Do Roosters ever learn their lesson??

[Tropical Chook]

My rooster which is a huge Thai fighting cock is as sweet as they come, and yet just the other day, he approached me and started doing that funny sidewards dance with his one wing held down. Well, in just a fraction of a second, he became acquainted with my foot, and it must have made an impression because he's not tried it again. He really is adorable though, and because he has previously been used for fighting, he is fine with being handled so I can just walk up to him and pick him up. It would really be a pity if he ever turns mean because he's from champion stock so I need him to breed with my hens. On the other hand, if he does ever become mean, I would simply confine him, and I'd be very careful when handling him. Apparently this breed of fighting cock has been known to break a man wrist with a single blow. Mine has so far never even tried to peck at me or our kids, so I just hope he stays that way. From what I've been told, the game cocks rarely show aggression towards humans so I think I should be okay

I say, if he even hints at being aggressive to you kid, you kids should simply give hime one very swift kick, and if he doesn't learn from that, then get him in the freezer.

 

[speckledhen]

My kids are all grown, but I have small grandkids that aren't allowed in the pens with my birds. Even tho none of the roos I have have ever even hinted at attacking me I wouldn't trust them with the kids. The first attack on a child could do great damage and I'm not going to risk it.

+1 Would you allow a 4 year old in the pen with a bull or a stallion? Same thing, smaller package and just the right size to take out a small child's eyes with one jump. Kids have jerky and sudden movements and it makes a protective rooster very nervous.​

 

[The Egg Bandit]

I agree with other posters here : there are WAYYY too many good roosters to put up with a bad one. I get plenty of roos from every incubator run. One of our "keeper" youngsters just made a coup on the older roo (his Paw), and now we have a new top dog. But if he gets uppity with me or any other human, he is outta there and into the stew pot. He is a stunning fellow, the ladies like him, and he is the best roo I have produced to date, but there are 50 chicks that I just hatched out, and surely one will be just as good. I have no tolerance for critters that don't know their place in the food chain.

 

[CMV]

I now have a cockerel after years of being anti-rooster. He came as a surprise in my sexed pullets this year and we decided to try him out. I have a 5 y.o daughter who has been around chickens her whole life. We have been teaching her how to deal with the rooster and teaching him how to deal with her. He has shown some signs of aggression, but nothing too bad, yet. He is very kind to his girls and watches out for them, so his occasional stabs at me are usually met with a boot and then the indignity of being carried around the yard upside down for a while.

This past weekend he tried to fight my daughter. She is a yellow-belt martial artist, so she was able to fend him off until I got to them and dealt with him in the usual manner. I was so furious that I decided when I caught him I was butchering him on the spot. She begged me not to kill him. She pointed out that she is The Queen of All Chickens and that includes roosters. She promised to work extra hard in karate to make sure she could protect herself from him. She promised that even though she's a little scared of him she will carry him around to make sure he knows she's boss. In short, my daughter convinced me to give the idiot rooster another chance.

I hope for his sake that he learned his lesson this weekend. He goes after my daughter again and I will kill him. And no amount of pleading from my daughter the Queen will stay his execution next time.

 

[dogdollar]

I'm new to the world of raising chickens, but I've read a lot and learned some valuable things on this forum.
I have to wonder sometimes if there is a correlation between people who insist on handling, petting, and holding their chickens, and "bad" roosters. My hens aren't afraid of me, but I almost never handle them, except when I am examining one for some reason. There's no "reaching down and picking them up" like some people talk about...they get spooked when I reach for them and move out of reach. I have never had a problem with my rooster UNLESS it is on the rare occasion that I would pick up one of the hens...then he BOCK BOCK BOCKS to the high heavens and starts getting the "happy feet". Put the hen back down, it's over. I rarely discipline him because he does what a rooster SHOULD do - watches his girls, finds them treats, warns them of threats. If he hears a hen in distress he is off like a rocket to see what's going on. Every now and then I will see him being cruel to one of the hens for whatever reason...pecking or pulling on her comb for no reason, and I will confront him with a strong, loud voice and I bend down and get in his face, but when it's over, it's over.
Maybe he will drop a wing on me one day but so far, it's worked out just like it's supposed to be.

DD

 

[LALASD4]

My pullets are only 6 weeks old, I hope they are all female, if one turns out to be a rooster then I would not need another one.

The Barred Rocks that I have are the most active chickens that I have, they are always running, jumping on each other, and trying to fly.

Quote:
I'll hold onto him for you. How old are your hens? This guy is really good to the hens. He never gets rough with them which I really like. I don't mind holding him knowing he'd be going to a good home. Let me know if you're serious. That would be awesome!!!

