Attacked!!!!

[keesmom]

My Americana Rooster is almost a year old, and for the first time, he jumped on my head and either did his stomp or pecked me. At any rate, my forehead has a gash. He has never done this before. Should I show him whose boss and take a stick with me into the coop, or get rid of him?

While spring is (supposedly) approaching and hormones are running high, this behavior is absolutely unacceptable.

Ask yourself why you have chickens. Are they a breeder flock and this male has exceptionally desirable traits? Or are they for a backyard egg laying flock? If for pets there is no reason to even have a rooster. Sure, if he is docile and pretty then there is no reason not to keep him. But for one you need to arm yourself just to collect eggs, get rid of him. You shouldn't have to watch your back to collect eggs.

 

[donrae]

Having an aggressive rooster is a recipe for disaster... I simply will not tolerate it and its a short trip to the freezer for any animal who shows any human aggression... Our grandsons ages 3 and 5 are here a lot on the weekends and I could not imagine one of my babies getting hurt by an animal. This question comes up a lot on the forum and it amazes me what folks will tolerate... I am not trying to be harsh or hateful so let me apologize first, but how can anyone call an animal a pet that not only attacks but attacks so viciously that it opens a wound? Sorry, seems like a no brainer to me, there are good roosters and bad, I have had a bad and he taught my family a lesson, it just aint worth it.. I do own roosters now with no problems... We even culled a very nice looking female rabbit we were hoping to use for breeding, but she was a biter... I have owned a lot of them and have never or since had one that aggressive.

Absolutely this.

Don't keep mean roosters. Even if you get them to back down once, you can't ever really trust them again.

Don't treat roosters as pets. They're male livestock, not pets.

 

[khannalucas]

Thank you, Thank you for all of you who have taken the time to respond to my post. I appreciate this place to have to seek advice in having backyard chickens. Your kind words of wisdom may have kept another out of harm's way. Life has its way of teaching us about how our feelings get in the way of what is the right thing to do. I keep George because he is pretty, and I love hearing his crow. This will not make any difference if his aggression would have come to my grand daughter who loves to collect eggs, and help clean the coop. Thank you again.

 

[AmericanMom]

Thank you, Thank you for all of you who have taken the time to respond to my post. I appreciate this place to have to seek advice in having backyard chickens. Your kind words of wisdom may have kept another out of harm's way. Life has its way of teaching us about how our feelings get in the way of what is the right thing to do. I keep George because he is pretty, and I love hearing his crow. This will not make any difference if his aggression would have come to my grand daughter who loves to collect eggs, and help clean the coop. Thank you again.

I have a couple of those little munchkins that love to go gather eggs

... Remember, there are a lot of pretty roosters out there. You will find a rooster that can do his job without showing human aggression.

 

[Hilarie]

Ditto what everyone has said about the availability of good tempered roosters. I'm on my second Blue Orpington roo, and wholeheartedly recommend them. They are sometimes hard to find, but oh so worth it. Our first, Gus, lived to be 5; he died last year after a long illness, and I was determined to find another one. Our current boy, Turk, is barely a year old, but he is nearly identical to Gus. Very large (about 15#), stunningly handsome, dignified crow, good to the ladies, always surveying the scene and the sky, the first out of the coop and the last to go in; and best of all, has never, ever showed the slightest aggression to people. That, to my mind, is the perfect rooster. It's my good fortune to have a young 4-Her in the next town who raises all kinds of poultry, including Blue Orps (and the heritage turkeys I'm raising this year.) If anyone is within a day's drive of eastern CT and wants to check out her birds, I can put you in touch.

 

[ashcons]

Having an aggressive rooster is a (great start for a) recipe for chicken noodle soup.

FTFY

 

[AmericanMom]

FTFY

??
LOL, Sorry this old lady isn't up on abbreviation..

 

[CarolinaHen]

We keep our flock for our enjoyment and entertainment as well as the tasty eggs they lay. Roosters don't lay eggs, and if they in any way take away from our enjoyment or entertainment they are gone! I have no desire to work with an aggressive rooster when there are far too many that are sweet and need homes. Cull the bad roosters, keep the good ones, and your flock will reflect the good temperament you breed.

 

[AmericanMom]

self delete, double post

 

[CarolinaHen]

We currently have 5 roosters and a couple of cockerels running around. We also don't tolerate fighting among the roosters. We don't have a large flock, only around 2 dozen birds. Hubby is a rooster fanatic and would have an entire flock of just roosters if he could

We are proof that roosters can be nice to humans and to each other