Cull him, or wait for protection?

[Jessie_james]

I would cull him and get another rooster. When I wanted a rooster I found someone who had gotten 4/6 roosters from the store on a straight run batch. I got him as a teenager I guess. We picked out the largest one and he has been so friendly with us. He is a buff orpington which is a friendlier breed. I did get a second rooster far later which is a blue orpington (I think) and he attacks me often. My original Roo saves the day and gets on his case if he tries to attack me!

 

[Jessie_james]

I would cull him and get another rooster. When I wanted a rooster I found someone who had gotten 4/6 roosters from the store on a straight run batch. I got him as a teenager I guess. We picked out the largest one and he has been so friendly with us. He is a buff orpington which is a friendlier breed. I did get a second rooster far later which is a lavender orpington (I think) and he attacks me often. My original Roo saves the day and gets on his case if he tries to attack me! I still haven’t culled my other one. I know I should.

 

[Kglassmo]

My 14 month old EE Roo has became pretty aggressive this Spring. He has a flock of 14 hens. He is constantly in attack mode. I have my bluff in on him with a rake now, but my children are targets. Weather is warming up so naturally my 3 and 4 year old want to play outside on their trampoline and stuff. Obviously they can't comfortably with him and he has to go. What is the best way to cull him? I'm very seriously considering a shotgun at the moment, I'm so sick of him. Problem is, my flock is 100% free range and and are only go in their coop to lay and roost. Im affraid my hens will be vulnerable to predators without his protection. We are on a 40 acre pasture farm and we have alot of coyotes. Should i maybe build them a run instead of free range, without his protection? Im not sure how much "protection" he does anyways since i keep his spurs and nails trimmed short to keep my kids from serious injuries. Even though he cant do much damage, it still dont stop him from attacking and it still dont keep my kids from being stalked, tortured, and terrified. Or just leave the hens free range and hope the predators stay clear. Id HATE to have them penned up, but id also hate to lose them as their egg production is a business. The hens well being is the priority, my mind is made up that Rusty has to go.. Opinions? Thoughts? Advice?

My 3 year old Polish roo started becoming aggressive towards some of my younger hens this spring. Please keep in mind spring is the time for mating/ brooding so there’s always a lot of chicken hormones happening. My rooster has never been aggressive towards my children because he somehow knows they’re ‘part of our flock’ but he has on occasion tried to flog me at which point I gently grab him by his flanks, hold him prone upside down for about 30 seconds and calmly remind him who’s the ‘boss’. You can run his hind leg too while doing this to calm him. Works like a charm. I trim his spurs regularly as well. I also recommend pinless peepers which I’ve used on both naughty hens (feather pickers) and roos for short periods of time to correct unwanted behavior. I’ll try to attach pics of peepers. I order from a place in Canada called Spade & Feather that ships to US (better quality). Don’t get off Amazon, not reliable quality. The peepers if used correctly are not painful or harmful. Please follow all directions if using peepers! My chickens do everything completely normal after a few hours of adjusting to their ‘muzzle’ or ‘blinders’. The peepers prevent a direct attack on other chickens or people. It still allows them to eat, drink, lay eggs, crow or whatever normally. I recommend not keeping them on any chicken for more than 4 wks, because the sinus cavity might become clogged with debris which could lead to infection. Good luck.

 

[tapoodle]

It might make sense to try and find a rooster that is calm and human friendly, I think some breeds are just more prone than others to being overly protective. That way you'd still have a protector and no worries about your children. My young Australorp is great with the hens, calm enough for me to pick up and carry back and forth to run every day. It might also be useful to teach your children to be calm around the chickens, talk to them softly, etc just because it's smart behavior. Best of luck.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

My 14 month old EE Roo has became pretty aggressive this Spring. He has a flock of 14 hens. He is constantly in attack mode. I have my bluff in on him with a rake now, but my children are targets. Weather is warming up so naturally my 3 and 4 year old want to play outside on their trampoline and stuff. Obviously they can't comfortably with him and he has to go. What is the best way to cull him? I'm very seriously considering a shotgun at the moment, I'm so sick of him. Problem is, my flock is 100% free range and and are only go in their coop to lay and roost. Im affraid my hens will be vulnerable to predators without his protection. We are on a 40 acre pasture farm and we have alot of coyotes. Should i maybe build them a run instead of free range, without his protection? Im not sure how much "protection" he does anyways since i keep his spurs and nails trimmed short to keep my kids from serious injuries. Even though he cant do much damage, it still dont stop him from attacking and it still dont keep my kids from being stalked, tortured, and terrified. Or just leave the hens free range and hope the predators stay clear. Id HATE to have them penned up, but id also hate to lose them as their egg production is a business. The hens well being is the priority, my mind is made up that Rusty has to go.. Opinions? Thoughts? Advice?

