Evil Rooster!

[FarmerJoe411]

Rock Home Isle

I have a 1yr old Andalusian Rooster. I'm about 5'6" and he comes up to my knee. He is HUGE! I'm afraid that his behavior has gone on too long that training into submission is no longer possible. I'm afraid to get that close to him. Yesterday he knocked over my 11 year old Dalmatian...so I'm down to my last straw. if your not armed with a walking stick he immediately comes after you. we have our 4 chicken total in the coop and run till about 3 then their out until the Rooster brings the hens in around dusk. when he comes after me i use the walking stick as a barrier, i don't hit him with it but i use it too keep him at a sticks lenghts away from me. when he attacks the stick i just hold it steady till he tires of jumping against it.. than i use it to back him up until he runs away. when you chase him he holds his ground. The only reason we have kept him around is that he is a good rooster (keeps the hens together, finds food for them, protects them, and warns them of danger) but he is a bit rough with them- they all have to wear hen savers. his spurs are about 2 inches long when they are trimmed!

help!!
is it too late?

 

[ButchGood]

I have a poop head rooster, Buff Orp, in the bachelor pen right now eating 28% protein feed and cracked corn. He will be dispatched to freezer camp very soon. I tried the gentle methods to discourage bad behavior, then I tried the not so gentle methods. Nothing worked, and I don't have the time to put into training a rooster for months. i agree with Plantmgr that they are instinctual and really can't remember what happened an hour ago. I agree with Dunrae, I don't want his genes to be passed down to my future flock. I have 4 roos in "competition" to become my flocks guardian. This one is out. Down to 3. Need to get to one.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Rock Home Isle

I have a 1yr old Andalusian Rooster. I'm about 5'6" and he comes up to my knee. He is HUGE! I'm afraid that his behavior has gone on too long that training into submission is no longer possible. I'm afraid to get that close to him. Yesterday he knocked over my 11 year old Dalmatian...so I'm down to my last straw. if your not armed with a walking stick he immediately comes after you. we have our 4 chicken total in the coop and run till about 3 then their out until the Rooster brings the hens in around dusk. when he comes after me i use the walking stick as a barrier, i don't hit him with it but i use it too keep him at a sticks lenghts away from me. when he attacks the stick i just hold it steady till he tires of jumping against it.. than i use it to back him up until he runs away. when you chase him he holds his ground. The only reason we have kept him around is that he is a good rooster (keeps the hens together, finds food for them, protects them, and warns them of danger) but he is a bit rough with them- they all have to wear hen savers. his spurs are about 2 inches long when they are trimmed!

help!!
is it too late?

First let me say that the Andalusian is a beautiful bird, they are appealing in all their color forms. This is a breed that likes their freedom and is good at foraging for themselves; both of these attributes are pluses in my book. Just curious...his he Blue, Black or Splash?

Once a ROO gets older, he's going to be set in his ways. Poultry by their very nature are instinctual; their patterns of behavior become ingrained...Chickens are even more so and really are hardwired. Their genetic makeup combines with layers of experiences to create a pathway to the final outcome of the ROO and his overall behavior. Its a combination of Nature and Nurture...Once those "connections" are inplace, you really can't rewire them.

I will work with a young cockerel and train him how I want him to behave. I will have great success with an animal that I have raised...never had a problem with my own birds. I always seem to have had huge problems with the birds that I have gotten from others...But if I think that the animal is outstanding...???!!!

Your situation is not impossible, but its not very probable. Older birds are "stone" when it comes to "behavior modification." With older birds; I have tried and failed so many more times than I have succeeded. Its going to be a long and difficult row to hoe; in the end you may not even be successful. Once you've gotten to the point of using a stick just so that you can be safe around the ROO...the writing is on the wall.

If you are content with the current situation...then good. In all likelyhood he's not going to change.

If you are not happy...then breed him to your best; hatch some eggs; get some of his progeny; and start over with a set of his offspring. You want to work with them and train them to have the corrct behavior established when they are young. If this is done, then you can work with them when they are older and set in their ways.

I don't know what else to say....

 

[LilMissChz]

I hate to say this but the same thing happened to me. I made the tough decision and ended their pain. Because they were losing either way. I saw their behavior get worse, not better. And I'm a professional animal trainer. What I couldn't stop were the attacks on my family dog. I couldn't train for that. So we did it the old fashioned way. They lost their heads over their behavior. Literally. And now I have a peaceful, gentle flock.

 

[ButchGood]

Here's my top 3 candidates
#1 Big Black

#2 Little Black


#3 Little Yellow

And In Jail soon to transfer to freezer camp. Big Yellow

 

[FarmerJoe411]

 

[FarmerJoe411]

Rock Home Isle- He is black. His name is Samuel L. Jackson and he sure is nice to look at. but i think your right, he was given to us with some hens that were around 8 months old

 

[Evil roostah]

I have the same problem but he was never nice. Near the beginning he was neither nice or mean. All he did was ignore us. Now he is vicious. He does that funny walk though. He never tried to mate with me. He attacks me with his spurs but they are not sharp. Its annoying!!! I don't understand why no one will let me kill him. I went online to find out a few tricks but nothing works on him. What can I do?:/

 

[DanEP]

ule #1: Never make friends with a ROO...no good deed goes unpunished. (I break this rule way too much)

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[bobbi-j]

My feeling is this. I have chickens for the joy of having chickens (and for eggs and meat). If I have a rooster that is taking that joy away from me by attacking me or my family, it needs to go away. If a person plans to give away or try to sell a mean rooster, they should do so with full disclosure. The other option is to kill it. I will not have a mean, dangerous bird here on my hands. There are so many nice roosters in the world, and life is too short to put up with a mean one. For the record, I would not "re-home" a mean rooster...