Another rooster attacks...

[farmert]

Stop fighting, chasing and running from the chickens and these silly incidents will be far less frequent.

With all due respect Centrarchid, this is not a "silly incident." If that were so, I wouldn't be taking time to post on this forum.

If I said that I chase and run the chickens, then I miswrote. I've never chased my chickens. In fact, they hang around the picnic table when I cut open melons and we all share. They are tame and hang out with me whenever they free range, and the rooster is right there with them. He's fine while free ranging. What he doesn't like is my being in the coop or barn. But I have to be there.

I'm a petite, 68 year old and there is no way I can catch and flip that rooster to cradle or make him tame. I don't know how much he weighs but he is huge. His spurs are as long as my fingers.

Now I have to prepare myself to lose him. Everyone who visits loves him, and he is strikingly beautiful. He's also been very fun. Brings tears to my eyes. But I think the writing is on the wall.

Can anyone explain why they seem to turn on you?

And another question: will his absence affect the hens?

 

[centrarchid]

For me it is silly, or at least not productive. I have a lot of roosters and use them for many things. Some of those things involve close contact with kids that are not mine so rough acting roosters are a no-no.

Below is something I originally posted in a thread about three years ago. The perspective presented below has been slow to develop traction on this site, in part because fear of roosters and the need for human dominance is so ingrained in western culture.

To give credibility to what I write. Much of my background involves gamefowl (fighting chickens) but I also keep at least fifty American Dominiques and as a kid my family commercially produced hatching eggs for a chicken hatchery that sold to just about everyone interested in backyard / farmyard chickens. I likely have more roosters than most backyard people have chickens in total and that is when my flock size is at its lowest in early spring. My games need to be easy to handle because it is done a lot. My Dominiques need to be easy to because they are supposed to be. I also use my birds for educating the public and most of my contacts are kids and some of those are very young. Finally I always have at least one flock that free-ranges around house and others that free-range in adjoining pasture. Almost all male gamefowl are confined with the exception of one around house and those on walks. My very small kids intermingle with the flock that free-ranges around house and 4-year-old harem master is intact with respect to spurs. I also have been around chickens for well over 40 years.

Below are aggression categories as I recognize them and eluded to previously in thread. Each is defined when answering description of aggressive behavior. Pictures and videos I feel would help greatly and such are in the works. I also think maturation process needs to introduced to discussion where the term ”rooster” is avoided. Also, many of the forms of aggression below are not exclusively the realm of males.

1) Is he just running over, pecking / flogging then running to a safe distance to deny your counter attack and simply watching you?

Bird has associated such behavior with a reward. In most instances I have seen the bird has obtained food faster or in larger amounts by engaging in some behavior directed at you. This is frequently realized with brooder reared birds interacting with you as feeders are armed or eats otherwise become more evident with you present. Another situation is where birds work their basic tendency to try and get at the most attractive food which to them often involves it appearing fresh within their field of view. For me that can involve putting feed out from a bucket as feeding a flock of hungry birds. They rush after you pushing each and sometimes in the excitement the bucket or even you. Many people see such behavior and promptly put feed out for the apparently famished bird. It takes very little for bird to associate intense response with getting more or faster.

Prevention: Avoid rewarding exploratory behavior such as pecking and jumping up for food. Make so food reward is delayed relative to your activity around birds. My favorite technique is apply feed either when birds are asleep or foraging elsewhere. With latter you just call birds in after feed is applied.

Correction: Move about flock / bird even with feed but do not give feed out until bird looses interest.
Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: I manipulate this behavior train birds for experiments and interacting positively with the public. Behavior promoted simply does not involve what a person would see as aggression. Smart birds are really prone to this.


2) Is he standing his ground and flaring his hackles and interspersing this with outright attacks with spurs, wings and bill?

He is outright fighting you for rank and treats you as a conspecific. Based on most discussions this the assumed by keepers of man-fighters. Something is or has gone on that got him into mindset that you need to be and can be defeated so as to be a subordinate. Somewhere along the line you got too familiar with him and / or he learned through exploratory pecking he can make you retreat. This is particularly prevalent with folks that are uncomfortable around their birds. Even many experienced keepers are afraid of their birds for one reason or another and sometimes these people are prone to act aggressively against the birds and even bully them. This situation is more frequent than you might suspect and denial is often a part of the problem. Folks like this may need to visit with the equivalent of Alcohol Anonymous to work problem out. I have even seen people into gamefowl that are scared of their birds and they would be ready to fight you if you said they were such. Males in particular will take advantage of activities that make them feel tough. This is where genetics can also impact predisposition for man-fighting.