I wanted to add that I won't let the kids into the coop/run until I find a home for him. I'm not against him being dinner, but I can't do it.

I have a friend that said he'd love to try processing a chicken, but I don't want someone learning on my bird. I raised him from 3 days old and we held him every day. I'm not particularly attached to him, but I'd want his last moments to be good and I'd want someone that knows what they're doing. The funny thing is, when I picked him up from a local woman (who got them from a hatchery) I almost put him back because I thought the spot on the head looked different from the others. Drats! I should have listened to my intuition.

 

[AlbionWood]

Some interesting ideas/information here:

http://www.plamondon.com/faq_roosters.html

 

[Germaine_11.20]

There are good roosters and bad roosters- some of it is genetic (some breeds are just more aggressive) and some of it is the way they have been raised-- and, I believe, also the age.

The bad ones get sent to freezer camp after I have given them a bunch of chances and they screw it up. I also have bad roos that turn good with age and a little work.

I think especially when they are young and just finding their ladies, they don't know the rules yet and can get a bit aggressive. I have found that if I take them away and put them in Roo camp if they refuse to respond to me (just roos in roo camp) that they settle down.

However, I never ever let my defenses down around a rooster. Especially with children.

Today my little 1 year old grandson was helping me feed some chicks I have in a grow out brooder in the front yard.

I have a "mascot" Light Sussex Roo who has adopted the front yard as his home. He (Prince) would come within inches away from the baby and he never tried to dominate him, but then again I always kept my body inbetween us.

If the Roo got into a position I wasn't comfortable with, then I moved him on by placing my body close to his in a dominent manner. He knows what that means.

It takes work to get a good roo and also a little good fortune. I can say that I don't have one roo who I am afraid of, but I don't have one roo who I let down my guard with either.

Roos are inherintly protective of both their hens and themselves-it is in their nature. But they can cohabitate with us in a friendly way. Kindness along with showing them that you won't allow bad behaviour are key.

If they are too stubborn or stupid to figure it out, there is always the stew pot to resolve the issue.

 

[Lbrad7]

Quote:
It sounds to me like you have a great roo! Like you said, it is completely normal for them to run over and confront you when you pick up one his hens and she calls out. Mine does that too but he always pulls up short then backs away. If I am not picking up one of the girls he never even gives me a second look when I am on the lot. That is the way it should be.

I do have one roo that will challenge me from time to time when I am on the lot. (he is second on the pole as far as status in pecking order goes with the roos..well 3rd since I am the top dog) I had given it a lot of thought as to how to try and break him and just watched how my top roo keeps him in check. They never fight but when smarty britches gets his swoll on my top roo will chase him around the yard for about 20 yards and its over. I gave that a try and it works; normally it will keep him in check for a couple weeks before he will challenge me again.

My experience has been that eventually he is going to go all out and flog me; that will be his last day on earth. I think you can curb an aggressive roos attitude when they are young but the older they get the more aggressive they become. Once they cross that line, the level of attacks will just rise and intensify. I have about 20 or so roos and only one ever challenges me, so the nice birds are out there. There is never any reason to keep a mean roo around; you're just asking for trouble. You sure don't want to use him as a breeder. You never want to pass on that trait.

 

[booker81]

I started with a mixed batch of TSC chicks, and ended up with 5 roosters.

I now have 2 roosters.

I have a toddler, who LOVES the chickens. It's my job to train her to be good around the chickens, it's their job to tolerate her as long as she doesn't abuse them (I try to stop her from chasing, kicking, or throwing objects at them, sometimes she's quicker than me, but I nip it fast).

She's not perfect, toddlers generally aren't. Again however, she LOVES the chickens - she likes feeding them, talking to them, getting eggs, helping me round them up, etc. I don't want to stop that.

Though some say it's probably silly to expect tolerance from a chicken, I expect, and I get it. I don't force them to submit to treatment they don't like from her, and they are NOT allowed to make my daughter submit to them.

The three that are no longer here had half of a chance. They separated from the flock while ranging to chase my daughter away. Not allowed. I threw the nearest object (my flipflop) at them, hard, and then that evening, caught them, penned them in a dog crate, and they were sent to freezer camp the next day.

The two left ignore my daughter, and that's what I want. She can go and feed the flock with BOSS, and the roos will eat with the hens, and if she starts going after the hens to "pet" them, the roos ignore her. They stay about 5 feet or more away from her at all times. I watch them at ready for them to turn around on her, and so far, so good.

The only "pet" like activity I have going on is a few hens have decided they would rather eat seed out of my hand, and I let them. The roos stay back.

I prefer my aloof boys than to have them even near my vicinity - or the vicinity of small children

They are fun to have around though, especially the big RIR roo. He's nifty