Being held hostage by my rooster!

[gritsar]

I agree with painted meadows. Grab him by the body, holding the wings down as you do. The wing flapping can be upsetting to you and if the other chickens are around it tends to upset them too. I believe you're being smart by protecting yourself with clothing. If it's sunny enough so that you can see, I'd wear some sunglasses to protect your eyes as well. Good luck!

 

[WriterofWords]

Quote:
It's Roo with spurs, not just a chicken and to someone who is not used the them they are scary.
By the way, when holding him by the legs hold away from your body, and he can bend up and grab you so be careful.
I'm not intimidated by my roos, but I respect them very much, and I admit if something the size of Nugget came after me, he'd be in the pot. After I recovered that is.
You'll do fine.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
I understand that, but thats like sticking yourself in a cabinet when you are claustrophobic.... Why have a rooster if you are scared of him?

 

[jnjross]

i grab them up by their legs when they try stuff like that and they're so busy trying to find "up" they don't have time to think about biting,, after a mintue they gave up and lay down , i'll lay them on the ground and "bulley" them, tug his comb, slap on the sides, just like he does the others to tell them he's THE roo. i just remind him i'm ROO!

 

[hjkr1130]

I'm new at this, but I did take a chicken class (sounds silly, but I'm a city girl, and had no clue) the woman at the class was a trained and very well respected judge at local shows, she showed us that if a roo gets to aggressive to catch him, grab his comb and pull his head down and keep doing it until he changes his mind about the hand that feeds him.. She showed us on a roo that was very miss behaved at class, and after about 5 tries he became a nice guy. I have a 6 wk old that has been miss behaving, so I have tried the advice and it seems to be working. But I would dress as if going to war, because they have the spurs and you don't want to get hit with that, but you do have to let him know you are boss and he can become stew... Good luck

 

[luvs2garden2000]

I did have a fear of roosters when I was a teen, we had one that finally got the ax and he would jump on top of my head and attack only me. My daddy got him one day and that was the last time I had that problem. until now........... I have a rooster that is meaner than a snake and every time I go out there he TRIES to attack me, I just holler at him and charge him, he runs the other way. he is finally finding out I AM THE BOSS!!!!!!!!!! He has seen the bottom of my boot also. Good luck and do drop the fear.

 

[basicliving]

My parents had a white leghorn rooster named Roy when I was growing up that terrorized all of us. We would have to hide in the house until he left the front yard and then haul tail out to the car when we wanted to go anywhere.

When I got roosters, I was nervous about it because of my experience with Roy. But before I even got them, I read rooster-red's page on handling aggressive roosters. My big Silver Gray Dorking roo came at me sideways once - and ONLY once. I snatched him up, tucked him under my arm, and carried him for about 10 minutes. That was several months ago, and he is my buddy now.

Your rooster is only doing his job - and you want your rooster to be protective of his hens and his yard. But he has to understand that YOU are the alpha rooster and will not tolerate aggression toward you. Never kick, swing things at him or fight him. He will take that as a challenge. Just capture him (I always grab from the top down and hold down the wings when picking up any of my chickens) tuck him securely under your arm, walk around ignoring him for a while, and then gently put him on the ground. Don't put him down if he is fighting you - wait until he is calm so that he knows it is YOUR decision to put him down and not his. If you are more comfortable dressing in protective clothing and gloves, then by all means do that.

Be sure to read rooster-red's page.

Now get out there and take charge

You can do it! And let us know how it goes.

Penny

 

[agnes_day]

i used to be scared of my rooster, but i started carrying a broom with me..and if he started doing his dance around me, i would swat him..not really hard, but enough for him to get the picture. now, he is a very well mannered rooster, for the most part! he will even sit in my lap and let me dress him up

*hoping im not the only one to put clothing on chickens*

 

[snowydiamonds]

And I've only had farming in my blood veins until I turned half a century old plus...I started taking veterinary assistant courses and got to the Husbandry Classes and it blossomed from there to "I'm a bird farmin' rancher, wanna be hatcher, less than forty minute catcher" now Its all in the mind, its the way you set your mind, careful, slowly, determinedly, stubbornly, keep it calm, breathe, enjoy it, sing and whistle, laugh at yourself and him, especially as he's cussing you out at first, talk to him...while he's held like a football and every time you are near him, too.

 

[Attack Chicken]

LOL I hear so man stories about how rooster(especially leghorns) are so mean and attack their owners. It's just wierd to me that my White Leghorn roo is the sweetest thing in the world. Nicer than my dog!!!! Could it be that I raised him since he was a chicke? or does that matter? Right now he's sitting on my lap wanting me to rub his neck and purring LOL even gives tries to give me kisses lol