A roo???

[donrae]

Yep, that's a boy.

 

[StacyAK]

Darn! I decided I'm going to keep him for now and see how it goes. Wouldn't hurt to have one rooster I guess. Unless he gets aggressive. I'm going to start really working with him and handling him so he is used to it and go from there. I feel bad getting rid of him just because he is a boy not like it's his fault he's a boy!

I emailed the place I got them from and they are refunding me since they 100% guarantee sex so that's good news. I get my $5 back! Lol

 

[carriebain]

Awww, I'm glad you have the option to keep him! I would keep mine for sure if they weren't illegal. He is beautiful! Good luck, let us know how it goes!

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Darn! I decided I'm going to keep him for now and see how it goes. Wouldn't hurt to have one rooster I guess. Unless he gets aggressive. I'm going to start really working with him and handling him so he is used to it and go from there. I feel bad getting rid of him just because he is a boy

not like it's his fault he's a boy!

I emailed the place I got them from and they are refunding me since they 100% guarantee sex so that's good news. I get my $5 back! Lol

Personally, I would leave him alone. I do not believe in handling roos. When you pet and handle a rooster a lot, and allow him on your lap, etc, you are telling him in chicken language that he's the boss of you. After all, the hens groom the rooster as a show of subordination. Then, when he tries to tell you what to do and you don't do it, he tries to discipline you the way he would another rooster, and you don't pay any attention. The next time, he tries harder to make you obey, and then you have real trouble.

I firmly believe that roosters should be very respectful of people, and move away when a person walks toward them. Of course, they will run up to you with the flock when you come to the fence, but he should not be approaching you unless you have treats and things. This is best achieved by simply leaving him alone. Make pets of your hens, but let the rooster be the potentially dangerous animal that he is.

 

[donrae]

Personally, I would leave him alone. I do not believe in handling roos. When you pet and handle a rooster a lot, and allow him on your lap, etc, you are telling him in chicken language that he's the boss of you. After all, the hens groom the rooster as a show of subordination. Then, when he tries to tell you what to do and you don't do it, he tries to discipline you the way he would another rooster, and you don't pay any attention. The next time, he tries harder to make you obey, and then you have real trouble.

I firmly believe that roosters should be very respectful of people, and move away when a person walks toward them. Of course, they will run up to you with the flock when you come to the fence, but he should not be approaching you unless you have treats and things. This is best achieved by simply leaving him alone. Make pets of your hens, but let the rooster be the potentially dangerous animal that he is.

This. Roosters make very poor pets, it makes them disrespectful of people. He needs to be treated like livestock, that way you'll both be much happier and he'll probably have a longer life. Disrespectful roosters become mean roosters and mean roosters don't live long.

 

[StacyAK]

Personally, I would leave him alone. I do not believe in handling roos. When you pet and handle a rooster a lot, and allow him on your lap, etc, you are telling him in chicken language that he's the boss of you. After all, the hens groom the rooster as a show of subordination. Then, when he tries to tell you what to do and you don't do it, he tries to discipline you the way he would another rooster, and you don't pay any attention. The next time, he tries harder to make you obey, and then you have real trouble.

I firmly believe that roosters should be very respectful of people, and move away when a person walks toward them. Of course, they will run up to you with the flock when you come to the fence, but he should not be approaching you unless you have treats and things. This is best achieved by simply leaving him alone. Make pets of your hens, but let the rooster be the potentially dangerous animal that he is.

Oh thank you, thank you! I would of ruined him for sure! If he tries to challenge or bully me do I need to "show him who's boss"?

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Oh thank you, thank you! I would of ruined him for sure! If he tries to challenge or bully me do I need to "show him who's boss"?

Yep. You don't need to kick him or hit him or harm him in any way, though.

The most important thing to do is be very watchful for the first signs of aggression. This is NOT him attacking you or running at you. The signs can be subtle. Watch for him to approach you--especially while he's walking very tall and proud--when there's no reason for him to come up to you; i.e. when you don't have food or treats. Also watch for him to lower his head and fluff up his neck feathers when you walk up to him instead of moving away. Watch for him to come up behind you, when he thinks you can't see him. These are all the first signs that he's checking to see if he can dominate you and become the alpha roo himself. When these things happen, think chicken! Squawk loudly and flap your arms and chase him all over the place. If you can catch him, hold him down on the ground until he submits to you. Then watch to see if he tests you again. IME, roosters that aren't inherently aggressive but are instead just testing to see if you can be kicked out of the alpha spot will desist after that first lesson.

If he continues to challenge you, then he probably isn't a good choice as a leader for a home flock. If he attacks you or your kids even once, I would personally have him gone or in the Crock Pot by nightfall. Besides the fact that you want to enjoy your chickens and not worry about being harmed by them, aggressive roosters often have aggressive offspring, and that's not a trait you want to breed into your flock.

