Are most roosters bad??

[Egg_newton]

How do you rehabilitate a mean roo? I currently have 3. A blue orp who is a good boy. He's not friendly but not mean either. He comes up with everyone else us for treats but won't eat from my hand or let me touch him. A blue silkie roo who will bite the heck out of me if I touch any of his girls. I have to wear gloves to handle them. Then my poor australorp cockerel. He was our "free rare chick" from Mcmurray. I don't have room for him. He needs to find a home soon or he is off to freezer camp.

 

[Uzuri]

Quote:
What you wear has ALOT to do with it. Like you said dress like the guys and they dont mind. Look like a girl and your as good as toasted. They find when you wear anything that is red or pink or close to either they will try to eat you alive. SOOOO... I just were what works and makes them happy. When I wear my brown and black snow boots and dark colors they leave me be. My turkey is the most friendly guy in the world... my daughter wore her pink pjs outside and he jumped 3 feet in the air trying to get her. So she now knows to not to wear pink or red as well. All is happy and calm at the home now.

I wonder if this is why I've not yet had trouble with my roo. Blue jeans and a dark green winter coat with a camo neck gaiter has been my uniform this winter (he was really too young to make any trouble before winter). I walk like a guy, sound like a guy, and the only pink shirts I own are dress shirts -- the two red shirts I own are from my alma mater and are too nice to wear out to the chicken house. Hmm... interesting to contemplate.

 

[tdgill]

my buff orp roo and black copper marans roo are both sweethearts! spoiled rotten, picked up often - they dont even try to move away. every once in a blue moon I might get a poke but nothing really. usually its my polkadot jammy pants or my red jacket. but i snuggle and love on them alot and they seem to truly enjoy it! they hop up in my lap and sit down for a nap even. I think orps and marans are among the most docile?

 

[mrstiffanymayer]

Some information that I didnt include in my first post:

NHR and EE were both bought as day old chicks. They are handled each day of their lives. My girls are also every day included in chicken chores, so the roosters see them from day one. My children are never alone with the chickens. My chickens free range in my back yard (~1/2 acre lot) every day for about 4 hours. We have 7 laying pullets and had 2 roosters. The NHR was 6 weeks older than the EE.

My definition of a "bad" rooster:

Attacks my children after attempted rehabilitation.
Rips feathers out of my ladies while mating or bites/pecks their combs to bleeding while mating
Crowing ALL the time. Every hour on the hour including night time and especially 1-4 am..grr.

I know there are good roosters out there. There are plenty of anecdotes on this board to speak of such. I was just wondering the percentage of "good" to "bad" was tipped more in favor of the bad or the good - or maybe it is a50/50 split?

Is there a way to weed out the agressive roos before their hormones kick in? Or is it just something that can only be told after they crow and start mating?

 

[Quadog]

My Barred Rock is like a pet but my EE is a little more skittish around me but he is not mean. Both were raised together.

 

[MagsC]

The ones we have had were not aggressive towards myself or daughter, but we were pretty pro-active about letting them know they werent boss...I dont know how they would have been around anyone else.

 

[azygous]

Quote:
Here's the best, all around tutorial on schooling your rooster to be a gentleman. http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html

I've followed the advice and now my roo has beautiful manners. He was fast becoming a nasty piece of work before his training began.

 

[chicknmania]

Quote:
We have a banty Black Australorp. He is the same, very quiet, cute and friendly. AT the absolute bottom of the pecking order, but he gets by just fine and the other's don't pick on him, he is just careful and knows he's the smallest. He would never dream of attacking anyone, I'm sure.

 

[stormylady]

Quote:
Here's the best, all around tutorial on schooling your rooster to be a gentleman. http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html

I've followed the advice and now my roo has beautiful manners. He was fast becoming a nasty piece of work before his training began.

I just read the tutorial and it was very informative! Makes alot of sense, found I was doing alot of things right and also making several mistakes even though all of my roos are friendly right now, and hopefully I wont get a mean one, I'll know how to handle the situation should it arise. THANKS YOU!

 

[tdgill]

great tutorial thanks!

I'm wondering if my cuddly roos may take my eye out one day. Especially since I don't do any of the Alpha stuff.