Prevention: Do not retreat from him when exploratory pecking or even flogging occurs. Do not attack him in response to an attack as it is very difficult to do so with appearing to alternate between bouts of attack and retreat like which occurs when birds fight.

Correction: Make so aggressive bird can engage you by fighting you but do nothing that would be interpreted as fighting back or retreating. Let him wail away (flog) which may last several minutes. If he breaks off attack, then move towards him but do not even give him the respect of eye contact. Do not strike or push him. Repeat until he stops. Process may need to be repeated in subsequent days with hardheaded birds. You want him to start thinking of you as something that is very much not another chicken. This may mean a flannel shirt or sweat shirt and jeans. Ideally you will appear the same as you do on other days so he does not test you for days when you are weak. If spurs are an issue which they can be with birds more than 18 months old, then they can be neutralized by removal, trimming or covering with the equivalent of boxing gloves (most laymen will not have last option owing to legal restrictions). An alternative to this approach can involve the restraint / time-out sessions where bird does not get the release associated with combat but does get a penalty he will learn to avoid. This technique does appear to work although it takes more time and is hard on birds that are flighty and prone to panic when restrained which is a form of stress.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Can be used to help sell a gamerooster to a fool. In a competitive breeding setting such as in a commercial flock more aggressive birds garner more fertilizations of eggs therefore tend to be more prolific. This not directly related to what is referred to as gameness in gamefowl.


3) Is he attacking while fluffed up like a hen making lots of noises and moving about in a very fussy manner? This if often associated with roosters where members of his harem (hen(s) or offspring) are scared. Many roosters, especially games will attack whatever they see as the threat and sometimes, real or not, that can be you. His response will be in trying to repel you. Rooster may also get touchy when new feathers are coming in during molt.

Prevention: Be careful around birds, especially when hens or chicks are involved. Avoid grabbing birds during daylight. Get birds to move voluntarily. Any rooster is easier to work with when his charges are calmer so always having all birds tame helps immensely. One crazy hen can stir up a male. I always manage for calm birds and that means starting from before hatch of an individual. Be careful when handling birds, especially during molt.

Correction: Frequent low intensity interactions without stirring anyone up reduces sensitivity to your activities.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Such behavior can increase survival of males offspring which can benefit you. This especially with small predators a male can repel or distract.

Culling can also be employed, but some parties will, as a function of their husbandry technique, be culling a lot of birds that would not be problematic for most poultry keepers.

 

[rIrs roost]

For me it is silly, or at least not productive. I have a lot of roosters and use them for many things. Some of those things involve close contact with kids that are not mine so rough acting roosters are a no-no.

Below is something I originally posted in a thread about three years ago. The perspective presented below has been slow to develop traction on this site, in part because fear of roosters and the need for human dominance is so ingrained in western culture.

To give credibility to what I write. Much of my background involves gamefowl (fighting chickens) but I also keep at least fifty American Dominiques and as a kid my family commercially produced hatching eggs for a chicken hatchery that sold to just about everyone interested in backyard / farmyard chickens. I likely have more roosters than most backyard people have chickens in total and that is when my flock size is at its lowest in early spring. My games need to be easy to handle because it is done a lot. My Dominiques need to be easy to because they are supposed to be. I also use my birds for educating the public and most of my contacts are kids and some of those are very young. Finally I always have at least one flock that free-ranges around house and others that free-range in adjoining pasture. Almost all male gamefowl are confined with the exception of one around house and those on walks. My very small kids intermingle with the flock that free-ranges around house and 4-year-old harem master is intact with respect to spurs. I also have been around chickens for well over 40 years.

Below are aggression categories as I recognize them and eluded to previously in thread. Each is defined when answering description of aggressive behavior. Pictures and videos I feel would help greatly and such are in the works. I also think maturation process needs to introduced to discussion where the term ”rooster” is avoided. Also, many of the forms of aggression below are not exclusively the realm of males.

1) Is he just running over, pecking / flogging then running to a safe distance to deny your counter attack and simply watching you?

