Feeling guilty about re-homing my rooster

[loftygoals]

Full disclosure: I am a first time chicken owner after ten years of waiting (til I was out in the "country so to speak"). I purchased 8 chickens last spring. (My husband picked out two of them and the rooster is one he picked out!). To make a long story short. He was the most affectionate one. (Barred rock). I did a lot of chicken research and worried he was a rooster because he was so sweet. He was also HUGE. Well he turned out to be a rooster, a big beautiful one who would sit on my shoulders, cry to be picked up...etc (I know, I know...warning signs). Last week he attacked me from behind (at about 4 months of age). He drew blood and rule was that he could stay unless he became aggressive. Coincidentally enough that was the day my first little egg was laid. I placed him with a friend who has 20 chickens and wanted him for his chickens. I feel so guilty. I read threads here about taming your rooster...and today is my first day without him...and I miss his crowing and the birds seem lost without him (although he was constantly tormenting them by mating with them and he is huge and they are little. I feel like I failed him....and like I screwed with my chickens environment...I am just being a big baby...but full disclosure again....I am a big baby and these chickens are my egg laying "pets"..thanks for listening...and for future reference, in case I get a rooster again...did I give up too easy?
Thanks,
Lisa

 

[apryl29]

Don't feel guilty! I went through a similar situation. I had 3 cockerels out of 16. Steve was a surprise cockerel. He was supposed to be a pullet buff orpington. He was HUGE! (photo below) my daughters loved Steve (always his name - my daughter is an Avengers fan) & often carried him around, my bantam cockerel was constantly flirting w/ him too. Then one day a friend asked if she was a he and then BYC confirmed he was a he. A few days later he started chasing my girls around aggressively. Was never aggressive w/ me or my kids and if size wasn't an issue I would have kept him and gotten rid of my leghorn. Then he bit my daughter's finger and wouldn't let go. I actually almost choked him. Soon after I made a separate space for him b/c he and my leghorn cockerel (Odin) were fighting a lot (chasing each other around the yard) and he was becoming more and more interested in the females. After that I put him in the paper. A guy came and looked at him and took him away to make babies on his farm. My kids are sad he's gone and I was too at first, but I'm relieved. We didn't have enough females to sustain 3 boys and as I said, he was huge. He mounted one of my tetra brown pullets once and I could barely see her under him! He full on ran after her when he saw she was out of the coop. He's much better off where he is now and our coop is much calmer. Odin is aggressive and he'll probably be leaving at some point, but I like him and I'm giving him more time. I had a couple people call but no one wants an aggressive roo & if I get rid of him it'll be the end for him. You can always try again for another roo, or do as I plan and visit your local fair and see what the kids are selling. Often their show birds are handled and are nicer. So just remember, he's a very lucky guy. And since he's w/ a friend you could always go and visit him sometime. And if they ever hatch any of his offspring, maybe you could get one. Now that you know more about raising a cockerel you will be better prepared for next time.

 

[Patinas]

@loftygoals

My story with my rooster is almost exactly like yours except he hadn't attacked me...yet! I re-homed him because just as you said, one day he attacked you even though he had been really nice up to that point. I found myself looking over my shoulder to make sure I knew where he was when they were out foraging. I have read many stories of "nice" roosters suddenly attacking; even 3-4 years down the road. For that reason, I decided I didn't want to keep looking over my shoulder and wasn't able to just relax and enjoy the flock so I re-homed him.

I don't feel at all guilty about it...mostly because I did find a good home for him with 17 hens. I think I would have had some guilt if I had not found him a home and had to cull him.

I'm of the opinion that a rooster that attacks people is a liability and unless I am in the business of raising chicks, which I'm not, I cannot come up with any good reasons to have one around and plenty of reasons not to have one.

Kudos to you for being able to find him a new home! That's not usually an easy thing to do because for the most part, most people can't have them, don't want them or already have them.

 

[lizziemt]

Hens are very flexible. One will fill the leadership void and assume the function of a rooster. No doubt more kindly. I wouldn't feel badly about doing what's best for your flock. Changing any animal's behavior can be a difficult process, and it's not always feasible to spend the time training as required. IF the animal's behavior can be changed.

