Two Roo's fighting, injured wattles and combs

[baltimoreharps]

Well, I was hoping that it wouldn't happen, but it did....

Usually, my 2 roos get along just fine. Today, they both just started fighting non stop to the point that by the time I looked out the window and got out there to separate them, they were staggering around, both of them has very bloody combs and wattles, and the girls were upset. I separated them, tossed the one that was bleeding less into the broody cage, and took care of the most injured one. When he got patched up, then Romeo got his head treated.
They are both 6 months old and have 12 hens that are all laying. They have plenty of space and when this happened, they were all free ranging, so there wasn't a boredom issue.
I've put some neosporin (no "caine" in it) on both of them, and for now, they are both out in the coop with the girls. Is there anything else that I need to do for them? Now that this aggression is out there, is it going to continue from now on? I don;t want them to continue to hurt each other, so one will have to be rehomed if this keeps up which is a shame since they aren't aggresive to people at all.

 

[Opa]

To paraphrase the Highlander movies roosters seem to believe that "there can be only one". Unfortunately this conduct will continue. Either keeping them separate or rehoming one are your only options.

 

[baltimoreharps]

Thank you, Opa. I respect your opinion very much.

Now, I've just got to decide which one to keep....

Buddy is about two and a half feet tall, and is great with the girls, BUT I have caught him trying to sneak up on me recently. He's more on guard than Romeo and finds the girls treats, etc.
Romeo has his name for a good reason, lol. He doesn't keep as close of an eye on the flock but is very gentle with the girls and not a jerk to them like Buddy can be....argh, I don't know...Romeo did beat Buddy today hands down, but Buddy is the better guardian...

 

[Opa]

Deciding which rooster to keep is always a difficult proposition. Are you maintaing a pure bred flock. If so than you will need to segregate your roosters with only the hens of that breed. If you are just keeping a flock of mixed parentage birds, then what traits do you want to pass on. Color, size, temperment, egg color of breed, winter hardiness, etc. Try to stay objective and consider your flock needs rather than emotional issues like he always seemed friendlier, or he was the first rooster I got.

 

[baltimoreharps]

Quote:
We have a mixed parentage flock who were all hatched on June 13th 2009. It is going to be a very difficult decision to make. Between the two roo's they would make the perfect roo if combined. One is very large, good with watching over the flock more of an Orphington in color, but with a possible lavender gene with his tailfeathers in the coloration. The other is more of a reddish color with a very even temperment, prolific breeding, but isn't as good of a flock protecter. Objectively, the Orph roo is the better one to keep for the flock, but I'm a little wary around him since he's tried to jump me twice in the last two weeks because he wasn't getting his treats fast enough for him. He hasn't suceeded, yet and I don't want to give away the wrong one only to find that with the other roo out of the way, his temperment would even out more.
The only other pen I have is a silkie pen and both roos do NOT like the silkies at all.

Thank you Opa, I do tend to be more emotional than logical most of the time.

 

[Opa]

Anytime you enter the pen and a rooster starts to get close to you, use the side of your foot to forcefully boot him away. You need to establish dominance over them. It doesn't take many "treatments" before they start associating you with an unscheduled flight.