Getting rid of my rooster! :(

[Mrs. K]

Even if he is doing his job, he cannot be trusted, and children should come way ahead of a roo, even if you did raise him.

There are many animals that can be very dangerous to people, and they should not be kept. They should be culled. It is not mean, or cruel, it is a responsible action.

Mrs K

 

[jab91864]

I see nothing wrong with culling him out of your flock. You have to look at the bigger picture and the needs of your family.

 

[EweSheep]

I can not tolerate an aggressive roo, nor do I want to pass it down to his offsprings..that is how we kept getting mean and meaner sons down the line.

Kids or no kids, no rooster should be above humans. Yeah he may be protecting his girls but there is a line. I would not want to be attacked by one or have to have a stick or broom on hand all the time. Not the kind of life I want to keep on guard all the time. I want to be able to walk in with the chickens without being attacked by roos whenever I turn my back on it. Its like getting eyeballed by a bull who wants nothing to do with you except to gore you.

The question, who would you like to see being hurt, your kids or yourself with $$ medical bills or soup that feeds everybody.

I've been attacked once and never again by a bantam, they pack a wallop. They hurt!

There are plenty of roos out there that are gentlemen and they are a dime a dozen!

 

[roostersandhens]

Even if he is doing his job, he cannot be trusted, and children should come way ahead of a roo, even if you did raise him.

There are many animals that can be very dangerous to people, and they should not be kept. They should be culled. It is not mean, or cruel, it is a responsible action.

Mrs K

I have been attacked. Roosters are not really dangerous. They can give you a scratch or peck you hard. But the rooster does not know any better. He is just trying to do his job. And as I said in my earlier post I know many of you diagree with me.

edited by staff

 

[roostersandhens]

Thank You for the advice. I think you are right, I am going to cull him. Either to another home who knows his behavior and is Ok with it, or put him in the pot. I would feel horrible if my kids were attacked. As it was this morning with his small tantrum, I have a bruise on my leg. I actually think the hens will be happier without the rooster.

The hens may be happier but they will be in WAY more danger. I had a chicken killed by a hawk, so I got another rooster, I have not had a chicken killed by anything since then. Having a free-range flock you will begin to notice how much you need a rooster for your hens safety. If he has only attacked you once he may not do it again. Your hens might get killed more often with out him.
Good Luck! I hope you find a way to keep your rooster!

 

[PandoraChick]

We were in the same situation as you lats year. He was an "oopsy pullet", as we never intended on having a roo. When we found out he was a roo, we tried our best to keep him, but his breed was a very mean type. The last straw was when he ran out of the coop/run past me as I was walking in and charged my 6 yr old daughter..he chased her across an entire acre before I could catch up, thank God she is a fast runner. He was puffed out & 3 feet tall. I felt awful. about it..I banned my daughter from the area for a few weeks until I could come to terms with what we had to do. I am also of the belief that it was more humane to cull him to the freezer, as it is not fair to give a problem bird to someone else or even if they knew he was a problem and took him I would have to worry if they took as good of care of him as we did. I could not watch when it came time...but I did research the most humane way to do it and spoiled him with treats beforehand. My husband took care of this for us, and then we fed the meat to my dane who eats raw so he was not "wasted".

Also, for what its worth we thought we could save him and tried very hard to, but he just got worse...and with a small child who loves the hens very much and brings them treats everyday it just wasn't possible. If it was just me and my hubby we would have kept him no problem, mean or not. I guess what I am trying to tell you is, it will most likely only get worse and if he goes after you already a child will be even worse.

ETA: Roosters can do very serious damage..My Moms friend was attacked so severely by hers before her dog came and saved her by killing it, that she had to be hospitalized. She was knocked over and he clawed her face and she now has permanent scars, She is very lucky the dog came, because he could have pecked her eyes out.

 

[gg706]

I agree they can be very dangerous. I will have to be the one to kill him as my husband will not he could never kill anything, not even a mercy kill as I have done. He was my favorite before all of this happened so it will be very difficult for me. I wish I could just hand out the order to kill him...that would be easy for me, but I will have to be the hand fed him and slices his throat. It is going to be awful! My 12 year old son is very much involved with the chickens so especially for him I need to do the deed sooner than later.

 

[Huntress78]

I let the chickens out this morning, I had my back turned and he flogged me. He is normally very well behaved, but this is the second time.

My roo has always had a good healthy respect for me and never attacked....until last week. I walked into the coop and he came at me. I gave him a 'toe nudge' and he came at me again. I thought 'OK this is it, first chance I get, in the pot with you'. When I left the coop he came at me again! Walking back to the house I was thinking about why his behavior changed when I realized I was wearing different clothes than I normally do...I usually wear jeans in the coop but that morning I pulled on a pair of camouflage coveralls. Later that morning I went back to the coop in jeans...no attack! So I realized it wasn't his fault...he didn't recognize me!

If this is only the second time your roo has flogged you maybe it has something to do with what you are wearing.

 

[gg706]

I was wearing my husbands big, heavy,steel toed boots and they make a lug, lug, sound when I walk. I have worn them before but not everyday. He has not done anything since and has not stared me down or confronted me in any way. He has been avoiding me, as I quite literally "booted" him when he flogged me. I was with the chickens alot today and it was like it never happened. If it was just me and my husband I would definetly keep him but I have kids so I worry about them. They are older almost 10 and 13, so I feel like they could handle him....but I always think would if...and they got scratched or pecked in the face.

 

[Huntress78]

I have no problem with culling the bird especially if you feel your kids are in danger. I posted my 'attack' story because it was similar to yours in that my roo wasn't normally mean either...it was like a light bulb went on that the goofy bird didn't recognize me. But I suppose their brains are what...the size of a pea?