Rooster Fights
Understand them
I had three roosters coexisting peacefully for almost three years, even with less-than-ideal hens. My main rooster, Bartholomew, kept the order and made sure the girls were happy. Unfortunately, at the start of spring, I learned the hard way that it's rare for one rooster to stay in charge for his entire lifetime.
Understanding their fights makes them a lot less scary, and it also teaches you, as the owner, when you should step in — and when to let nature take its course.
An alpha rooster must constantly assert his dominance over the other roosters to maintain his place as the leader and provider of the flock. He will spend over 70% of his time caring for and watching over his hens.
In the wild, red junglefowl typically have a dominant rooster who looks after about a dozen hens. Nearby, but still part of the same flock, there is usually a group of younger cockerels and roosters. They generally get along peacefully but are always watching and waiting for their chance to become the top bird.
No two fights among roosters are the same. Fights between hens are usually short and decisive, involving just some pecking. But with roosters, there's a lot more behavior and convincing involved in a fight.
It's crucial to let roosters fight to establish their pecking order. They maintain balance by having an alpha rooster and a beta rooster (or roosters). Fights only become serious—and potentially deadly—if the alpha rooster decides he won't tolerate the beta roosters.
Rooster fights can start very suddenly, like someone just flipped a switch!
The rooster initiating the challenge will often flap his wings in a heavy motion and may crow loudly. This is a way of saying, "I am big and dangerous."
The challenged rooster will quickly respond by running, and then they explode into a pile of feathers, beaks, and claws. Your first reaction might be to separate them, but they will most likely start fighting again as soon as you leave. It's usually better to let them settle the pecking order while you're around.
If the fight ends quickly, there will be a clear winner and loser. This kind of fight is most likely to settle the hierarchy, with the loser running away. The winner may chase the loser briefly to show dominance but should not continue to pick fights.
What determines whether you should step in is how they fight. You need to recognize which types of fighting are normal and which could lead to serious injury or death.
A typical fight lasts about 15–20 minutes. If one rooster appears to be losing, the behavior of the stronger rooster will determine if they can live together peacefully afterward.
If the stronger rooster continues to chase or harm the weaker one, it's a clear sign their coop is too small for both of them.
If both roosters keep fighting and start looking tired, it might be a good idea to separate them.
If you need to seperate them, how should you do this?
With small bantam roosters, you can usually just pick one up — but with larger roosters, you could seriously get hurt. They may still be "just chickens," but they pack a punch!
One tactic you can try is splashing some water on them. This can break their focus and give you a chance to safely pick one up. They might still try to bite or peck, but it will most likely stop once they're out of the "fight zone."
The blood
There will likely be a lot of blood on both roosters — most of it around the face. Make sure to clean the wounds properly. Use saline solution and an antibacterial spray to prevent infection.
They will probably have many missing feathers, and in some cases, even missing spurs. Spurs contain major blood vessels and can bleed heavily. You can apply a blood-stopping powder or styptic powder to stop the bleeding.
If there are eye injuries that look like they've penetrated the eye itself, you should take the bird to a vet. Eye wounds can easily lead to blindness or serious infections that may result in permanent damage.
After a fight, the roosters will be exhausted. Keep them separated so they can calm down and begin to recover. Offer them water and food to help them regain strength.
Change in leadership: my own experience
My Life With Three Silkie Roosters
I've had three Silkie roosters throughout my entire chicken-keeping journey. Of course, I didn't plan for this — like many of us, I didn't even intend to have one rooster. But at the last minute, I changed my mind. When my amazing Bartholomew arrived, my heart opened up to roosters completely.
Despite having more roosters than ideal for the number of hens, my group had an incredible dynamic for the longest time. This was entirely thanks to Bart's leadership. His way of leading was based on one thing: the good of the flock. He loved the girls deeply and kept the two other boys in line. They respected him — and it worked.
Then, at Easter 2024, a respiratory infection hit my flock. Sadly, it struck Bartholomew first. I took him inside and separated him for a day to try to prevent the spread. But when I reintroduced him, things changed. Grigori, my youngest rooster, saw that both Bart and my second rooster, Pete, were weak — Pete had just started showing symptoms too.
Grigori saw his chance to claim what he'd always quietly wanted: leadership.
Until that moment, I had never seen Grigori fight — not even once. He had always avoided conflict and had never challenged the other two. But this time was different. He meant business. This was now his flock.
I kept him separated until the others were strong enough to defend themselves, because I knew: this fight had to happen. There was no avoiding it.
Eventually, the other two surrendered to him, and now Grigori is in charge. He's the youngest of the three and still has a lot to learn about leadership. He does occasionally harass the other two, but not to the point that I'm concerned. I think he's still unsure about his own dominance, maybe afraid that one of the others might take the throne back. I have a feeling he'll settle down more as fall comes.
It does make me a little sad that Bartholomew didn't get to stay in charge — he really was the perfect leader. But I could never part with any of my boys, so the only real alternative would be to split them into different flocks. As long as they get along, I'm happy keeping them together.
Even though I still have fewer hens than ideal for three roosters, they've never over-mated the girls. Their frustration, when it shows, has never been taken out on the hens. When Grigori joined the flock, my motto was:
"It's not a problem until it's a problem."
He got a chance to prove his place in the flock — instead of being culled or sold — and he did just that.
This experience taught me the difference between a real pecking-order fight and just a squabble. Everything I had researched came to life before my eyes.