will my rooster's comb and wattle heal?

[chick-in-florida]

my rooster fought another one today and now his beautiful red comb and wattle is messed up. will it always look bad or will it heal and be red again? i've searched the forum for an answer but all i can find is how to care for it, not what it will look like when it heals.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Do you mean he has pieces missing, don't know if they would grow back but when my roosters were fighting they would bloody each others combs and they will heal.

 

[chick-in-florida]

well it just got bloody in a couple places and i guess the scab will turn black? but then does it go back to being red? he's got a few black dots that i guess are from pecking.

 

[Miss Lydia]

yes it will go red again but they will continue to fight might have to rehome one or have 2 seperate coops how many hens have you got?

 

[chick-in-florida]

oh okay thanks. believe me, i already separated them. it was DH's 'great' idea to let them fight it out and establish pecking order. i was sick to my stomach watching them. i think the pecking order only works with hens, right?

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Its true that one will usually take over dominance, and in some cases the looser will coexist relatively peacefully. However, if two roos are equally determined, they will fight a lot.
It helps them live together if they have LOTS of room, like free range. If they don't have enough space, the underling roo will always be forced into the dominant roo's territory and he will get his butt kicked for it. Generally if there is room, the dominant roo will just chase the other one away, and he will learn to stay out of the way without much fighting. A more submissive roo will avoid fighting, but if you have two who are determined....

Usually a bloody comb is not a serious issue, and it will heal on it's own. But if neither roo backs down from the fighting, they will have to be kept separate - and be aware that they can try to fight through a fence and get injured on the fence, so it might be best to rehome or eat the spare roo if you don't have space for them.

 

[chick-in-florida]

i hate to watch any animals fight so my first reaction is to get them apart and not let them go at it. before i had two roos together who didn't like each other but only chased and never bloodied each other. this was just awful. unfortunately i have to sell one of them. i get way too attached to them and have trouble letting them go!

 

[Miss Lydia]

I know how you feel chick, when we had our first round of chicks we had 6 roos and 4 hens, and part games at that so by the time they got to be 14 to 16 weeks there was majoring fighting, I watched the boys and decided on which one treated the girls good and which one they liked then we started processing but not before we had some pretty fierce fighting, Same thing my dh says let them fight, we'll neither one would back down by the time I intervened they we bloody and so exhausted they didn't even know I had walked up behind them, when I picked them up they went limp, I thought they had both died in my arms, but they lived to go into the freezer, I cried when we did it but, I knew it was for the best of the flock and noone wanted roo's around here except for fighting or training so their fate was more humane from us. Good luck finding your roo a home, you'll be surprised how much more calm your flock will be when you do.

 

[Sumatra503]

It all depends on the roos. most fights will end with a little blood and then the pecking order is established. Combs and wattles have a lot of blood vessels in them and there will be a lot more blood than a regular cut. My Roos only fought once and now they only peck at eachother over food and things like that.