Bird has associated such behavior with a reward. In most instances I have seen the bird has obtained food faster or in larger amounts by engaging in some behavior directed at you. This is frequently realized with brooder reared birds interacting with you as feeders are armed or eats otherwise become more evident with you present. Another situation is where birds work their basic tendency to try and get at the most attractive food which to them often involves it appearing fresh within their field of view. For me that can involve putting feed out from a bucket as feeding a flock of hungry birds. They rush after you pushing each and sometimes in the excitement the bucket or even you. Many people see such behavior and promptly put feed out for the apparently famished bird. It takes very little for bird to associate intense response with getting more or faster.

Prevention: Avoid rewarding exploratory behavior such as pecking and jumping up for food. Make so food reward is delayed relative to your activity around birds. My favorite technique is apply feed either when birds are asleep or foraging elsewhere. With latter you just call birds in after feed is applied.

Correction: Move about flock / bird even with feed but do not give feed out until bird looses interest.
Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: I manipulate this behavior train birds for experiments and interacting positively with the public. Behavior promoted simply does not involve what a person would see as aggression. Smart birds are really prone to this.


2) Is he standing his ground and flaring his hackles and interspersing this with outright attacks with spurs, wings and bill?

He is outright fighting you for rank and treats you as a conspecific. Based on most discussions this the assumed by keepers of man-fighters. Something is or has gone on that got him into mindset that you need to be and can be defeated so as to be a subordinate. Somewhere along the line you got too familiar with him and / or he learned through exploratory pecking he can make you retreat. This is particularly prevalent with folks that are uncomfortable around their birds. Even many experienced keepers are afraid of their birds for one reason or another and sometimes these people are prone to act aggressively against the birds and even bully them. This situation is more frequent than you might suspect and denial is often a part of the problem. Folks like this may need to visit with the equivalent of Alcohol Anonymous to work problem out. I have even seen people into gamefowl that are scared of their birds and they would be ready to fight you if you said they were such. Males in particular will take advantage of activities that make them feel tough. This is where genetics can also impact predisposition for man-fighting.

Prevention: Do not retreat from him when exploratory pecking or even flogging occurs. Do not attack him in response to an attack as it is very difficult to do so with appearing to alternate between bouts of attack and retreat like which occurs when birds fight.

Correction: Make so aggressive bird can engage you by fighting you but do nothing that would be interpreted as fighting back or retreating. Let him wail away (flog) which may last several minutes. If he breaks off attack, then move towards him but do not even give him the respect of eye contact. Do not strike or push him. Repeat until he stops. Process may need to be repeated in subsequent days with hardheaded birds. You want him to start thinking of you as something that is very much not another chicken. This may mean a flannel shirt or sweat shirt and jeans. Ideally you will appear the same as you do on other days so he does not test you for days when you are weak. If spurs are an issue which they can be with birds more than 18 months old, then they can be neutralized by removal, trimming or covering with the equivalent of boxing gloves (most laymen will not have last option owing to legal restrictions). An alternative to this approach can involve the restraint / time-out sessions where bird does not get the release associated with combat but does get a penalty he will learn to avoid. This technique does appear to work although it takes more time and is hard on birds that are flighty and prone to panic when restrained which is a form of stress.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Can be used to help sell a gamerooster to a fool. In a competitive breeding setting such as in a commercial flock more aggressive birds garner more fertilizations of eggs therefore tend to be more prolific. This not directly related to what is referred to as gameness in gamefowl.


3) Is he attacking while fluffed up like a hen making lots of noises and moving about in a very fussy manner? This if often associated with roosters where members of his harem (hen(s) or offspring) are scared. Many roosters, especially games will attack whatever they see as the threat and sometimes, real or not, that can be you. His response will be in trying to repel you. Rooster may also get touchy when new feathers are coming in during molt.

Prevention: Be careful around birds, especially when hens or chicks are involved. Avoid grabbing birds during daylight. Get birds to move voluntarily. Any rooster is easier to work with when his charges are calmer so always having all birds tame helps immensely. One crazy hen can stir up a male. I always manage for calm birds and that means starting from before hatch of an individual. Be careful when handling birds, especially during molt.

Correction: Frequent low intensity interactions without stirring anyone up reduces sensitivity to your activities.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Such behavior can increase survival of males offspring which can benefit you. This especially with small predators a male can repel or distract.

Culling can also be employed, but some parties will, as a function of their husbandry technique, be culling a lot of birds that would not be problematic for most poultry keepers.