I posted about discovering just today that we have a rooster (if not two), but one's being extremely aggressive toward one of the young hens. I'll give him a day or two, try to work with him, but I won't hesitate to re-home him to protect the others.

We've raised chickens for seven years, and I've seen their social structure re-align quickly after the loss of a bird, for whatever reason. Watch for the girl that develops the largest comb, she'll be the new dominant bird.

 

[centrarchid]

You did not give up too soon with first rooster. This should help you with later efforts. Getting a handle on rearing and keeping hens will present a good learning curve for next year or so. Then make another mistake and try again.

 

[Chickassan]

Uh oh, you're experiencing chicken guilt. I'm going to tell you the truth your rooster attacked you at a very young age that is the sort of thing that just can't be tolerated. Plus he went up your back, that's a particularly dirty trick. He had to go the right thing was done. Your hens will regroup and be perfectly fine! I know because I rehomed a rooster I had over a year just a few months ago, he was damaging the hens so he had to go. I also rehomed his son, a nice little cockrel but he was becoming an attention biter. I felt like you, missed the crows, watched the girls wander, just overall felt awful. .It will pass, I kept one little cockrel with absolutely no behavior issues. I assure you good roosters do exist you just have to find one or hatch one. They are like men though, sometimes you got to kiss alot of frogs. Just don't beat yourself up, it will definitely be fine.

 

[Mrs. K]

Try focusing on the flock, having the flock...solving problems for the flock, which you did. I have had a flock for years, but the birds in the flock have changed, sometimes often.

I personally think roosters take some experience, you will get that over the next year. Maybe try a rooster in a year or two. You have years to do this hobby, you can do it in stages...but always solve for the harmony of the flock. You had to have been startled or even scared that an animal that you had been nice to is attacking. Do not feel guilty about getting rid of that bird. He and roosters like him have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of people, especially kids.

 

[User395221]

I feel like I failed him....

Look at it from his perspective. He's gone to a harem. He'll be having a grand old time. You haven't failed him, you've sent him to a rooster nirvana.

As suburban/inexperienced livestock keepers, there are things we have to come to grips with that don't mesh with our experiences with domestic pets. I've had to send the boys away from the chicks I let my girls hatch. No option - no roosters in my area. I didn't fail them, it's just how it is. They had to go to the chook farm instead of my place. The chook farm is lovely. I'd like to live out there instead of my place.

Don't be hard on yourself. These decisions have to be made and good on you for making it.

 

[The Moonshiner]

Sometimes the right thing seems like the hardest thing to do. It sucks.
I've been reading a lot of posts about nasty roosters. One thing I can't wrap my head around is why so many wait so long to make the decision you did.
There are posts on here about multiple attacks, attacks on multiple people, attacks on children, parents and children carrying sticks and such for protection, children that can't go outside when chickens are free ranging, etc.
It is hard for me to imagine putting up with these situations just to keep a rooster that isn't worth keeping.
I applaud you for doing this sooner then later. If you hadn't you or someone else could receive serious injuries or be a prisoner on your own property.

 

[User395221]

It is hard for me to imagine putting up with these situations just to keep a rooster that isn't worth keeping.

I had a work colleague who adopted a cat from the "cat orphanage" and the cat was doing undesirable things (jumping up on kitchen counters, other stuff). She was saying she now she'd got him she coudn't send him back and what I told her was that while she was persisting with this cat who didn't fit her household and was making her life a misery with constant "drama", there was a nice moggy who would fit who was sitting at the orphanage on death row. She did swap him for a different cat (a really nice one). Same with roosters, if there's one who isn't fitting in, there are others who will fit in who might be on the list for sunday lunch. We can't save everybody. There are dogs at the kennels I'd like to take in, but I've got my quota and I can't. Putting up with potential injury from an aggressive rooster is something that you can't do. There is no failure whatsoever in realising that. In this case, the fellow wasn't even facing "the chop", he went to a good situation where he can have "rooster fun". (one of the chook farms I got my chooks from will take boys back, but they'll be for "the chop" - it's sheer numbers, not all boys can find homes EDIT: that's not the farm the boys from my hatch went to, they were lucky to go to the other place where they were going to be used for breeding)