Does anyone have a NICE adult rooster?

[JustForHelp]

My rooster is very, extremely nice. In fact, so nice, he couldn't hurt a fly! (Well, maybe he's eaten one before) But sometimes it's not to amazing to have a nice rooster. Sure, you can hold him like a baby (upside down) and he comes when he's called, (escpecially when you hold food and stand on the deck) However, once a weasel got into our barn... we had 6 6 month old chicks, and each died, besides my rooster and one hen because they weren't on the ground. My rooster, though his spurs are inches long, didn't move a muscle.

 

[Gunlover57]

My Roo Roo get ate my something, I need another rooster. I have 11 hens, all Buff Orifingtons.... Anyone have a nice rooster for sale i live in Eddyville, Ky

 

[LuvMahChikies]

My Salmon Faverolle roo "Okra" is a big baby. He is the sweetest chicken in the flock! Lets us snuggle him...finds treats for his girls and feeds them with his beak...always protects them. He is a big, sweet goofball and we just love him!

 

[Rip Canon]

My experience is typical.....

They are all sweet when they are young.....my hens have always been gentle and easy to work with.

Not so with my one and only Rooster, his name was Prince, he was large and Beautiful, watched over his hens, warned them and lead them....

HOWEVER, he attacked my 5 year old, my 12 year old and at 6 months he started to turn on my wife...he wouldn't attack me or when he did I would hold him, or hold him upside down for a spell, then I would gently put him down and he would coyly walk away....with the mental speech to me, " uhhh, I don't want any more of that, I'll leave you alone."

My kids and wife would not, or could not, stand up to him. After about the 6th time I came home from work with my wife in a tizzy and tears in my 5 year's eyes...but this time it was different, my youngest had a dime sized dark bruise and bite mark on his leg.....they are all free range, they roost and are locked up at night, so they are out. He would come running 100 yards across our property just to attack. Sometimes he would sneak attack, I thought watching the 12 year old run terrified across the yard was humorous. ( he plays full pads tackle football for pete's sake !) My wife did not think it was so funny.

Towards the end he took things too far, my house became tears, paranoia and an inability for kids to use the swing or relax in the yard. The brooding experiment would be canceled for Spring.

I calmly and reluctantly bled him out in the killing cone, (after he attacked me that day along with everyone else.)

Now there is Peace in the Valley, the hens even seem not to miss him, the calmness and relaxing atmosphere has returned.
I can't even believe he was the same species, he was a Pterodactyl, a running, biting menace.

Now we just enjoy the eggs and realize a Rooster at our house was not meant to be.

 

[Beekissed]

I wouldn't let one bad experience sour you on keeping a rooster. I've been at this for 40 yrs now and I've raised all good ones. You just need the right breed and then you need to raise him right and you shouldn't ever experience any attacks, on children or adults. A lot of really nice roosters out there and they go a long way towards helping a free range flock survive.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

All my roosters have been nice. I do think sometimes children will attract the attention of roosters due to their erratic movements and loud vocalizations, it's best not to keep free ranging roosters with children around, you just never know with any intact male of any species. I personally was repeatedly terrorized by roosters as a kid, so I won't put up with such behaviors anymore.

 

[Beekissed]

I do think children's movements may attract the rooster's attention, but I have had many trustworthy free range roosters around many children without mishaps. I think it has a lot to do with how the rooster is raised and who is doing the raising. Of course, any male animal can have a moment in time where they do unpredictable things, but I haven't had that happen in my flocks for the past 40 yrs, so I'm going to keep trusting in the methods I'm using.

I've seen and heard of a lot of rogue roosters that people let terrorize humans and, for the life of me, I'll never figure out why they can't do something about it. Something can be done besides just killing the rooster. Forty years of safe roosters is not just luck, it's success.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I personally haven't had troubles either, but it seems like a lot of attacks are towards children, it does have a lot to do with understanding behavior and being able to raise birds that don't view humans as a threat or even as a member of the flock.

 

[Rip Canon]

Great replies all.....

but if our behavior is exactly the same when feeding and gently moving around our flock and the one culprit is always the same, then maybe it is not the humans.

From the responses, perhaps we will try again....but for now we will let the Hatcheries provide chicks.

Thanks for the responses.

Rip

 

[Beekissed]

Moving gently around the flock just may be your problem. It's okay to be calm and steady near the flock and move around without excitement, but I never move gently in or around the flock....I walk right through them and I expect them to get out of the way. Especially the rooster....and if he gets too close to my personal space when I'm walking to the coop, I'll often reach out and goose him a little...make him jump. He needs to be a little wary of humans and be looking over his shoulder at all times for us.

This one I have now is gentle as a lamb and can be picked up while he's eating and such if I need to(rarely)...he was just born that way and was not handled or hand fed at all as a chick or while growing(this is a big NO NO for male livestock), but I still remind him every now and again who brings the food to the coop. When he first encountered my little granddaughter(1 1/2 yrs old), I let her go right up to the feeder and pet the hens or put her hand right in the feed...I monitored his response to this child and was standing ready for any movements towards her....but he did the correct thing, which was to move down the trough and away from her. You want a rooster that's always moving away from humans, never towards them. Until you know him well and he has become predictable, it's always a good idea to have him always looking over his shoulder for the humans and to move out of their space when they approach. If he doesn't, you should reach out and touch him in a way that makes him jump and move to avoid you.

We are the predators, they are the prey and rarely will you find a rooster that attacks a large predator....so keep reminding them you are a predator.