I agree with a lot of this but what do you do with a roo that you've ignored for several months and he still spurs and fights you? I have had a white leg horn that I tried exactly what you've said and he never even let up. Are some just untrainable?

 

[centrarchid]

I will bet you are not ignoring.

 

[rIrs roost]

I will bet you are not ignoring.

Why would you say that? Wish I still had him. I'd take a video and maybe you could tell me what I was doing wrong. I don't think that I could've ignored him no more than I was already doing. I'm only 3 years into keeping chickens of my on but my family had them for years when I was little. I've had at least 30 roos in the last 3 years . You've had more then that I'm sure but this one roo was the worst that I've ever seen. All of the others I haven't had much of a problem with. If you do a video please let me know.

 

[centrarchid]

Why would you say that? Wish I still had him. I'd take a video and maybe you could tell me what I was doing wrong. I don't think that I could've ignored him no more than I was already doing. I'm only 3 years into keeping chickens of my on but my family had them for years when I was little. I've had at least 30 roos in the last 3 years . You've had more then that I'm sure but this one roo was the worst that I've ever seen. All of the others I haven't had much of a problem with. If you do a video please let me know.

You likely had a real dandy that had genetic background that promotes the aggressiveness. I have an outsourced dom colored game that is likely similar. Person I got him from had a lot of aggressive roosters and a couple lines that were really bad. His feeding procedure alone was suspect to me as he moved too quick and was grabby. I needed to put dom colored game in a larger breeding pen with American Dominique hens for part of a breeding project. I need his allele for white skin. The pen is one I have to walk into to service and my small kids (5 and 4) would be around. What I did with him is put him up on a table where he was waist high and in a pen. That was same location I mix feed, tinker and keep notes. Location also were I can type on computer in barn. At first rooster (actually a stag of about 8 months) really wanted a piece of me. He was clearly concerned about whether I was looking at him or not. He was the type that takes you head on so I avoided I contact. What I did then was spend lots of time near that pen totally ignoring efforts to peck or spur. As he lost interest I kept getting closer to pen. Feed and water application was only after a bout of interaction where he lost interest in me. Then I started spending more time simply moving his feeder and waterer about without actually doing anything. It took him a while to calm down again. What caused a brief resumption of trouble was when a broody hen got riled because I busted up her nest. I was careful not to leave until he calmed down.

I still supervise kids around him but others not problem. Hens more challenging as kids, especially the younger one, tries to grab chicks once in a while.

I can post a picture of the setup with a rooster in pen on table.

I ideally the aggression is headed off before it comes to blows like the game above was doing.

Most frequent aggression I deal with is not real aggression during the early stages, rather it is the feed bucket version. A game hen is trying that now so I do not feed her until after she quits going after bucket. American Dominiques are really prone to that type of aggression and a lot of roosters I have visited for others have been of that type as well, at least at first. The real fun is seeing the various efforts some of the keepers put forth that made the rooster go into aggression directed more at the keeper which is similar to what I had with the game rooster above.

 

[DuckPro]

That would be totally irresponsible for a chicken owner to do unless they sold or gave it away with full disclosure that the rooster is human aggressive. And guess what? Even if OP did manage to rehome him after telling prospective new owner that he's human aggressive, he'd likely get eaten anyway. That's the only reason I would take a mean rooster. Personally, I'd rather know my rooster had a good life and humane death than pawn him off on someone else and hope they took care of him as well as I did, or didn't cause undue suffering before they put him in the stewpot.

Now that I think about it, I think that's the right thing to do. It breaks my heart to cull a chicken (even humanely or someone else does it) for days!

 

[rIrs roost]

You likely had a real dandy that had genetic background that promotes the aggressiveness. I have an outsourced dom colored game that is likely similar. Person I got him from had a lot of aggressive roosters and a couple lines that were really bad. His feeding procedure alone was suspect to me as he moved too quick and was grabby. I needed to put dom colored game in a larger breeding pen with American Dominique hens for part of a breeding project. I need his allele for white skin. The pen is one I have to walk into to service and my small kids (5 and 4) would be around. What I did with him is put him up on a table where he was waist high and in a pen. That was same location I mix feed, tinker and keep notes. Location also were I can type on computer in barn. At first rooster (actually a stag of about 8 months) really wanted a piece of me. He was clearly concerned about whether I was looking at him or not. He was the type that takes you head on so I avoided I contact. What I did then was spend lots of time near that pen totally ignoring efforts to peck or spur. As he lost interest I kept getting closer to pen. Feed and water application was only after a bout of interaction where he lost interest in me. Then I started spending more time simply moving his feeder and waterer about without actually doing anything. It took him a while to calm down again. What caused a brief resumption of trouble was when a broody hen got riled because I busted up her nest. I was careful not to leave until he calmed down.

