hurt roosters

i was late in locking up my chickens tonight as i was out when i went down i found the head honcho drenched(it is raining) and on the floor with blood al over it head my second was ont the perch also wet and also had blood and my 3 rooster was only wet

i am trying to figure out wat has happened all the other hens were dry so i know they were out past there bed time which they never do

i am pretty sure they werent fighting

so i think they might have been getting rid of a predater

so wat do u guys think i dont know which is the right answer i am stuck

yes i think they fought off something... can you describe the head wounds?

Noble fowl!

Josh, hopefully whatever came after them, they fought off and it is gone for good. I found out the other night my 2 favorite buds have been getting into little tiffs that I was blaming on the wrong roo.. they got into it majorly and I never would have believed it other than I heard the rucus and they were the only 2 locked up in that coop.. and I had to yell at them to quit.

I have learned (please don't anyone tell me I am wrong) that comb injuries can be treated with blue-cote.. that stuff is so miracle.. I use two fingers to cover eyes and spray the comb.. It heals so fast.. and they look pretty purple-blue.

Good luck Josh.

the main rooster comb is riped and know a chicken couldnt do that the second ones cut is at the base of the comb

the main roo is really lethargic today it has crowed but is not strutting around like normal

I found neosporin or triple antbiotic ointment works very well on injured combs it helps keep the comb soft as it heals the wound. I apply it as needed and i've found it's better than most other things i've tried. I clean mine with peroxide before i apply it to remove any dirt or germs.

Josh.. how do you know he couldn't do that.. I ask because thats exactly where simon was hurt at.. the very top of the comb.. looked like someone tried to dig it out and slice it off.. same at the bottom.. just above his beak.. and then there were a few other deep wounds.. looked like his comb (a rose comb) was just pulled apart in places..
I did like harmony said and cleaned it very well, I had neosporin but really liked the way the blue-cote sprays on, covering ever nook & crany and doesn't come off for any reason.. including soap & water..

warning, do not use this product minutes before going to dinner with your spouses boss.

LOL fran...

josh, anytime you need to stop the bleeding, try flour or cornmeal or even balck powder like for a gun...

they could have been fighting something off through the fence, and after repeated strikes caught their combs in the wire...

maybe you can throw them some good kitchen scraps like watermelon for a pick me up...

fran i know the other roo did not do it because the other roo is uch stronger and biger than the other and its comb is pecked or any thing it is a clean slice staight through

Thats probably a good thing then... lets hope the cuprit learned a lesson and got the worse end of the beak and claws and will not return!

Hope all the dudes are feeling better Josh.

boy is my face red it turns out it was the roo i caught the youger one trying to kill its dad to day i had to move him into the silkie pen to avoid further harm

You just shake off that red... I NEVER would have thought my sweet Nemo would have hurt his best friend Simon...
I think we tend to forget we are talking about a real pecking order and they do not have the love and warm fuzzies we tend to label them with..
It is all animalistic.. and so very interesting to watch.
With that said Josh.. I am so sorry this is the way it turned out for you and hope you find an answer. I personally haven't figured an answer, other than I seperated them. I reallylike both personalities and don't want to cull either.

Chin up, take care of those wounds.. the birds wounds.. and we're here to listen.

Yes shake that off i had a fantail male pigeon peck his own babys to death and they were 2 weeks old.
I had a rooster not too long ago attack his own hen and bloody her head.
Chickens go figure........Just about the time you get to thinkin they are all cute and fuzzy they show you thier bad side.

Not enough women to go around, maybe? Funny what stress can do...

I have a roo in a separate cage recovering from being nearly scalped by a penmate. The two boys had been together without incident for quite a while. If two roos are bloody messes, chances are they were fighting each other, not a predator.
Suze

I think there is this weird scalping thing that is a tell-tale sign that it is rooster vs rooster.. but.. I also have not had the trama of a preditor yet.. and heres praying I don't in the future either.

they are seperated and the older one is reasserting his dominance on his flock so maybe it will give him his confidence back

Hi josh--I wonder if having them penned makes it more likely they will fight? When my admittedly young roos start to go at each other, one usually takes off and hides in the other part of the yard. My yard has a big L in it so it is easy for them to get out of each others sight. It seems they would not be able to do that in a pen. Or do you think they just fight when they get a certain age?

I think part of that answer/problem cat is the way we differ in out pens/set-ups..
While I allow my flock to free range everyday.. it is not all day, so they are penned up most of the day.. I think my pens are large enough.. I guess winter will tell, but it still leaves the problem of when there is anarchy you must remove.. there is no real hiding place in a pen.. well unless your pen is castle size. So right now I am up to 4 pens.. and poor Nemo is in a large kennel.. My girls are just starting to lay so I don't dare move them so Nemo can have a harem of his own.

four pens? silkies shouldn't fight, they look like such peaceable birds...

tf.. 3 of the silkie roos get along fine.. they are in 1 pen..
I had Simon, a silkie roo and Nemo, a bantum plymoth barred rock roo and Billy the bully, a blk silkie.. originally all 6 had been raised together, I didn't know they were all roos.. then just one day billy started being a dweeb.. and it sort of went from there..

I have always ran two coops... the silkies & Nemo in one and the regular layers in the other.. So far I have not had to seperate any layers.. they are 5 months old now and I think I am seeing a few roos there, but noone has tried anything funny yet... isn't that odd.. top dog is my girl Allie..

so many stories so little time... would anyone read a book if I wrote it... I mean the war between the gold laced wyandotte (?roo?) and the smaller than him Papillion.. everytime poor cricket looks at this chicken Astro walks up close to Cricket as to try to tell him a secret.. Cricket falls for it evertime.. then Astro pecks him right on the nose... why does Cricket keep going back??? I bet Astro keeps telling him if he comes clooser he will tell him where the bones* graveyard is located.

i woukld BUY your book...

hte pen is plenty big and i let them out for a couple hours a day i built another coup instead for the youg roo and 2 hens so now i have 3 seperate coups LOL

Are 2 hens enough? I hadn't given Nemo any hens yet.. wasn't sure what to do.. AND.. would he settle down a bit.. when they were all loose.. he would chase the girls like mad... didn't tear them up.. just pace and chase them..

I can keep my young roo's together about 5 months thats when they will usally begin to do a little fighting. I can't keep these roo's i raise together old english bantams are decendant's of the fighting game species and they are born with a short fuse and they fight to the death. I always keep 2 hens with 1 roo that way he has 2 to choose from and will breed with both and not concentrate on just one. Roosters are very driven when it comes to mateing and if not given and outlet for it will find a way to get out his frustration and desires and if theres competition hes going to take it out.