As with having any kind of pet or livestock in your care, I knew that having chickens was going to come with its ups and downs. I had prepared myself for the fact that there might be sickness, that there may be injuries and that there was inevitably going to be death. What I hadn’t prepared myself for was the first reaction I was going to have when I happened to stumble into the coop one day and find any of the above had happened.
I had as usual, gone out in the morning and done my round of chores; chickens fed, clean water and a top up on food. Everyone was in tip top shape this morning. I even had a whopping six eggs to take into the fridge. I left for the city and the chickens were out of mind.
Later that afternoon I returned home and like usual, went directly to the coop to check on the chickens. I opened the door and my heart flew up into my throat and my stomach dropped. One (of our four) roosters whom we refer to as Shitty, who is a pure white Silkie, was covered in blood. He was red from head to toe. I hurried into the house to round up some first aid items, warm water and to make a quick phone call to Dan.
Let’s just say, Dan has some sensitivities to work on, and we will not just be shooting any animal that looks injured or sick in the future. He’s learning too!
I returned to the coop with hot water, towels and polysporin in hand. I found that Pea had also not fared well. A chunk of comb missing, a torn ear and all the feathers off his poor head missing. Albert may have been bloody but he sustained no real injuries, he is the MAN of the coop I guess, this just goes to show we were right about that. Between tears and questions of why cant everyone just get along, we were able to control the situation.
After a good wipe down, a polysporin application and some tender loving words, the boys were all put back into the coop and told sternly about no more fighting….didn’t they know that bad roosters ended up in the freezer?!
For now, the fighting has stopped. I am hoping it was a dominance thing and that that has been established. If it however continues, I have been informed by the ladies on the chicken page that chicken dumplings are great this time of year!
Poor Pea and Mr. Shitty
The first sign of blood is for sure a heart stopper. To boot, it always appears worst on “white”. I learned that with my Dorset sheep. It sounds to me like you did EVERYTHING right! Well done Hadleigh.
Bad Albert i think he needs a time out or some time in the naughty coop:-D:-D:-D
If I were Albert I would be shaking on my drumsticks.