Chickens, like many animals can be "CONDITIONED" to do many things. I have a rooster "BIG JAKE" a black australorp that was simply hatched mean. He will attack anyone, anytime. He is now de-spurred as well. He also has serviced his 8 hens to the point of removing feathers from their backs. Little red looks half plucked. SOLUTION: Make a secure place for him. Mine is a large free standing rabbit cage, I use a jar feeder (secured to wire) and a dog water dispenser tank. His feed is mixed to provide grit and calcium. It is located in the yard, outside of large chicken area and run. It is covered and gets sun and shade, I use barn lime under him on the ground. He is allowed out every other day and the girls the other days to run the yard. Unless he flogs me then he is in his cell for 3 days. (THIS IS FOR ME, IT DOESN'T HELP HIS ATTITUDE AT ALL). He returns to his jail cell every evening without fail.
How to do this you may ask. Place him anyplace you want, leave him in that pen, area, how ever you choose for several days so he knows his surroundings.. Lock, down the hens and any access he may have to the roost, and let him run the yard. He will return to "HIS" area every night. It was this, or put him down do to his aggressive nature. He protects the hens with a vengeance if you are handling one of them. And this is part of having animals. I have an aggressive meat production doe rabbit as well, but a great mother. I sure aint going to put her down. It's not like we are dealing with large animals here.
DE-SPURRING: I read about this and it works great, there is a video on UTUBE as well or was. Turn him over and cover his head, he will settle right down. Two people are best, so you have both hands on tool for control. I used a dremmel tool with a heavy duty cut off disc, not the thin ones. The tool runs so fast it cotterises the blood vessels as it goes. IT DOES NOT HURT THEM, they have NO nerves in the spur tissue, It is like our nail bed of a finger or toe for the blood supply but no nerve endings as ours do. There WILL BE a smell, from the heated spur shell, it is made of the same stuff hair and nails are, so it smells like burning hair.
After several incidents with him and a large doctor bill for an infection in my hand that was only tiny when he got me. These were my solutions. Maybe this will help others before it gets that far, or if you have kids. They can do a good deal of harm to a child I believe, from what he has done to me. His spurs were like needles and went through jeans, into my leg just above the knee. And he can go much higher. A child's eyes are well within his reach. Jake is only afraid of a broom or a fish net, nothing else. He just shakes water off and will posture as soon as you let him out of his cell, but wont hit you if you are looking at him. If he does get me, I snatch him up, carry him upside down (instant control) and put him back in jail and let the girls out.
How to do this you may ask. Place him anyplace you want, leave him in that pen, area, how ever you choose for several days so he knows his surroundings.. Lock, down the hens and any access he may have to the roost, and let him run the yard. He will return to "HIS" area every night. It was this, or put him down do to his aggressive nature. He protects the hens with a vengeance if you are handling one of them. And this is part of having animals. I have an aggressive meat production doe rabbit as well, but a great mother. I sure aint going to put her down. It's not like we are dealing with large animals here.
DE-SPURRING: I read about this and it works great, there is a video on UTUBE as well or was. Turn him over and cover his head, he will settle right down. Two people are best, so you have both hands on tool for control. I used a dremmel tool with a heavy duty cut off disc, not the thin ones. The tool runs so fast it cotterises the blood vessels as it goes. IT DOES NOT HURT THEM, they have NO nerves in the spur tissue, It is like our nail bed of a finger or toe for the blood supply but no nerve endings as ours do. There WILL BE a smell, from the heated spur shell, it is made of the same stuff hair and nails are, so it smells like burning hair.
After several incidents with him and a large doctor bill for an infection in my hand that was only tiny when he got me. These were my solutions. Maybe this will help others before it gets that far, or if you have kids. They can do a good deal of harm to a child I believe, from what he has done to me. His spurs were like needles and went through jeans, into my leg just above the knee. And he can go much higher. A child's eyes are well within his reach. Jake is only afraid of a broom or a fish net, nothing else. He just shakes water off and will posture as soon as you let him out of his cell, but wont hit you if you are looking at him. If he does get me, I snatch him up, carry him upside down (instant control) and put him back in jail and let the girls out.
