2018 Newbie Chat!

[Anna Ranieri]

Me. I went out there and started crowing and quacking at them--they were quite taken aback at this big weirdo imitating them....

Lol, nice one!

 

[llombardo]

So today it's 60 degrees. Tomorrow should be a high of 35.....

 

[llombardo]

So it's 8 pm, beautiful weather and they are still active with the light on. The ducks are swimming away and I'm finally sitting down.

I brought the bag of mealworms out and Prince went for the bag. I have it in my mind to watch him at all times. I could tell what he was thinking. In the best interest of my lower body I did not drop the bag but held it out further at the same time he went for it. Then I used my little stick. It was in the same exact spot he flogged me in last time and last time I was also holding a bag.

I did the same thing I did last time I backed him off with the stick I had and I put that bag down real quick.

It seems to be something with bags. Is that possible? What about those bags causes this? Is he actually jumping to get the bag and the food inside? He backs off pretty easily in general. I know a couple of my dogs don't like plastic bags, but they go in the opposite direction. It seems to be a fight or flight thing. The dogs choose flight and Prince chooses fight.

Most people will jump to aggression, because he is a boy. I am not there yet. This is based in the fact that both times whatever he did involved a bag. Both times he backed off quickly when I towered over him and told him no in a stearn voice. On Saturday one of the girls wanted in the coop, she squawked, he come running babawking, but stopped and carried on. One of the girls escapes the added run area and he makes all kinds of noise for me to get her and does nothing when I grab her and bring her back. I believe if he was truly aggressive I would be seeing it with the hens and not bags. I can bring other containers in and he doesn't bother with those at all, bringing the hose in doesn't phase him--just bags.

Thoughts on this? I'm not sure if I should keep bringing bags in to teach him or just stop bringing bags in, knowing that will set him off. I'm pretty amazed that I can read him so well, but I guess that is good because I'm able to identify what seems to bother him and that is bags.

 

[llombardo]

In other news I have a rabbit that got into the run and has decided to make its home with the chickens and ducks.

Here it's eating their flick block

Hard to see..all the chickens roosting. I count them and then I add a rabbit..lol

 

[Anna Ranieri]

So it's 8 pm, beautiful weather and they are still active with the light on. The ducks are swimming away and I'm finally sitting down.

I brought the bag of mealworms out and Prince went for the bag. I have it in my mind to watch him at all times. I could tell what he was thinking. In the best interest of my lower body I did not drop the bag but held it out further at the same time he went for it. Then I used my little stick. It was in the same exact spot he flogged me in last time and last time I was also holding a bag.

I did the same thing I did last time I backed him off with the stick I had and I put that bag down real quick.

It seems to be something with bags. Is that possible? What about those bags causes this? Is he actually jumping to get the bag and the food inside? He backs off pretty easily in general. I know a couple of my dogs don't like plastic bags, but they go in the opposite direction. It seems to be a fight or flight thing. The dogs choose flight and Prince chooses fight.

Most people will jump to aggression, because he is a boy. I am not there yet. This is based in the fact that both times whatever he did involved a bag. Both times he backed off quickly when I towered over him and told him no in a stearn voice. On Saturday one of the girls wanted in the coop, she squawked, he come running babawking, but stopped and carried on. One of the girls escapes the added run area and he makes all kinds of noise for me to get her and does nothing when I grab her and bring her back. I believe if he was truly aggressive I would be seeing it with the hens and not bags. I can bring other containers in and he doesn't bother with those at all, bringing the hose in doesn't phase him--just bags.

Thoughts on this? I'm not sure if I should keep bringing bags in to teach him or just stop bringing bags in, knowing that will set him off. I'm pretty amazed that I can read him so well, but I guess that is good because I'm able to identify what seems to bother him and that is bags.

If it were me I'd stop taking in bags, you've identified the problem so why continue? What good does it do you or your rooster to teach him to be submissive to bags when clearly he is attacking to protect. Personally, after reading this I don't believe he ever attacked you, I believe you just got caught in the cross fire - if it were you he intended to flog he'd of done it regardless of whether you held a bag or not and if it were out of aggression he would have flogged you this time too regardless of your stick. He saw a threat and attempted to deal with it and for all you know he might have been trying to protect you from the bag. The trouble with us is that we try to humanise our animals, we put our own understanding and emotions onto things they do when in the truth of it they are nothing like us and have their own politics and rules they live by.
I thought it in the beginning and I think it even more now, Prince isn't aggressive, he isn't regarding you below him, nor does he think you're a chicken, however he recognises you, knows you are friend not foe and knows you help him to keep his flock safe. You need to do what is best for you but imo best get rid of the bags.