Well, since your kids are only three and four, would it be possible to fence them in instead? It’s pretty easy to just pound some metal stakes into the ground and attach chicken wire, even if you have to fence in 1/2 an acre? That way your hens would still have protection and so would your kids. I don’t know how far you let them venture away from your home alone at that age, but I was thinking that could be a possibility if you want to keep the rooster for flock protection.

 

[Silky45]

My 14 month old EE Roo has became pretty aggressive this Spring. He has a flock of 14 hens. He is constantly in attack mode. I have my bluff in on him with a rake now, but my children are targets. Weather is warming up so naturally my 3 and 4 year old want to play outside on their trampoline and stuff. Obviously they can't comfortably with him and he has to go. What is the best way to cull him? I'm very seriously considering a shotgun at the moment, I'm so sick of him. Problem is, my flock is 100% free range and and are only go in their coop to lay and roost. Im affraid my hens will be vulnerable to predators without his protection. We are on a 40 acre pasture farm and we have alot of coyotes. Should i maybe build them a run instead of free range, without his protection? Im not sure how much "protection" he does anyways since i keep his spurs and nails trimmed short to keep my kids from serious injuries. Even though he cant do much damage, it still dont stop him from attacking and it still dont keep my kids from being stalked, tortured, and terrified. Or just leave the hens free range and hope the predators stay clear. Id HATE to have them penned up, but id also hate to lose them as their egg production is a business. The hens well being is the priority, my mind is made up that Rusty has to go.. Opinions? Thoughts? Advice?

Well I’m sorry your roo went bad . There are a lot of how too videos you can watch on culling humanly. My only advice is you should do a run and make sure it has plenty of space also a cover of some sort . Without him watching the sky for them they will be hawk food. Good luck!!

 

[PhilSanchez]

My 14 month old EE Roo has became pretty aggressive this Spring. He has a flock of 14 hens. He is constantly in attack mode. I have my bluff in on him with a rake now, but my children are targets. Weather is warming up so naturally my 3 and 4 year old want to play outside on their trampoline and stuff. Obviously they can't comfortably with him and he has to go. What is the best way to cull him? I'm very seriously considering a shotgun at the moment, I'm so sick of him. Problem is, my flock is 100% free range and and are only go in their coop to lay and roost. Im affraid my hens will be vulnerable to predators without his protection. We are on a 40 acre pasture farm and we have alot of coyotes. Should i maybe build them a run instead of free range, without his protection? Im not sure how much "protection" he does anyways since i keep his spurs and nails trimmed short to keep my kids from serious injuries. Even though he cant do much damage, it still dont stop him from attacking and it still dont keep my kids from being stalked, tortured, and terrified. Or just leave the hens free range and hope the predators stay clear. Id HATE to have them penned up, but id also hate to lose them as their egg production is a business. The hens well being is the priority, my mind is made up that Rusty has to go.. Opinions? Thoughts? Advice?

Bye bye mr rooster

 

[M Brennen]

His lack of human interaction is not the issue. I have hand raised these birds from day old chicks. He has been interacted with and handled plenty. He didnt become aggressive until recently. I understand that he is a rooster and thats his instincts, however, he will not come before my childrens safety and sanity. They have first priority in their yard, not him. Not culling him isn't the question and i dont think isolating him in a crate by himself is fair to him nor do i believe it would help. He don't need a time out. The question is how is the most humane way to do it, and do i need to pen the rest of them up to keep them safe, or continue to let them free range and hope for the best.

I would definitely pen up the rest of the chickens. Honestly, even with the rooster, the chickens are vulnerable.

 

[Hal682]

I agree children first..if rooster is always attacking he has to go.however it is spring I ran into an issue last spring. I had two roosters..the issue was them attacking each other not people. Im sure if had not stepped in could if been people. I seperated for a day and was all fine again after that. Also when my oldest rooster was around 2 he did start going after my grandaughter. Fortunatly that was short lived. Id grab him and hold him for a walk around the yard with us. And my dog also taught him people are off limits. Never had an issue after that spring as far as attacking people .. Spring seems to do something to them..but if culling google..my youngest roo ended up (6 years) ended up badly injured i had to cull him. I did find resources online to do it myself and fast.. Good luck.. Children safty first can always find another rooster..or a good dog to protect. My dog was a protector..was funny roo make his danger noise and they all run to the dog..that works good too..

 

[Chickenclaude]

I had a hand raised roo that was wonderful until he became an adult and then I couldn’t trust him. I found another chicken owner w a larger flock who needed protection..he was so busy w twice as many hens that he settled right down. I was torn giving him away but very honest w the new owner who was experienced. I waited for the right situation and placed him in a large dog crate I. The run when he was bad. You don’t have to cull him. Good luck.