Can you teach a rooster to stop being aggressive?

[renewistrombaker]

I posted my rooster for sale on the auction board. He now is attacking me. Not acceptable. I need to rehome him, unless he can be schooled to cut this out. We hatched him from 1 of 2 eggs (the other was a girl) when my hen went broody on us. He turned out to be a boy, so we went with it. Hes a super gorgeous Bantum http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Bantam_Rooster.jpg
and he is 1 year old (born July 27, 2010). Hes not really really bad but he flutters up to scratch my legs and gets all full of himself. Ive been the only one he tolerates in his yard ( I have 6 hens) but now hes gone wacky. I dont want to kill him. I live in Los Gatos CA in the Bay Area and am willing to drive him if youre close enough. Hes free if its a good home. He really is pretty, small and very fertile if you want to breed him.

Thanks
Rene

 

[peepblessed]

I have not tried this but have read several times that it works. Carry a spray bottle with you and squirt him if he shows any aggression or dominant behavior. A hose is even better! Hope it works!

 

[farmgirlz]

Quote:
I found it only made mine worse. If you're mean to him, he'll just get meaner. But I did have some success with physically forcing him into submission. Here's what I did.

The last thing you need is a nasty rooster, especially if you have children...he could seriously put an eye out!!! My rooster caused me considerable injury one day when I had shorts on and was out watching the chickens scratch.

First you have to catch him. It's a bit life threatening, but if you can manage to get a hold of him when he tries to come at you with those claws, snatch him. Tuck his wings in and bundle him into the crook of your arm so that he can't get away. He'll probably kick his legs at you, so having a sweatshirt on while you're doing this might not be a bad idea. With your free hand, bow his head down and slightly under one of his wings, but not so much that you put him to sleep or cut off his breathing. You want him to be awake and aware that he is in a submissive position. Obviously, he's going to fight you on this, he thinks he's the biggest bird on campus. Hold his head there for, oh 10 seconds or so. Then let his head up. He tries it again, repeat. Don't let him down until he submits to you, it may take a while, but stick with it. You can pat him some to calm him down and show him you mean him no harm.

While you have him, now would be a good time for you to also clip his toenails and file them down so they're not so sharp {your hens will thank you too}. It's up to you if you want to clip his beak. My rooster got a hold of one of my hands before I did all this and he drew blood... the bugger.

Really, he's just doing his job, keeping his hens safe from predators, but it's no excuse for bad behavior.

Now the hardest part!!! You're going to have to get everybody to do it! If you do that work and hubby takes a hose to him, your work will have been for not.

 

[saladin]

Manfighters (that is what they are called) are just STUPID! They should be culled. Some breeds produce them more than others. The worst breeds for producing manfighters are the Egg-layer breeds.

Manfighters are not just doing their job. They are STUPID. They can not be trusted.

 

[airmechreed]

Turn his head sharply to the left or right until you hear a click. Ta Da! no more attacks I promise.

 

[farmgirlz]

Quote:
Ya...in the end, the taming didn't work.

You're completely right of course! Everytime I'd turn my back to him, he'd come at me. The last time he got me, he got me good! The next day he was featherless and 'resting' in the refrigerator. Course, even after 10 hours in the crockpot, you still couldn't eat him.

 

[sourland]

My greatest success has been with a hatchet.

 

[bannerdb]

 

[sabianshepherds]

Sorry, my favorite hatched roo became dog meat two months ago. His name was Bob, and if he was that nasty at 12 weeks ( he was crowing up a storm at 7 weeks) then he wasn't going to get better. I don't own animals I can't handle. If I feed you, I should be able to touch you. Safely.

 

[Scooter&Suzie]

Quote:
You mean break his neck? brrrr.......