Does anyone own/ed dominique hens and/or roos?

[Poop Cleaner]

How does one give a mean rooster an *** whooping without injuring him? I am new to chickens. What would you use? Thanks.

 

[JanetMarie]

I wouldn't use anything to try to discipline a mean rooster. You simply just take care of him until it's time to butcher. Mostly, a mean rooster cannot be rehabilitated. Someone else may have rehabilitated one, but really, there are many nice roosters out there, and many people looking to rehome some.

Early in chicken keeping I had a rooster who started attacking me every time I went in their area. I would fling him with my boot, and it just made him want to fight more. Keep a good rooster, get rid of mean ones.

 

[QueenMisha]

How does one give a mean rooster an *** whooping without injuring him? I am new to chickens. What would you use? Thanks.

When he first comes at you, kick him. If he's in position where you can't grab him and he has potential to injure you, just kick him. Your safety is more important than possible injury to him.

After/if he comes after you and after you can grab him, the idea is to absolutely terrify him. Don't purposely cause injury such as bruising, but don't be gentle either. If he gets a couple sore spots along the way, well then, it'll give him something to think about for a few days. I would generally grab the bird by the legs (be careful of the spurs on an older roo) and carry him around (don't shake him but let em swing a little bit), hold him on his back on the ground, roughly pet his feathers backward, slap his comb, wattles, and legs, flick the areas on his neck and under his wings. Be very loud and scary when you do this.

So far I haven't had a bird I failed to rehabilitate using these methods.

 

[Poop Cleaner]

Thanks. That makes sense. Do you have advice on how to catch him if he doesnt want to be caught? I once spent two hours trying to catch a roo. Although, that roo was more flighty than aggro.

 

[QueenMisha]

Thanks. That makes sense. Do you have advice on how to catch him if he doesnt want to be caught? I once spent two hours trying to catch a roo. Although, that roo was more flighty than aggro.

If he becomes aggressive, use that to your advantage. He'll be coming towards you. If you're wearing suitable shoes, wiggle your foot to distract him and then grab him around the shoulders. It's a great position to catch fiesty roos because you can easily slide our hands down to grab the legs.

If he remains a good rooster and you simply need to catch him, I recommend using your arms as much as you can to herd him into a trap. I've found that there is a certain point where if any part of your body passes in front of/behind the bird's field of vision, it'll make the chicken switch direction. This point is usually in front of or behind the eye. For example, if the bird is running to the right, and you stick your arm out to the right to the point that it passes the bird's eye, combined with a slight lean in this direction, it'll often switch sides. Quickly dodging back and forth while moving forward slowly also works, as they often don't realize you're getting closer until it's too late.

If there's no place to trap him (or he gets wise of a trap), you might set up another prior to catching him; I've done this by keeping 3-5 feet of 48 inch chicken wire handy, which can easily be strung up in ideal spots and only takes a minute or two to attach. They often will run right into it the first few times, it's hard for them to see - especially when they're distracted trying to escape.

Using things such as boxes, nets, etc. to drop down onto them are also good sure methods, I've worked with gamebird nets in the past and they are a breeze. Even extra strength ones can't handle huge birds (or birds with long spurs) but they're excellent for the average size hen, roos up to, say, 7 pounds, and of course perfect for the flighties like Leghorns or Hamburgs.

 

[Poop Cleaner]

Thank you. Your advice has been most helpful. Could you describe how to trap or corner a rooster? I once had him cornered in a small corridor but he was still too fast for me. I think I am too slow with the actual pounce.

 

[aart]

Thank you. Your advice has been most helpful. Could you describe how to trap or corner a rooster? I once had him cornered in a small corridor but he was still too fast for me. I think I am too slow with the actual pounce.

Catching chickens is no fun.....you have to kind of move slow with your arms out to get them in a corner, then grab fast pinning down the wings.
I get them off the roost at night, and either do whatever needs to be done with a head light or put them in a crate for the next day, much better for me if not for them.

 

[lazy gardener]

How does one give a mean rooster an *** whooping without injuring him? I am new to chickens. What would you use? Thanks.

Start when he's young. I had a young cockrel who started with attitude when he was only 2 weeks old. He'd come at me when ever I was handling his Momma or his siblings. So, I'd grab him and restrain his wings, hold him like a foot ball, and push his head down below his chest. Every time he lifted his head, I'd push it down and hold it until he maintained the down head position. I'd carry him around a bit in this submissive pose, catch him and hold him while feeding treats to Mama and sibs. I expected that he would be an early cull, but he was a fast learner. B/C he has good conformation, and is now well behaved, he may get to stay around to replace Jack (my avatar roo) when the time comes. You can also herd a roo with a skinny long stick. Where ever that roo is standing, you make him move away. You don't have to hit him, merely tapping his tail will be enough to get him to move. Chase him around a bit. When you give treats to the rest of the flock, use your herding stick to separate him from the rest of the flock, and don't let him come near treats till you decide he can! Always keep him more than arms length from you. If that doesn't work, eat him.

 

[Poop Cleaner]

Thanks! So is it better to raise a roo from a chick than get a mature one and add to the flock? Just Getting my flock started over here and was thinking about giving one of those poor free roosters on Craigslist (or in the rehome section here) a home.

 

[QueenMisha]

Thanks! So is it better to raise a roo from a chick than get a mature one and add to the flock? Just Getting my flock started over here and was thinking about giving one of those poor free roosters on Craigslist (or in the rehome section here) a home.

I think that if you can locate a suitable mature cockerel (at least 6 months, preferably 8+ months) you've got an easier time of determining the rooster's personality. A rooster won't really settle into his personality until he is a year old, but by 6 or 7 months you can generally get a good idea of how he will act. Chicks you just don't know at all, they could turn into anything.