They're fighting!

[Dingo]

I was watching my 3 week old cots at a distance today and noticed one of them chasing another. After a few minutes I checked them and the rosetta was bleeding a little bit right above it's eye. I also noticed my pharaoh has been defeathered on his scalp. There are only 2 I can sex right now, the pharaoh(M) and the roux dilute(F), but I have a hunch 2 of the pieds are roos as well. Their set up right now is 2'x2' with 6 birds. Should I seperate them? How do I discern who goes in with who? The pharaoh and the roux dilute are friendly to eachother but should the rosetta go with them? I'm certain it was one of the 3 pieds that I saw going after the rosetta. If I seperate them how hard would it be to reintroduce them as a flock for winter once they can handle the chill outside?

 

[7L Farm]

I had this same problem. My tuxedo was bleeding pretty bad so I seperated him till he healed & reintroduced with no such luck. I ended up culling.

 

[chrishel]

I had the same problems 2 days ago. Came home looking for eggs from my 5 week olds and instead found a scalped bird hiding behind the water dispenser. I put some Quik-Stop on the wound (need to get some Blue-kote), put him in a brooder to isolate him and took him inside. A few hours later he started crowing. Now I'm wondering why I should nurse a bird that I'm probably going to end up "harvesting" anyway.

I want to re-introduce him, but I just haven't had the time to watch the re-introduction and make sure that it works (or doesn't work).

Previously, when I had a trouble maker, I isolated him and I never had any luck re-introducing him. He's still isolated to this day. He really should have been culled.

 

[Dingo]

Well I know my brooder is starting to get a bit over crowded, and I could manage two colonies but I think they'd be warmer together in one colony.

 

[Stellar]

I cull the aggressive one. You don't want mean ones in the group. Makes breeding and raising simpler

 

[aprophet]

Quote:
X2 These ones taste the best

 

[bigjohn]

One of the easiest things to do is get a pair of toenail clippers and clip the top beak back right before the little vein. They won't bleed if you do it right and they don't seem to be able to do as much damage to each other if they cannot get a good 'beak' hold on another bird. Just clip the most aggressive birds. Just like clipping your fingernails!