I still supervise kids around him but others not problem. Hens more challenging as kids, especially the younger one, tries to grab chicks once in a while.

I can post a picture of the setup with a rooster in pen on table.

I ideally the aggression is headed off before it comes to blows like the game above was doing.

Most frequent aggression I deal with is not real aggression during the early stages, rather it is the feed bucket version. A game hen is trying that now so I do not feed her until after she quits going after bucket. American Dominiques are really prone to that type of aggression and a lot of roosters I have visited for others have been of that type as well, at least at first. The real fun is seeing the various efforts some of the keepers put forth that made the rooster go into aggression directed more at the keeper which is similar to what I had with the game rooster above.

Yes the roo was something else lol. I never made any fast movements around him at all. That's really the only roo that I've had trouble with . Now I had a RIR that was a little aggressive at times. But he's settled for the most part now. I still won't ever completely trust him. I wasn't even near any chickens and out of the blue while I was sitting down reading, he comes up and spurs me. But I walk at a normal pace with no sudden movements and if he's in my path he'll move out of the way. Once in a while he'll still come running up behind me so I know that I still have some work to do with him. My silkie roo wouldn't harm a flea lol. Has never showed one bit of aggression in the 2 years that I've had him.

 

[kesrchicky16]

For me it is silly, or at least not productive. I have a lot of roosters and use them for many things. Some of those things involve close contact with kids that are not mine so rough acting roosters are a no-no.

Below is something I originally posted in a thread about three years ago. The perspective presented below has been slow to develop traction on this site, in part because fear of roosters and the need for human dominance is so ingrained in western culture.

To give credibility to what I write. Much of my background involves gamefowl (fighting chickens) but I also keep at least fifty American Dominiques and as a kid my family commercially produced hatching eggs for a chicken hatchery that sold to just about everyone interested in backyard / farmyard chickens. I likely have more roosters than most backyard people have chickens in total and that is when my flock size is at its lowest in early spring. My games need to be easy to handle because it is done a lot. My Dominiques need to be easy to because they are supposed to be. I also use my birds for educating the public and most of my contacts are kids and some of those are very young. Finally I always have at least one flock that free-ranges around house and others that free-range in adjoining pasture. Almost all male gamefowl are confined with the exception of one around house and those on walks. My very small kids intermingle with the flock that free-ranges around house and 4-year-old harem master is intact with respect to spurs. I also have been around chickens for well over 40 years.

Below are aggression categories as I recognize them and eluded to previously in thread. Each is defined when answering description of aggressive behavior. Pictures and videos I feel would help greatly and such are in the works. I also think maturation process needs to introduced to discussion where the term ”rooster” is avoided. Also, many of the forms of aggression below are not exclusively the realm of males.

1) Is he just running over, pecking / flogging then running to a safe distance to deny your counter attack and simply watching you?

Bird has associated such behavior with a reward. In most instances I have seen the bird has obtained food faster or in larger amounts by engaging in some behavior directed at you. This is frequently realized with brooder reared birds interacting with you as feeders are armed or eats otherwise become more evident with you present. Another situation is where birds work their basic tendency to try and get at the most attractive food which to them often involves it appearing fresh within their field of view. For me that can involve putting feed out from a bucket as feeding a flock of hungry birds. They rush after you pushing each and sometimes in the excitement the bucket or even you. Many people see such behavior and promptly put feed out for the apparently famished bird. It takes very little for bird to associate intense response with getting more or faster.

Prevention: Avoid rewarding exploratory behavior such as pecking and jumping up for food. Make so food reward is delayed relative to your activity around birds. My favorite technique is apply feed either when birds are asleep or foraging elsewhere. With latter you just call birds in after feed is applied.

Correction: Move about flock / bird even with feed but do not give feed out until bird looses interest.
Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: I manipulate this behavior train birds for experiments and interacting positively with the public. Behavior promoted simply does not involve what a person would see as aggression. Smart birds are really prone to this.


