed as his replacement. For a while Swiffer had Ronald convinced that he had to submit to the smaller but cockier cock. Then one day another bantam roo unexpectedly got out of his pen and beat the giblets out of Swiffer. Once Ronald saw that Swiffer was mortal after he lost his fear of the little tyrant and also fought with him.
That fight cost poor Swiffer the sight in one eye. We kept him alone in a cage for several weeks to let his wounds & his eye heal. Two days ago we decided he was sufficiently healed to be allowed to roam the yard again. He so enjoys being with the hens, and is so courtly with them, they all deserve the opportunity to be together. We watched when the other roosters were around but as long as everyone is well-spaced in the yard there are no more tussles.
The first night out we caught up Swiffer & put him back in his solitary cage for the night. But last night he went to roost in Beaker's coop. He seemed so peaceful there I (wrongly) decided to leave him there, intending to let everyone out at first light.
However, Saturday mornings are often made for sleeping in late, and that's what I did. When I went to let everyone out of the coops I first checked in Beaker's place. There was no sign of a fight, no feathers, or blood... And also NO sight of Swiffer! He hadn't rushed out when I opened the door, he wasn't lying in a pool of blood on the floor, he wasn't crushed in any corner. Where could he be???
I finally found him firmly wedged in a crack at the back of the coop, head down and feet & tail up. It was an inaccessible corner, I would have to get tools and disassemble that part of the coop to get him out. I felt SO guilty, it was all my fault for leaving him in there where he would be vulnerable to attack! He must be already dead or in horrible condition to be so tightly packed in there, and stuck up-side down as well! All I could see were a few tail feathers and a bit of beak, I couldn't tell how bad his injuries were. I rushed through the rest of the coop opening chores and ran to get the drill for unscrewing boards.
It took some time to unscrew & remove the boards on the outside of that corner of the coop. I finally made enough space to reach in and gingerly grab the little guy. I turned him over...
...and looked into his bright, blinking, uninjured clucking little face! He was alive! He was still alive and bearing only a few smears of blood from his pecked comb! You know how bad some roosters can look after a fierce battle, combs & wattles raw & bloody, they look like they've been through a sausage grinder. But Swiffer must have ran for that corner after the first peck or two and so escaped any further harm. Thank You Jesus!
With chickens you live & learn, and often have to learn the hard way. It's always sad to lose a feathered friend, even worse when the cause was due to your own action or decision, even if it was the best choice you could think of at that time. I was reproaching myself for having left Swiffer in the coop with Beaker not knowing how they would react to each other by light of day enclosed together. I thank God that this tale had a happy ending for Swiffer, and I won't make that mistake again. His story is being shared so you can see that old Murphy doesn't always get his way, and as a cautionary tale to consider if ever you have two roosters waking up in the same coop for the first time.
He was living happily in one of the layer pens along with an older large Buff Rock rooster named Ol' Yeller. Swiffer & Ol' Yeller never fought and slept together with their hens in the coop each night. During the days Swiffer would hop the dividing fence over to the other layer pen as soon as their resident rooster Beaker, an EE, would himself hop out to roam the yard with a few adventurous hens. It was a satisfactory set-up for everyone, a peaceable arrangement.
Then the pecking order changed when Ol' Yeller Crossed The Road. A new young roo named Ronald, a Dark Brahama, was installed as his replacement. For a while Swiffer had Ronald convinced that he had to submit to the smaller but cockier cock. Then one day another bantam roo unexpectedly got out of his pen and beat the giblets out of Swiffer. Once Ronald saw that Swiffer was mortal after he lost his fear of the little tyrant and also fought with him.
That fight cost poor Swiffer the sight in one eye. We kept him alone in a cage for several weeks to let his wounds & his eye heal. Two days ago we decided he was sufficiently healed to be allowed to roam the yard again. He so enjoys being with the hens, and is so courtly with them, they all deserve the opportunity to be together. We watched when the other roosters were around but as long as everyone is well-spaced in the yard there are no more tussles.
The first night out we caught up Swiffer & put him back in his solitary cage for the night. But last night he went to roost in Beaker's coop. He seemed so peaceful there I (wrongly) decided to leave him there, intending to let everyone out at first light.
However, Saturday mornings are often made for sleeping in late, and that's what I did. When I went to let everyone out of the coops I first checked in Beaker's place. There was no sign of a fight, no feathers, or blood... And also NO sight of Swiffer! He hadn't rushed out when I opened the door, he wasn't lying in a pool of blood on the floor, he wasn't crushed in any corner. Where could he be???
I finally found him firmly wedged in a crack at the back of the coop, head down and feet & tail up. It was an inaccessible corner, I would have to get tools and disassemble that part of the coop to get him out. I felt SO guilty, it was all my fault for leaving him in there where he would be vulnerable to attack! He must be already dead or in horrible condition to be so tightly packed in there, and stuck up-side down as well! All I could see were a few tail feathers and a bit of beak, I couldn't tell how bad his injuries were. I rushed through the rest of the coop opening chores and ran to get the drill for unscrewing boards.
It took some time to unscrew & remove the boards on the outside of that corner of the coop. I finally made enough space to reach in and gingerly grab the little guy. I turned him over...
...and looked into his bright, blinking, uninjured clucking little face! He was alive! He was still alive and bearing only a few smears of blood from his pecked comb! You know how bad some roosters can look after a fierce battle, combs & wattles raw & bloody, they look like they've been through a sausage grinder. But Swiffer must have ran for that corner after the first peck or two and so escaped any further harm. Thank You Jesus!
With chickens you live & learn, and often have to learn the hard way. It's always sad to lose a feathered friend, even worse when the cause was due to your own action or decision, even if it was the best choice you could think of at that time. I was reproaching myself for having left Swiffer in the coop with Beaker not knowing how they would react to each other by light of day enclosed together. I thank God that this tale had a happy ending for Swiffer, and I won't make that mistake again. His story is being shared so you can see that old Murphy doesn't always get his way, and as a cautionary tale to consider if ever you have two roosters waking up in the same coop for the first time.
