Monday, May 2, 2011

Cockfight #2

I'm feeling bad.  Really guilty and  bad.  This morning I went out to the hen house to let the birds out, feed and water them.  I always open up the doors to let them into the outdoor pen first and I noticed that Cockzilla didn't come out.

I went into the hen house and saw him cowering in the corner on the floor.  He wouldn't move when I tried to shoosh him out, so I pick him up.  He was completely battered and bloody.  All his new feathers were picked out, one eye swollen closed, covered in blood and I think he may have a broken wing - he looked half dead.  I'm almost crying as I'm writing this as I feel so guilty for putting him and Lucky together again.  I never would have thought that they would fight like that at night in the dark.  I assumed that once Lucky had asserted his dominance yesterday while they outside that would be it - chickens working things out themselves.

I can only feel for poor Cockzilla - first losing his number one status somehow over the winter, and then having to suffer being beaten up.  I know it is farm life and the animals have to make their own pecking order - it is not up to us to decide just because we may favour one over the other - but I hate to see an animal hurt or suffering.

He is now back in the large brooder box in the garage.  He was drinking when I left for work this morning.  I don't know what we'll do... He can't go back to the henhouse, perhaps the most humane thing is to cull him.  I hate the thought as I really like him,.  I'm very sad.

The lesson I've learned is only one rooster in the flock.

1 comments:

Jody said...

We're sad too. There's nothing good about seeing an animal suffer. Don't feel responsible. There's no way you could have known, and thank you for posting the story. Now I think I'll go out and check on our birds.