Bresse Chickens

[DCchicken]

This has not been my experiance. Clovis is protective but not agressive to people. Mind you he does not think he is the biggest rooster on the property. My guinea is the king of the roost and he keeps everyone in line.

How old is your roo? Mine did not start this behavior until 8 months. My sister's roo became this way about 7 months. They were perfect and docile and then all of a sudden became protective.

They are not at all aggressive towards other roosters. Just protective of the flock.

 

[chiqita]

How old is your roo?  Mine did not start this behavior until 8 months.  My sister's roo became this way about 7 months.  They were perfect and docile and then all of a sudden became protective.

They are not at all aggressive towards other roosters.  Just protective of the flock.

Erm... year and a half? He is mildly rooster agressive but they mostly Jump no pecking. But zero human agression. His son is 5 months and very low on the totem pole. I have had 2 other boys that hit 8 months and have not had issues. I will watch however. I find it interesting I thought they would have less personality and be more like battery birds but mine are all very sociable.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Mine range in a open field surrounded by a fence (soon to be electric). The roosters do the same behavior whether in the coop or in the field. They are very protective of the flock.

My sister's flock is kept in a backyard sized pen and they do the same. Interestingly enough both of our flocks were purchased separately. Her Bresse did not come from my stock as she wanted to get a start before mine were laying age.

I can't stress enough that they are just being protective. But if you feel threatened, cull that rooster as he will get more assertive of his protection of the flock.

Instead of using your foot, what you need is a rooster stick. Look for a long branch with a "V" shape at the end (or make one if you have to. The "V" should be large enough to just place the rooster's chest inside of it. You can then push the rooster back without harming him. Don't go too small with the "V" or you might hurt him. The goal is to simulate a chest bump.

The occurrence of the scoop thunk was just reflexive on my part as my husband's was with his foot. He wasn't hurt, thankfully. The stall rake I just carry in to the pen to gather eggs and feed and that seems to be all that is necessary. Now my son was a different matter. We were out of town for a couple of days, and my son's job was to take care of the chickens. He really came after my son.....but I think that it was because he was unfamiliar to the rooster, and he was protecting his flock. As long as he respects the end of the rake, which he turns away from, I am OK with him.

Is it going to be a problem having the youngsters out with the adult flock in terms of the rooster, or will he quickly take on the responsibility of protecting them as well?

I caponize my cockerels, and the Bresse are the sweetest things. I have a 10 month old Bresse capon ready for processing, and he is just like one of the girls.....I don't want the rooster to prevent me from having these delicious birds.

 

[PetRock]

Thanks for this information. I have my Bresse roosters in the breeding pens with hens. Some time ago, I went into the pen and one of the roosters came aggressively toward me. I had a bucket in one hand and a feed scoop in the other. Reflexively I took the scoop and thunked him in mid-air, and it knocked him backwards into a solid oak wall(the pen is a repurposed horse stall. He did the same thing to my husband, who literally kicked him mid-air and knocked him backward as well. Now, I just walk in with my stall rake and he gives me a wide berth, albeit grudgingly. I don't want to cull him without a replacement, as I am currently incubating my first eggs.

Do you think his behavior justifies culling, or should I wait and see, especially since his aggression is in the breeding pen? Thanks for your input.

We are to the point of getting rid of our Bresse flock. We started off with a trio that was close to POL. They lived at my friend's 10 acre farm and her kids took care of the feeding, watering, and egg collecting. Chauvelin started to get aggressive and go for her 11 yr old son when he went into the pen. Then he went at me when I was out there. The red treat bucket made an effective barrier but I never turned my back on him after that. Then he went for my friend and finally he went after her 18 yr old son who is over 6 ft tall. We had hatched many of his chicks and had some of his sons so we made the decision to cull him. All of his chicks were so sweet including the males. We chose 2 of his sons to keep but they are starting to show aggressive behavior just like their father. My friend is so over them and she doesn't think that they even taste very good. We are thinking about switching to Pita Pintas for our main dual purpose breed.

 

[chrissyr]

If he is starting to be aggressive, you need to cull him. It will only get worse. Don't pick him up as that will make it worse. I just went through this with 3 different Bresse roosters. My sister also tried that with her Bresse rooster and guess what? He got worse. I have one that bites me when I reach into the nest box from the outside. He will be processed on Tuesday. The other ones I will continue using my "rooster stick".

Bresse roosters are very protective of their flock. They are not pets. This protective nature is great against predators. But it was not so great when my nephew was on FaceTime showing me his pet Bresse rooster and the rooster attacked him.

I will no longer sell Bresse roosters to people with kids.

Thank you for the info He hasn't made any aggressive moves, just makes me a bit uncomfortable how he eyes me. Just an eery feeling I didn't get with my other boys

This has not been my experiance. Clovis is protective but not agressive to people. Mind you he does not think he is the biggest rooster on the property. My guinea is the king of the roost and he keeps everyone in line.

Since mine came from you that is good news. I think having the other boys keep him in line will help a lot . Like I said, he hasn't' done anything, but I feel he's a bit different.

We are to the point of getting rid of our Bresse flock. We started off with a trio that was close to POL. They lived at my friend's 10 acre farm and her kids took care of the feeding, watering, and egg collecting. Chauvelin started to get aggressive and go for her 11 yr old son when he went into the pen. Then he went at me when I was out there. The red treat bucket made an effective barrier but I never turned my back on him after that. Then he went for my friend and finally he went after her 18 yr old son who is over 6 ft tall. We had hatched many of his chicks and had some of his sons so we made the decision to cull him. All of his chicks were so sweet including the males. We chose 2 of his sons to keep but they are starting to show aggressive behavior just like their father. My friend is so over them and she doesn't think that they even taste very good. We are thinking about switching to Pita Pintas for our main dual purpose breed.

