Food Scraps?

[DEBUS CHICKS]

Some folks say DON'T treat roosters like pets as they will lose all fear/respect of humans and become mean.

Others say DO handle them a lot etc...

Does handling help? Or is it the luck of the draw? Why do some folks say don't be too friendly with your roosters when it is obvious that many people are?

I may have a roo and not yet know it, bought 3 chicks that are supposedly all hens but the seller isn't great at sexing them.

We have a Jersey Giant, Americana mix, Polish Crested, and a Wyandotte Roosters. They are all a year old, the other day a Hawk crashed through the Avery netting, the roosters got all the hens inside the coop, the smallest rooster the Polish Crested chased and attacked the hawk and was the only one with large amount of feathers missing. Didn't loose a single one. We were able to pick up the roosters and check for injuries shortly after it happened. We never wanted roosters, they were all accidents, glad we have them, glad we handled them thinking they were hens. The Americana mix did start crowing at 2 weeks of age, but we still handled him. I don't know why the Polish Crested is the leader of the pack, it's really funny, we thought he was a hen and named him Lady Gaga, had to change it to Mr. Gaga....

 

[ChickenPresence]

It makes sense to handle roosters a lot to let them know who the Real head Roo is!

 

[chicknmania]

Yes, handle your roos a lot if you don't want them to be aggressive towards you or your family. It establishes a "pecking order" and puts you at the top. I've tried it, it works. Although, when I was little we had two roos I handled all the time. They still chased people, especially strangers. So it's a tossup, a lot depends on the individual, but I think the more you handle them, the better off everyone is.

 

[MaPa26]

Quote:
My brother had a rooster that always hung out with him. Unfortunately, a predator got to it.

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Some roos preferred to be handled. Some dont. I've kept the one that prefers to be handled--it just so happened he was nicer to my hens too. I have one that doesn't mind "ME" holding him or my daughter.

But he doesn't care for my son or my husband. I think in general it is okay to handle them as much as you want if you are the primary caretaker. Understand that they have bird brains and the first trip you take and have somebody do the chores for you a few days....you'll probably have to re-establish yourself. I also let my Roo have some space if he's requesting it. It is after all his job to protect the ladies...Important for me as I want him to have the self confidence to protect while free ranging.

Yah...strangers in our yard don't fair as well as our family with the Roo..

 

[MaPa26]

Some roos preferred to be handled. Some dont. I've kept the one that prefers to be handled--it just so happened he was nicer to my hens too. I have one that doesn't mind "ME" holding him or my daughter.

But he doesn't care for my son or my husband. I think in general it is okay to handle them as much as you want if you are the primary caretaker. Understand that they have bird brains and the first trip you take and have somebody do the chores for you a few days....you'll probably have to re-establish yourself. I also let my Roo have some space if he's requesting it. It is after all his job to protect the ladies...Important for me as I want him to have the self confidence to protect while free ranging.

Yah...strangers in our yard don't fair as well as our family with the Roo..

I think of all the predators that eventually took all my brother's chickens that free ranged. Probably because that silly Roo was sitting on the front porch with him, drinking beer!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

So funny. Yeah. I could bring my Roger up to the deck and he'd sit at the table and we'd have lunch together. LOL. If I had a beer to drink...He'd probably drink out of that glass too! LOL... They get to be your buddy sometimes. Haha. The deck is my territory so he's a little more respectful when he's up to the house vs. when I'm down at the coop. That's the 'Big Tootsie's' territory. LOL

My parents raised geese one summer and those birds would drink out of my Mom's glass --bloody beers. They'd shake the tomato pulp off their bills and drink some more. Waddle and weave back on down to the lake. LOL.

 

[MaPa26]

LOL! Yep. We should be careful of what we share with them. They get spoiled so easy! WHen I was a kid, my stepmom brought home a calf for us to raise. She gave it a sip of her coffee one day and from then on, she and my Dad couldn't step foot outside with a coffee cup without that calf beggin for a drink! I know for a fact my brother was giving his Roo beer! They just mellowed out on the deck. He's planning on building a safe coop so he can get chickens, again (he lives in south Louisiana and they have all kinds of swamp critters, including alligator and black bear). I think I will remind him not to turn his next Roo into a lush. We don't keep a Roo, although I wish we could let a hen go broody and have chicks. But the crowing is something my hubby doesn't want at this point. He works second shift and sleeps late. He complains about the rooster up the road that we can hear, all day long, and it is half a mile away!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

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Oh my gosh...I haven't laughed out loud at BYC in a long time...That's TOOOO funny. I can picture it all...

Your calf with one big lick cleaning out a coffee cup...and especially your brother knocking back some long necks with a complacent Roo watchin' his every move waiting for his sip of brew. LOL...Oh too too funny!

Ya the roo does crow. When he hears me pull in for lunch. (He knows I come down with something for him) when he was competing with another roo--but we've eliminated them now...so it's just him...and he quieted WAY down. They are so much fun to have in the flock...but sleep is precious and with the neighbor's roo easily heard...no doubt any Roo you took on would start a crowing contest for sure.

I love chicken stories....

 

[Bert2368]

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