Rooster Keeps Attacking me!

[Yazzo]

Ok then, I will. Thanks.

Wow, THAT much??! lol, guess people need all the advice they can get then.....I may not know about a lot of stuff, but this is one subject I do know a lot about, from personal experience.

There doesn't seem to be a sticky about that though.....unless I'm looking in the wrong section....

What section do you think I should post in: Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying or Managing Your Flock?
?

 

[Laurieks]

I got 2 new SQ 10-12 month old roos (2 different lines, so I 'need' them both) back in April.
One attacked the wire if we were near, or us if he was loose. I hoped he would settle down. He's a perfect angel in my lap; he once attacked me and broke his spur on my jeans, then bled all over me as he sat in my lap while I read a book. (I didn't know til I got up).
I entered him in the fair but decided not to take him as they do not allow mean birds... imagine the lifetime trauma if a city kid got bit!
I read somewhere that trimming muffs & crests might help, so I tried it. No change.
Once his newly hatched 'wives' are old enough to breed for a few weeks, he will have to go. I just pray his kids don't get the mean gene.

Thanks for all the ideas here... I'm going to try them all!

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
Yazzo, I'm glad you have all this time & energy to devote to rooster rehabilitation. I agree that there is a lot people can do to condition their roosters to be more manageable, as well as a lot of ways that mishandling and fearful behavior can make a rooster more aggressive.

However, I believe there are many roosters whose inborn nature is just too wary, defensive & aggressive to make them worth keeping. Especially when young children are around. No matter how much rehabilitation you might give a rooster, if he had once been aggressive towards my child I would not let him get near again until he had a crispy coating of bread crumbs.

And this is the reality of life for roosters. They are chickens, not California Condors. In a mixed flock the ideal ratio is 1:10-12. Many flocks have no roosters at all. So there are "job openings" for only 10% of all roosters hatched. That leaves a good 90% with their purpose on a plate. Which isn't the worst thing to happen to a chicken, to live a brief pleasant life and then provide nourishment for some grateful family.

I have 5 large roosters and several other bantam roos that live with my layer flock. None of them required special conditioning to make them the mannerly gentlemen that they are. Neither have they been mishandled in ways to make them aggressive. I also have young cockerels that I let grow until they're about 20-24 weeks old, then they come in for dinner. Many of them have nice manners, but there is just no more room in the inn for them.

The BYC classifieds, Craigslist, notes at your feedstore are filled with offers of "Nice rooster for FREE!" Unless your aggressive rooster once saved your children from a burning building, or is pooping diamonds & pearls, or you have tons of spare time to devote to rooster whispering, I say just bring him in for dinner and replace him with a more mannerly one.

 

[Yazzo]

Sunny_Side_Up
Actually, there's really not that much to it....you don't have to spend THAT much time with them at all, if you know how to make them respect you. And sure, there are a few roosters who never seem to learn....I've only had one or two though: one was a total spaz and ran after me whenever I walked away from him. I was never scared of him though...if fact, I thought it was hilarious (due to the fact that I NEVER allowed him to actually attack me), and my sister even had her 2-year-old daughter in with him, without incident, because none of us are scared of them. How could be be scared of a dingy little twat like that?

And yes, I totally understand that there are just so many roosters, why keep a mean one? At least if you eat him, he'll have lived a much, much better, longer life than any factory farmed chicken!

However, I don't think his ONLY purpose is the plate.....some people WANT to know how to deal with roosters....some people have roosters that will be fine, even around little kids, if they just know how to deal with them. I have several very nice roosters right now, anyone can turn their back on them, even little kids, without and sort of move to attack, but I'm sure at least some of them could be very, very mean if they were with someone who didn't know how to deal with them! I'm not the sort of person that ever wants to kill a rooster....call me what you want for that: I have seen it happen plenty of times, even helped with it, so I know what it's like, but I think for a lot of roosters, they could avoid the stew pot if their 'people' knew how to handle them better. Just like with dogs: It's almost ALWAYS the person, not the dog, to be blamed if the dog is mean. Of course, chickens are different, but I think there are much, much fewer roosters than most people think that can't be 'fixed'.

