OlyChickenGuy
Songster
This will probably sound strange and unorthodox, but... I train chickens. I have spent all of the past two years just hanging out with my chickens, rescuing, rehabilitating, and rehoming chickens, and specifically working with roosters. I have found almost ALL presumptions of roosters being aggressive without warning, crowing all day ( and night ) long, being dominant and naturally "mean" to all be false. These are all manifestations of frustrated roosters who, because of lack of social interaction with their human, find it upon themselves to take on dominating roles to keep the flock safe. I currently have two roosters and three hens - a ratio most would baulk at - with NO issues whatsoever. One of the roosters is a bantam mutt, and the other is 3/4 Rhode Island Red and 1/4 Barred Plymouth Rock - they were NOT raised together. Neither of them crow unless they're out of food or water, when outside and facing danger, they alert to the danger and then run to me and hide behind me, when faced with new situations, they look up to me and react based on how I act. Why are my roosters acting so... un-rooster-like? Because from a very young age, I have conveyed my dominance to them in a manner that they understand, and have conveyed that as a dominant "chicken", myself, they have nothing to worry about, nothing to fear, nothing needs to be taken care of that I haven't already taken care of... they need not worry as they are safe, well taken-care-of, comfortable, and happy. I convey dominance by disciplining unwanted behaviours by placing one hand on the chicken's back, and the other hand gently pinches the back of the neck just behind the comb, and pushes the head to the ground. This is how chickens naturally convey dominance to one another, and the hand on the back simply ensures that they do not struggle and hurt themselves. Sometimes if they are just continuing to be little butts ( such as two Campine roosters I fostered ), I give them "jobs". In the case of the Campines, I trained them for agility. They LOVED doing their jobs, and they quickly stopped crowing as much, and their aggression levels diminished almost entirely - even with the other roosters! Another little rooster ( a D'anver mutt ) had the job of eating all the bugs in my room - I'd set him up on my hockey stick and walk around my room, getting him to flap his wings as to get all the cobwebs out of the corners, and to peck away all the bugs. His behaviour changed in a VERY positive manner as well.
My Rhode Island boy's job is keeping me safe. When he was about five months old, he began alerting me to when I started having anxiety and panic attacks. He began to make a noise very distinct from any other noise, that coincided with when I came into that frame of mind. He also rides the handlebars of my bike and makes that noise when I stop paying attention to the road and what's around me. He travels in a satchel with me on the bus, and is well-known to many of the local businesses, and loves the travel. I'm yet to think of a good job for the little bantam mutt, but so far he just gets taken out and tossed around when he's acting up. He is still young enough that I am tolerance training him, so his training is his job, I guess?
Now I know not everyone has the time or energy to do this - especially professional farmers, but I have never had any need to ever kick or hit a rooster, and I've even dealt with adult, human aggressive roosters that I've managed to tame enough to have them sleep on the foot of my bed! Very little time is taken out of your day to "dominate" your rooster in a way that he will understand ( neck pinch, push back down - done any time an undesirable behaviour takes place ), and that gives you and your rooster a lifetime of confidence that you will never be spurred or bitten again, and he knows and trusts you as a gentle but strict, dominant presence. I can also guarantee that this approach makes catching and slaughtering WAY easier, too! I have slaughtered and eaten three roosters so far - all owned by my house mate, but trained by me.
My Rhode Island boy's job is keeping me safe. When he was about five months old, he began alerting me to when I started having anxiety and panic attacks. He began to make a noise very distinct from any other noise, that coincided with when I came into that frame of mind. He also rides the handlebars of my bike and makes that noise when I stop paying attention to the road and what's around me. He travels in a satchel with me on the bus, and is well-known to many of the local businesses, and loves the travel. I'm yet to think of a good job for the little bantam mutt, but so far he just gets taken out and tossed around when he's acting up. He is still young enough that I am tolerance training him, so his training is his job, I guess?
Now I know not everyone has the time or energy to do this - especially professional farmers, but I have never had any need to ever kick or hit a rooster, and I've even dealt with adult, human aggressive roosters that I've managed to tame enough to have them sleep on the foot of my bed! Very little time is taken out of your day to "dominate" your rooster in a way that he will understand ( neck pinch, push back down - done any time an undesirable behaviour takes place ), and that gives you and your rooster a lifetime of confidence that you will never be spurred or bitten again, and he knows and trusts you as a gentle but strict, dominant presence. I can also guarantee that this approach makes catching and slaughtering WAY easier, too! I have slaughtered and eaten three roosters so far - all owned by my house mate, but trained by me.
