Attack by rooster - what could have caused it?

[mllestaatsiebear]

Definitely understandable. My siblings are very careless when it comes to the rooster. They mind him and his hen aren't rough around them, but they are careless in the sense they don't realize that the roo and hen aren't like pets - they don't like being treated as a person would treat their pet dog. One of my siblings is fascinated with the rooster and will constantly try to get close, to which I've explained that it isn't okay to mess with them.

The first time Brutus attacked was, for sure, my fault. Picking up a pine cone to throw away in his presence was a bad choice seeing as how he could have taken that as a threat to his flock. Hence the name Brutus - we were cool once, but then I became a threat to him and his people (his "innocent" hens, the conspirators).

Most of the other times he has attacked will be out of nowhere, so I now have to watch what I do sometimes to ensure no attacks are taking place. I believe one of the posts in the link was absolutely right and I have been thinking about my previous actions. I often catch myself stepping to the side of Brutus to get around him, or walking backwards when he follows sometimes. I think that the main problem is my demeanor with him. Whilst I feed him and Porcia, make sure their coop is clean, water is clean and so forth, I think that my movements and overall attitude might come across as submissive to him, so he takes advantage of that.

 

[mllestaatsiebear]

You may want to think seriously about whether or not you want to keep this rooster. Especially if your siblings are little. A rooster attack can cause some damage, and a small child's eyes are at about the right height for a rooster's spurs when he comes flying at you. Besides that, there are plenty of nice roosters to be had, or if you are hatching your own or getting chicks, you could get a cockerel and raise him up right. By that, I don't mean making a pet of him. That's where it seems a lot of roosters go bad. The majority of the "my rooster attacked me" posts are by people who had roosters as pets that "suddenly" got mean. In reality, I think they were showing signs of aggression before the first attack, and their keeper didn't recognize them. The best rooster is one who will move away from you EVERY time you go near him. As suggested in the link Kiki's Girls sent you, you should be able to just walk right through them and they will move away. 

I raise chickens for the enjoyment of it, and if I have one that is stealing that joy by being aggressive, I'm not going to keep it. I have a 15-month old granddaughter that was visiting over Easter weekend, and wanted to see the chickens (who, according to her, say "doot-do-doot-do-doooooooo!). I have two roosters that free range with their harems. They both moved away when we came near. I was watching and trying to keep myself between her and them just in case one got bad ideas, but neither did. 

Definitely understandable. My siblings are very careless when it comes to the rooster. They mind him and his hen aren't rough around them, but they are careless in the sense they don't realize that the roo and hen aren't like pets - they don't like being treated as a person would treat their pet dog. One of my siblings is fascinated with the rooster and will constantly try to get close, to which I've explained that it isn't okay to mess with them.

The first time Brutus attacked was, for sure, my fault. Picking up a pine cone to throw away in his presence was a bad choice seeing as how he could have taken that as a threat to his flock. Hence the name Brutus - we were cool once, but then I became a threat to him and his people (his "innocent" hens, the conspirators).

Most of the other times he has attacked will be out of nowhere, so I now have to watch what I do sometimes to ensure no attacks are taking place. I believe one of the posts in the link was absolutely right and I have been thinking about my previous actions. I often catch myself stepping to the side of Brutus to get around him, or walking backwards when he follows sometimes. I think that the main problem is my demeanor with him. Whilst I feed him and Porcia, make sure their coop is clean, water is clean and so forth, I think that my movements and overall attitude might come across as submissive to him, so he takes advantage of that.

 

[bobbi-j]

Definitely understandable. My siblings are very careless when it comes to the rooster. They mind him and his hen aren't rough around them, but they are careless in the sense they don't realize that the roo and hen aren't like pets - they don't like being treated as a person would treat their pet dog. One of my siblings is fascinated with the rooster and will constantly try to get close, to which I've explained that it isn't okay to mess with them.

The first time Brutus attacked was, for sure, my fault. Picking up a pine cone to throw away in his presence was a bad choice seeing as how he could have taken that as a threat to his flock. Hence the name Brutus - we were cool once, but then I became a threat to him and his people (his "innocent" hens, the conspirators).

Most of the other times he has attacked will be out of nowhere, so I now have to watch what I do sometimes to ensure no attacks are taking place. I believe one of the posts in the link was absolutely right and I have been thinking about my previous actions. I often catch myself stepping to the side of Brutus to get around him, or walking backwards when he follows sometimes. I think that the main problem is my demeanor with him. Whilst I feed him and Porcia, make sure their coop is clean, water is clean and so forth, I think that my movements and overall attitude might come across as submissive to him, so he takes advantage of that.