The roosters I have now are (and this is going to sound really dumb) so sweet, and so tame, and are even nice to the hens, that I could NEVER kill them.....in fact, I'm thinking of making some videos/films with them....

So yeah, you and lots of other people will still put the rooster in the pot right away if he's mean, and that's fine....I'll always try to sell him before resorting to that, but there will probably always be an excess of roosters, so it's of course much better to eat them than picking up a chicken at the store. But for people who DO want to keep their rooster(s), and for the (way too many) who DON'T know how to deal with them without killing, then I really, really hope I can help.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
I'm sure this will benefit the folks who want to try to rehab their aggressive roos, especially those who are contributing to the problem by mishandling the bird and/or reacting out of fear. I am not afraid of attacking roosters, but I know there are a lot of folks who are afraid of ALL chickens. I help run the Poultry Tent at our county fair, and I'm surprised at how many people are afraid to get near even the nicest chicken. They'll also warn their children "Look out! Don't let it peck you!" when the bird isn't acting aggressive at all. So I guess there are many chicken keepers who still react in fear when their roosters start to act aggressive towards them, and they need to learn how to change their own behavior.

My children are not afraid of chickens, never have been, but they could be intimidated by an aggressive bird. And I would rather remove the bird than take the risk of trying to rehabilitate him. I could never completely trust him, nor could I rely on my children knowing how to respond correctly if they were threatened again.

Once a rooster has shown aggression, it's essential that this information be told to any potential buyer. I think that many roosters are aggressive because they're fearful & wary, and putting them into a new home may only contribute to their wariness. Some people don't mind aggressive behavior in a rooster, but they MUST be made aware of their new bird's past history. And with so many people offering to give away nice mannerly roosters, it might be more difficult to try to sell a mean one.

I've only recently learned how to process my own chickens, which has been an enormous help in knowing what to do with all the roosters I do not want to keep for my flock. I imagine there are many other BYC members who are doing the same thing with their roosters, both the ill-tempered and surplus ones, by choice and not out of ignorance because they don't know how to handle them or improve their behavior.

 

[sourland]

Why keep and breed from aggressive roosters (whatever the reason) when there are plenty of gentle roosters available. Human aggressiveness is an inherited trait. Like begets like. Gamecocks are the least human aggressive of any chickens. Why? Because that trait has been culled out of the fighting strains. Some strains of show bred chickens have considerable problems with human aggressiveness. Aggressive roosters should not be used for breeding regardless of their beauty in the show pen! One thing to remember when breeding any animals "The more you tolerate, the more you will have to tolerate." Think about it. It's good sensible animal husbandry.

 

[chicken_newbie]

I've been "CHICKEN SITTING" a friends hens since friday and starting sunday there 1 roo has attacked
me at least once each time
today he met with the 5 gal pal that I was carrying
roo is fine but was thinking twice about doing that again
chickens are durable but need a little wake up call and training

 

[alaskachick]

Send the roo to the big chicken pot pie in the sky. It is not a cruel thing, its part of managing your flock. It keeps the hens stress free and keeps you stress free as well. You can try to rehome him, but first thing potential buyers usually asks is, "Is he mean? Why are you getting rid of him?". Good luck with whatever decision you make. I know how hard it is to give up on a roo. Been there, done that.

 

[Yazzo]

Well, here's my thread, talking extensively about this subject: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=390911

Unfortunately, due to some very aggressive people, it has already been closed, but I hope to start a website about rooster behavior. Hope it helps!

 

[sourland]

Wonder if their aggressiveness is as strongly heritable as human aggressiveness in roosters?

Bottom line- don't trust roosters around small children!