There are people that disagree with me. Some believe that aggressive roosters are only doing what comes naturally, and we should train them to not attack us instead of culling them. My opinion in this matter is that the behavior might have been natural when chickens first evolved, but the chickens in our backyards are domesticated animals and breeding aggression out of them is just furthering that domestication. I don't believe that making chickens less aggressive and friendlier to humans will harm them as a species, either. Wolves are aggressive, dogs are not. Which species has been the most successful?

I hope you enjoy your rooster. The are so pretty, and it's great to watch them care for their hens and find them treats to eat, etc. They will also intervene when hen fights get too severe, and I find that the flock just works better when it's led by a good rooster. If you do decide that this rooster isn't the one for you, be aware that roosters are often found on Craigslist completely free, just because any hatch of chicks will be around 50% male, and people only want the females. That means you might have to cull an aggressive rooster, but then you can save the life of a very sweet boy whose only crime was being born male. Good luck!

 

[StacyAK]

Yep. You don't need to kick him or hit him or harm him in any way, though.

The most important thing to do is be very watchful for the first signs of aggression. This is NOT him attacking you or running at you. The signs can be subtle. Watch for him to approach you--especially while he's walking very tall and proud--when there's no reason for him to come up to you; i.e. when you don't have food or treats. Also watch for him to lower his head and fluff up his neck feathers when you walk up to him instead of moving away. Watch for him to come up behind you, when he thinks you can't see him. These are all the first signs that he's checking to see if he can dominate you and become the alpha roo himself. When these things happen, think chicken! Squawk loudly and flap your arms and chase him all over the place. If you can catch him, hold him down on the ground until he submits to you. Then watch to see if he tests you again. IME, roosters that aren't inherently aggressive but are instead just testing to see if you can be kicked out of the alpha spot will desist after that first lesson.

If he continues to challenge you, then he probably isn't a good choice as a leader for a home flock. If he attacks you or your kids even once, I would personally have him gone or in the Crock Pot by nightfall. Besides the fact that you want to enjoy your chickens and not worry about being harmed by them, aggressive roosters often have aggressive offspring, and that's not a trait you want to breed into your flock.

There are people that disagree with me. Some believe that aggressive roosters are only doing what comes naturally, and we should train them to not attack us instead of culling them. My opinion in this matter is that the behavior might have been natural when chickens first evolved, but the chickens in our backyards are domesticated animals and breeding aggression out of them is just furthering that domestication. I don't believe that making chickens less aggressive and friendlier to humans will harm them as a species, either. Wolves are aggressive, dogs are not. Which species has been the most successful?

I hope you enjoy your rooster. The are so pretty, and it's great to watch them care for their hens and find them treats to eat, etc. They will also intervene when hen fights get too severe, and I find that the flock just works better when it's led by a good rooster. If you do decide that this rooster isn't the one for you, be aware that roosters are often found on Craigslist completely free, just because any hatch of chicks will be around 50% male, and people only want the females. That means you might have to cull an aggressive rooster, but then you can save the life of a very sweet boy whose only crime was being born male. Good luck!

Thank you for all the advice! I have dealt with dogs needing to know I was Alpha and even horses but no experience what-so-ever with birds of any kind so this is all quite the learning experience. Seems to be the same principle with all animals just different methods (obviously you are not going to hold a horse down on their back to show them you are boss like you might do a dog)

He has not shown any signs of aggression or dominance (I'm sure that will change as he matures) just yet so I hope for his sake it all works out

 

[donrae]

Thank you for all the advice! I have dealt with dogs needing to know I was Alpha and even horses but no experience what-so-ever with birds of any kind so this is all quite the learning experience. Seems to be the same principle with all animals just different methods (obviously you are not going to hold a horse down on their back to show them you are boss like you might do a dog)

He has not shown any signs of aggression or dominance (I'm sure that will change as he matures) just yet so I hope for his sake it all works out

If you have horse experience, and don't have pushy horses, I think your chances of successfully having a rooster go up a lot. You're used to being dominant over an animal, and understand it's pretty much mental. We can't physically make the horses do what we want, they're much bigger than we are. But mentally, we're dominant. Not by beating them or anything like that, just by our attitude. Same thing for roosters. The details might differ, but the overall effect is the same. I'm the queen, no matter if you're a horse, goat, dog, cat, rooster, whatever.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thank you for all the advice! I have dealt with dogs needing to know I was Alpha and even horses but no experience what-so-ever with birds of any kind so this is all quite the learning experience. Seems to be the same principle with all animals just different methods (obviously you are not going to hold a horse down on their back to show them you are boss like you might do a dog)

He has not shown any signs of aggression or dominance (I'm sure that will change as he matures) just yet so I hope for his sake it all works out

You're exactly right. It has to do with knowing a bit about how the animal thinks, and working within their social framework instead of thinking they should act like people. Like not allowing your dog to block doorways, or not allowing your horse to push you over with his shoulder, as both of those show an animal testing their boundaries in their pack/herd.

So many people want to treat animals like people. To me, it's more like when you are a tourist in a foreign country. It's far more respectful to learn how their culture works and learn a little about their language then to insist that they fit into your social framework.