2) Is he standing his ground and flaring his hackles and interspersing this with outright attacks with spurs, wings and bill?

He is outright fighting you for rank and treats you as a conspecific. Based on most discussions this the assumed by keepers of man-fighters. Something is or has gone on that got him into mindset that you need to be and can be defeated so as to be a subordinate. Somewhere along the line you got too familiar with him and / or he learned through exploratory pecking he can make you retreat. This is particularly prevalent with folks that are uncomfortable around their birds. Even many experienced keepers are afraid of their birds for one reason or another and sometimes these people are prone to act aggressively against the birds and even bully them. This situation is more frequent than you might suspect and denial is often a part of the problem. Folks like this may need to visit with the equivalent of Alcohol Anonymous to work problem out. I have even seen people into gamefowl that are scared of their birds and they would be ready to fight you if you said they were such. Males in particular will take advantage of activities that make them feel tough. This is where genetics can also impact predisposition for man-fighting.

Prevention: Do not retreat from him when exploratory pecking or even flogging occurs. Do not attack him in response to an attack as it is very difficult to do so with appearing to alternate between bouts of attack and retreat like which occurs when birds fight.

Correction: Make so aggressive bird can engage you by fighting you but do nothing that would be interpreted as fighting back or retreating. Let him wail away (flog) which may last several minutes. If he breaks off attack, then move towards him but do not even give him the respect of eye contact. Do not strike or push him. Repeat until he stops. Process may need to be repeated in subsequent days with hardheaded birds. You want him to start thinking of you as something that is very much not another chicken. This may mean a flannel shirt or sweat shirt and jeans. Ideally you will appear the same as you do on other days so he does not test you for days when you are weak. If spurs are an issue which they can be with birds more than 18 months old, then they can be neutralized by removal, trimming or covering with the equivalent of boxing gloves (most laymen will not have last option owing to legal restrictions). An alternative to this approach can involve the restraint / time-out sessions where bird does not get the release associated with combat but does get a penalty he will learn to avoid. This technique does appear to work although it takes more time and is hard on birds that are flighty and prone to panic when restrained which is a form of stress.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Can be used to help sell a gamerooster to a fool. In a competitive breeding setting such as in a commercial flock more aggressive birds garner more fertilizations of eggs therefore tend to be more prolific. This not directly related to what is referred to as gameness in gamefowl.


3) Is he attacking while fluffed up like a hen making lots of noises and moving about in a very fussy manner? This if often associated with roosters where members of his harem (hen(s) or offspring) are scared. Many roosters, especially games will attack whatever they see as the threat and sometimes, real or not, that can be you. His response will be in trying to repel you. Rooster may also get touchy when new feathers are coming in during molt.

Prevention: Be careful around birds, especially when hens or chicks are involved. Avoid grabbing birds during daylight. Get birds to move voluntarily. Any rooster is easier to work with when his charges are calmer so always having all birds tame helps immensely. One crazy hen can stir up a male. I always manage for calm birds and that means starting from before hatch of an individual. Be careful when handling birds, especially during molt.

Correction: Frequent low intensity interactions without stirring anyone up reduces sensitivity to your activities.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Such behavior can increase survival of males offspring which can benefit you. This especially with small predators a male can repel or distract.

Culling can also be employed, but some parties will, as a function of their husbandry technique, be culling a lot of birds that would not be problematic for most poultry keepers.

I'm getting a couple young roosters. I want to keep track of this to study and protect myself and kids from teaching our birds bad habits.

 

[lazy gardener]

I totally disagree wtih Centrarchid's methods. While that might work for him, I would NEVER allow a roo or cockerel to express aggression to me. Sure, if I ignored the attack, the roo may decide the attack is not worth his while, and cease to attack me. However, if a roo has attacked one human, he is likely to attack an other human, and is much more likely to direct his attack toward a stranger, or a young person. Typically a roo will size up the human in question, and more often than not directs his first human attack at the human that he considers to be an easy challenge. To allow a roo who has displayed human aggression to the level that Centrarchid describes to live on my property is IMO irresponsible.

If I had a puppy who attacked me and bit me, would I ignore the behavior until the puppy decided there was no reward to be had in such behavior? Allowing such behavior in a youngster, without correcting it is irresponsible. Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. Same goes for animals.

Un-necessary medical bills and law suits are not in my budget.