I don't agree that it was your "fault" for picking up the pine cone. You are the human. He needs to respect you ALL THE TIME, no matter what you are doing. I had a Buff Rock cockerel this past fall that was very protective of his harem even at a young age, but he ALWAYS respected me. Even the one day when I was, uh, *encouraging* a pullet to get into the run so I could lock the door. (Gave her a gentle boost from behind with my foot.) He eyeballed me, kind of half-stepped my direction, I looked him in the eye, and you could see his little chicken-brain going, "Nope! Never mind..." as he moved away. Sadly, something got him a few weeks later, so I don't know what kind of rooster he would have been.

How old are your siblings? Do you really NEED a rooster? Are you planning on hatching eggs?

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I agree with everything bobbi iss saying.

 

[mllestaatsiebear]

I don't agree that it was your "fault" for picking up the pine cone. You are the human. He needs to respect you ALL THE TIME, no matter what you are doing. I had a Buff Rock cockerel this past fall that was very protective of his harem even at a young age, but he ALWAYS respected me. Even the one day when I was, uh, *encouraging* a pullet to get into the run so I could lock the door. (Gave her a gentle boost from behind with my foot.) He eyeballed me, kind of half-stepped my direction, I looked him in the eye, and you could see his little chicken-brain going, "Nope! Never mind..." as he moved away. Sadly, something got him a few weeks later, so I don't know what kind of rooster he would have been. 

How old are your siblings? Do you really NEED a rooster? Are you planning on hatching eggs?

With me being the oldest of my siblings, they are quite younger than me ranging from 1 - 13. However, the younger children stay away from the rooster. My siblings (the ones ranging in agr from 6 - 13) try to help care for the chickens, but tend to fawn over the rooster and his hen a bit too much for his liking. One of my siblings, the fearless Spencer somehow intimidates my rooster to where Brutus will run for the hills when she spots him.

And yes, we plan on hatching eggs. Our rooster does a fantastic job keeping my neighbor's absolute crazy roos away from our hen. We had a hen sitting on eggs, but unfortunately, she was killed and whatever got to her got her eggs too.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Are you kettign them hatch wherever in your yard?

 

[bobbi-j]

With me being the oldest of my siblings, they are quite younger than me ranging from 1 - 13. However, the younger children stay away from the rooster. My siblings (the ones ranging in agr from 6 - 13) try to help care for the chickens, but tend to fawn over the rooster and his hen a bit too much for his liking. One of my siblings, the fearless Spencer somehow intimidates my rooster to where Brutus will run for the hills when she spots him.

And yes, we plan on hatching eggs. Our rooster does a fantastic job keeping my neighbor's absolute crazy roos away from our hen. We had a hen sitting on eggs, but unfortunately, she was killed and whatever got to her got her eggs too.

Do you have a coop for your chickens? Unfortunately, free range chickens are completely vulnerable at night. You might want to consider moving your hen and her nest to a secure location while she's setting, and for after the chicks have hatched.

 

[mllestaatsiebear]

Do you have a coop for your chickens? Unfortunately, free range chickens are completely vulnerable at night. You might want to consider moving your hen and her nest to a secure location while she's setting, and for after the chicks have hatched. 

Yup! We have a cozy little coop for them with a little nesting house that has a perch.

The night the hen was killed, we locked the door to the coop, and made sure everything was good to go. We think it may have been a smaller animal, as whatever it was somehow managed to get inside. We found a hole in the chicken wire we have, as well as claw marks under the door. So, my father is going to be starting from scratch and building a bigger and more sturdier coop.

After that night, our chickens seem as though they don't like being in the coop and we find them perched on our front porch sometimes. So, we plan on moving the coop to a different location where the chickens feel safer.

 

[mllestaatsiebear]

Are you kettign them hatch wherever in your yard?

The hen has a tendency to lay more than one egg in different locations. So, I move all her eggs to her nesting box lately. She will sit on them, but acts bothered with the coop. We are planning to get an incubator to help with the eggs whilst we rebuild the coop and relocate it. Either that, or we can make a nesting box just for her and put it somewhere safe.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

You may wanna check for mites,when hens are bothered with coops or nests boxes and begun laying else where or no longer sleep in it,usually something is bithering them at night. If it is mites,she wont wanna raise her chicks there and even abandon her nest.

Maybe your nest boxes are too small or not equipped right for a broodt.Broodies can be picky,thats why many hens are found in different places,like dark sheds.They like lots of hay and a dark box.