So have you tasted the Pita Pintas yet? How do they taste? How well do they put on weight?

 

[PetRock]

So have you tasted the Pita Pintas yet? How do they taste? How well do they put on weight?

We will be processing our first one on Sat and I have lots of chicks of various ages. Ron says that they are better tasting than Bresse and I've been impressed with their growth rate. They aren't anywhere near the size of my Langshans but they are a little bigger than my Bresse. They start laying at about the same age as the Bresse and are equally good egg layers.

 

[DCchicken]

The occurrence of the scoop thunk was just reflexive on my part as my husband's was with his foot. He wasn't hurt, thankfully. The stall rake I just carry in to the pen to gather eggs and feed and that seems to be all that is necessary. Now my son was a different matter. We were out of town for a couple of days, and my son's job was to take care of the chickens. He really came after my son.....but I think that it was because he was unfamiliar to the rooster, and he was protecting his flock. As long as he respects the end of the rake, which he turns away from, I am OK with him.

Is it going to be a problem having the youngsters out with the adult flock in terms of the rooster, or will he quickly take on the responsibility of protecting them as well?

I caponize my cockerels, and the Bresse are the sweetest things. I have a 10 month old Bresse capon ready for processing, and he is just like one of the girls.....I don't want the rooster to prevent me from having these delicious birds.

I don't think it will be a problem for the youngsters. I watched a pullet fly up to the top of the coop and then fly over the fence. One of the roosters flew over the fence and stood guard near her. I have 15 breeds and the Breese roosters are the only ones that really protect their flock. The other breeds kind of sound the warning and then run for cover. But not my Bresse.

After talking to a friend in Europe that raises Bresse, I found it interesting that they treat the Bresse as livestock. They are not pets and they wouldn't ever consider keeping them as a backyard breed. It makes sense to me. They are one of the best free-ranging dual purpose I have kept. It would only be natural to keep the protective nature of the rooster. Whenever I sell them, I make sure that they are going to a farm and that the people are aware that they are not pets. If they want a pet rooster, I will sell them an big, fluffy Orpington or a Bielefelder.

 

[BCMaraniac]

I don't think it will be a problem for the youngsters. I watched a pullet fly up to the top of the coop and then fly over the fence. One of the roosters flew over the fence and stood guard near her. I have 15 breeds and the Breese roosters are the only ones that really protect their flock. The other breeds kind of sound the warning and then run for cover. But not my Bresse.

After talking to a friend in Europe that raises Bresse, I found it interesting that they treat the Bresse as livestock. They are not pets and they wouldn't ever consider keeping them as a backyard breed. It makes sense to me. They are one of the best free-ranging dual purpose I have kept. It would only be natural to keep the protective nature of the rooster. Whenever I sell them, I make sure that they are going to a farm and that the people are aware that they are not pets. If they want a pet rooster, I will sell them an big, fluffy Orpington or a Bielefelder.

I said the Bresse were sweet.....what I meant were the pullets/hens. They come running when they see me....and the rooster comes and stands like a statue with them.

I was concerned about my youngster and the fact that being white might make them an easier pick for a hawk or a bald eagle....we have both. It sounds like the rooster will protect them from that. Mine aren't pets either, but I did have to catch the rooster when they both got severe frostbite when it was -13 degrees. They are basically dubbed now....Mohawk combs. I caught them to put some ointment on their combs to help prevent infection. It probably wasn't necessary....but it made me feel better...lol. Surprisingly they were easy to catch. That is the only time they have been handled. I don't handle any of my roosters except when necessary.

 

[DCchicken]

I said the Bresse were sweet.....what I meant were the pullets/hens. They come running when they see me....and the rooster comes and stands like a statue with them.

I was concerned about my youngster and the fact that being white might make them an easier pick for a hawk or a bald eagle....we have both. It sounds like the rooster will protect them from that. Mine aren't pets either, but I did have to catch the rooster when they both got severe frostbite when it was -13 degrees. They are basically dubbed now....Mohawk combs. I caught them to put some ointment on their combs to help prevent infection. It probably wasn't necessary....but it made me feel better...lol. Surprisingly they were easy to catch. That is the only time they have been handled. I don't handle any of my roosters except when necessary.

Yes the girls are very gentle. I do have one hen that growls at me, but that's just because I took away the fake egg she has been trying to hatch for like months.

And yes the will protect against big flying birds. We have turkey vultures and a Bresse roo went after one today. The vulture wasn't even trying to get at the hens. It just wanted the corn I spilt. But I guess all the corn belongs to the Bresse.

 

[BCMaraniac]

Yes the girls are very gentle. I do have one hen that growls at me, but that's just because I took away the fake egg she has been trying to hatch for like months.

And yes the will protect against big flying birds. We have turkey vultures and a Bresse roo went after one today. The vulture wasn't even trying to get at the hens. It just wanted the corn I spilt. But I guess all the corn belongs to the Bresse.

I have a Great Pyr that actually barks and chases the hawks when they come. He walks among the birds, and even lays under bushes with them in the heat of the day. What do you think will happen if for some reason he ended up in the field with the Bresse? Will the rooster treat him as a potential predator??

Someone told me that Dark Cornish roosters are very protective as well.

Do you think your growly hen would actually brood chicks? I have heard that they aren't a broody breed.