 

[Cryss]

If it were me I'd stop taking in bags, you've identified the problem so why continue? What good does it do you or your rooster to teach him to be submissive to bags when clearly he is attacking to protect. Personally, after reading this I don't believe he ever attacked you, I believe you just got caught in the cross fire - if it were you he intended to flog he'd of done it regardless of whether you held a bag or not and if it were out of aggression he would have flogged you this time too regardless of your stick. He saw a threat and attempted to deal with it and for all you know he might have been trying to protect you from the bag. The trouble with us is that we try to humanise our animals, we put our own understanding and emotions onto things they do when in the truth of it they are nothing like us and have their own politics and rules they live by.
I thought it in the beginning and I think it even more now, Prince isn't aggressive, he isn't regarding you below him, nor does he think you're a chicken, however he recognises you, knows you are friend not foe and knows you help him to keep his flock safe. You need to do what is best for you but imo best get rid of the bags.

Absolutely get rid of the bags. My Roopecca has the same issues with bags. I've noticed he has issues with things I might bring in that are new to him and possibly (in his eyes anyway) a danger. Mostly bags. If Roopecca were aggressive then I think when my husband, son in law, and granddaughters boyfriend were inside the run preparing ground and moving the coop into a better area he would have had a chance to do damage. Instead he did a preliminary fluffing at them when they first entered. After that he totally ignored them for about 4 hours. Enjoy your rooster. Leave bags out of sight.

 

[llombardo]

I am so glad that my boy is not the only one out there with issues with bags. It was the only thing that was exactly the same. I thought maybe it was a crazy thought. The only other thing that was exactly the same was where I was standing with the bag. Same exact spot.

I have no problem not bringing bags in.

I am always working in the pen or coop. If anything he is right there tilting his head watching me. If I'm on the outside of the run, he follows me and watches what I'm doing.

He is very interested in me but not in a bad way.

 

[llombardo]

If it were me I'd stop taking in bags, you've identified the problem so why continue? What good does it do you or your rooster to teach him to be submissive to bags when clearly he is attacking to protect. Personally, after reading this I don't believe he ever attacked you, I believe you just got caught in the cross fire - if it were you he intended to flog he'd of done it regardless of whether you held a bag or not and if it were out of aggression he would have flogged you this time too regardless of your stick. He saw a threat and attempted to deal with it and for all you know he might have been trying to protect you from the bag. The trouble with us is that we try to humanise our animals, we put our own understanding and emotions onto things they do when in the truth of it they are nothing like us and have their own politics and rules they live by.
I thought it in the beginning and I think it even more now, Prince isn't aggressive, he isn't regarding you below him, nor does he think you're a chicken, however he recognises you, knows you are friend not foe and knows you help him to keep his flock safe. You need to do what is best for you but imo best get rid of the bags.

Thank you for this. I just keep reading all these issues with aggressive roosters and I'm so afraid that he will turn into one. I do not want that. It makes sense to just avoid whatever sets him off. If he has an issue with bags, then no more bags it is.

 

[No More Empty Nest]

So cute with the rabbit! I love the playground equipment you've made for your chickens, lol. I found a structure that someone was throwing out by the side of the road a while ago. All brand new wood, almost as if someone was trying to make a small step ladder kind of thing but out of wood that I would fear to stand on, too thin. After I picked it up, I found a website about building fun roosts for chickens and it looks just like it! I have no idea if that's what it was meant for, but it's never been used for anything, pristine clean new wood. I'll take a picture of it when I get outside. I've been trying to figure out how to fit it in the run.

 

[CannedMonster]

I use flax bedding. I will never use anything else. It's super absorbent, super soft, fire retardant(for those that use heat lamps. Easy to clean and 100% dust free.

For the run I use mulch,grass clippings and soon leaves.

How does the flax do in compost?
I have tons of pine shavings all around my coop area and have read it takes a long time for them to break down and they remove nitrogen from the soil.