Aggressive Roo...but we want two!

[krystlehg]

Hello! My husband and I have been raising chickens for almost a year now. We have 9 hens and one Roo. Recently he has become very aggressive. He has pecked me so bad that it drew blood, and he has attacked my son, dogs, and my husband. We always put him in his place, and we have no intention of getting rid of him as of now. However, we are in the process of selecting some new chicks for our Spring order, and we are discussing getting another Roo. My question is, will two roos, one being aggressive, be able to co-exist in the same coop and run? I don't want to try and introduce a young Roo only to have him be hurt or even killed by my aggressive Roo. Any advice? Also, my gut tells me to get rid of this aggressive Roo, but my husband seems to think they are "all like that." Does anyone have any gentle, non-aggressive Roos? What are their breeds? Thanks in advance!

 

[Nupe]

There are people here who have had success in subduing a human aggressive roo. Personally, I wouldn't have it. There are plenty of sweet roosters out there that need homes to bother with a meanie. Besides, I heard the meaner they are, the better the soup tastes.

 

[chickengirl1230]

Hi! Right now I have about 25 hens and 3 Roos. All of mine are bantams so they don't cause a problem and only fertilize the bantam hens because they are too small to fertilize the big hens. I think that if you get another rooster you should get a more mellow rooster. I have had chickens for about 5 years and the sweetest rooster I have ever had was a silkie. He always let me hold him and I would ride him around in the golf cart with me. My neighbor has a Salmon Favorelle and she told me its was sweet. Salmon Favorelles are beautiful birds!! They have muffs and feathered legs. Another type I would recommend is an Old English game bantam. I have 2 of them and they are really small! One of them lets me hold it but neither will attack. I think any breed would be good as long as you raise it from a chick. My advice for taming it would be to let it approach you, don't approach it. You can also hypnotize skittish chickens to calm them enough to hold them. All of my Roos get along because they all have their own hens so they don't fight but you would probably want to keep their Spurs trimmed to avoid injuries though. Hope this helps

 

[krystlehg]

Quote:
That's what I told my husband! It would be better for me to just try and re-home Harold (aggressive Roo) then try and keep him and have issues everyday when I go out to the coop. I have a friend who owned Harold's dad, and she said she would be willing to take him. I'd really like to just have two really sweet, gentle Roos for my flock.

 

[krystlehg]

Hi! Right now I have about 25 hens and 3 Roos. All of mine are bantams so they don't cause a problem and only fertilize the bantam hens because they are too small to fertilize the big hens. I think that if you get another rooster you should get a more mellow rooster. I have had chickens for about 5 years and the sweetest rooster I have ever had was a silkie. He always let me hold him and I would ride him around in the golf cart with me. My neighbor has a Salmon Favorelle and she told me its was sweet. Salmon Favorelles are beautiful birds!! They have muffs and feathered legs. Another type I would recommend is an Old English game bantam. I have 2 of them and they are really small! One of them lets me hold it but neither will attack. I think any breed would be good as long as you raise it from a chick. My advice for taming it would be to let it approach you, don't approach it. You can also hypnotize skittish chickens to calm them enough to hold them. All of my Roos get along because they all have their own hens so they don't fight but you would probably want to keep their Spurs trimmed to avoid injuries though. Hope this helps

I wish I could have some bantams, but I live in Central Montana and it's way too cold here to keep bantams and silkies. All of my girls are very cold hardy and don't mind the harsh winters. I will check out the Salmon Favorelle. Thank you for the advice!

 

[dawgfan01]

Hi! Right now I have about 25 hens and 3 Roos. All of mine are bantams so they don't cause a problem and only fertilize the bantam hens because they are too small to fertilize the big hens. I think that if you get another rooster you should get a more mellow rooster. I have had chickens for about 5 years and the sweetest rooster I have ever had was a silkie. He always let me hold him and I would ride him around in the golf cart with me. My neighbor has a Salmon Favorelle and she told me its was sweet. Salmon Favorelles are beautiful birds!! They have muffs and feathered legs. Another type I would recommend is an Old English game bantam. I have 2 of them and they are really small! One of them lets me hold it but neither will attack. I think any breed would be good as long as you raise it from a chick. My advice for taming it would be to let it approach you, don't approach it. You can also hypnotize skittish chickens to calm them enough to hold them. All of my Roos get along because they all have their own hens so they don't fight but you would probably want to keep their Spurs trimmed to avoid injuries though. Hope this helps

Trust me a Bantam Roo can fertilize a full grown Buff Orp.

 

[Mrs. K]

If you have had chickens for a year, I will bet that the rooster is a flock mate. I find you get better roosters if they are raised in a flock of older hens. If you have BO, you might get a broody hen, and can put fertilized eggs under her, or give her a couple of weeks and slip day old chicks. Let her raised them in the flock with the layers, and pick your rooster from them. They don't tend to be bullies, and they tend to fit better in chicken society, and they are leery of humans and moves out of their way, which is what I want in a rooster.

I would cull this rooster, they seldom improve in behavior, generally get worse and worse. Why let him ruin the whole chicken experience? Many people here think temperament is inherited. Might consider that.

And as to your original question, an established older aggressive rooster is not going to be tolerant of a new rooster.

Mrs K

 

[bobbi-j]

No - they're not "all like that". I am on my 3rd rooster that is not human aggressive. (He's the 3rd generation of a Brahma I got a few years ago) How old is your son? Young enough that he may be harmed by the rooster? Small children are on about the same level as a rooster, and it wouldn't take much for a child to be seriously injured in the face by a rooster's spurs. I personally don't enjoy having to watch my back every time I go out among the chickens, and I certainly wouldn't put up with one who drew blood on me! That would have been his last day of life here. You said you "put him in his place", but you haven't. If you had, he wouldn't keep attacking.

 

[aart]

Ditto on 'not all like that'...I've had 3 roos in the 18 months I've had chooks,
none were/are human aggressive ....when they were the only rooster, only one was hen aggressive.

More than one rooster/cockerel...and there's bound to be trouble, IMO, unless you have lots of hens, lots of space and the right roosters/cockerels.

Had an interesting experience last summer that taught me a valuable lesson.....hatched/bought 10 chicks in 3 age groups spanning 6 weeks.
One of oldest was the keeper cockerel Woody the Welsumer, nice bird, clumsy but not over aggressive mating pullets.
...but...
When the younger cockerels started crowing, Woody turned into a mean mater, was terrorizing the pullets all day.
I removed all the younger cockerels, and Woody immediately calmed back down into this charming self and stopped harassing the pullets.

Territoriality and Competition can make a good bird act badly.

Not sure why you think you need 2 roosters for 9 hens.......but separate coops/runs might be in order.

 

[HumbleHen207]

I'd get rid of the mean rooster. Aggressiveness is often passed on genetically, so if you, or your hens wind up hatching some of his chicks, the males are bound to be aggressive as well. I have never had luck trying to "put them in their place", it has never worked for me. I never enjoyed having to take the wiffle ball bat to the chicken coop! Your better off ridding yourself of this rooster and purchasing two more rooster of a mellow breed, and of the same age.