Give me your best advice on roos please

[AinaWGSD]

So, at the Crossroads show while trying to find just two pullets to add to our flock my husband talked me into a rooster. We don't know how long this will last as the neighbors are pretty close, but we figured we'd give it a try and see how it goes. He crowed for the first time since we brought him home this morning, and if it doesn't get much louder than that I think we'll be ok. He thinks a rooster will help protect our girls from the neighborhood hawk (who the new chickens pointed out to me the other day after not havins seen him all summer) and he is interested in hatching chicks next year. My two biggest concerns are the noise, and aggression towards our two year old son. I already know there's not much I can do about noise except hope that he's a quiet roo (and build a rooster box in the garage and hope he doesn't crow before we let him out in the mornings). But any tips on heading off aggression, or what to expect in that department, would be much appreciated. I would worry about it less except our son loves to pick up the chickens and carry them around...the girls are not so fond of this, although they are all really good sports once he finally does manage to catch them.

Edited to add a pic. of Basil, our Ameraucana cockerel:

 

[foxypoproxy]

Quote:
What a pretty rooster you have there !
Not all roosters will be aggressive, it normally has to do with breed, quality, and the individual personality of the chicken.
I have two roosters, a silkie and a polish bantam.
They are wonderful! Best roosters i have ever had! They even get along nicely together and don't fight (they weren't even raised together).
My polish roo is actually one of are favorites out of all are chickens. He sits in are lap and cuddles.

How old is your rooster?
When they are still young they are sometimes difficult to determine aggression wise.
When they hit maturity (approximately 1-2 years old) you will pretty much know what kind of rooster you have.
Some will only go through a week of showing alittle dominance or aggression due to hormones, in my situation if you put them in their place, it was corrected and never happened again.
And some other times it just won't work and they may stay aggressive.

There are some things you can do if a rooster shows aggression to you.
For one, don't let them mate in front of you, this is them showing dis-respect to you.
Alpha roo's will not let beta's mate in front of them, you want to be looked upon as the Alpha.
Also don't let them side step you. Any type of dominant behavior toward a human should not be tolerated, only submissive behavior.

If he trys to go after you, hold him down to the ground till he stops.
Or pick him up and walk around with him in front of the hen (this emasculates them)
You can also peck them on the head, with your finger, if you don't like something they are doing.
If he ever does go after you, never back down because that shows weakness and he will think he won and keep going after you in the future.
My mother use to have to pretty much punt are old rooster to keep him away. Not that i am saying you should punt him, but protect yourself if necessary.

But if it really comes down to it and he becomes dangerous to you or your children.
Do not keep him, some roo's just don't change.
I had a mean Old English game roo that use to attack everyone no matter what.
He was horrible and could and did do alot of damage.
We tried everything and he just never got nicer.

Good luck with your rooster!
They are not all bad, only some.
All chickens have their own personality's so try and get to know yours.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
What a pretty rooster you have there !
Not all roosters will be aggressive, it normally has to do with breed, quality, and the individual personality of the chicken.
I have two roosters, a silkie and a polish bantam.
They are wonderful! Best roosters i have ever had! They even get along nicely together and don't fight (they weren't even raised together).
My polish roo is actually one of are favorites out of all are chickens. He sits in are lap and cuddles.

How old is your rooster?
When they are still young they are sometimes difficult to determine aggression wise.
When they hit maturity (approximately 1-2 years old) you will pretty much know what kind of rooster you have.
Some will only go through a week of showing alittle dominance or aggression due to hormones, in my situation if you put them in their place, it was corrected and never happened again.
And some other times it just won't work and they may stay aggressive.

There are some things you can do if a rooster shows aggression to you.
For one, don't let them mate in front of you, this is them showing dis-respect to you.
Alpha roo's will not let beta's mate in front of them, you want to be looked upon as the Alpha.
Also don't let them side step you. Any type of dominant behavior toward a human should not be tolerated, only submissive behavior.

If he trys to go after you, hold him down to the ground till he stops.
Or pick him up and walk around with him in front of the hen (this emasculates them)
You can also peck them on the head, with your finger, if you don't like something they are doing.
If he ever does go after you, never back down because that shows weakness and he will think he won and keep going after you in the future.
My mother use to have to pretty much punt are old rooster to keep him away. Not that i am saying you should punt him, but protect yourself if necessary.

But if it really comes down to it and he becomes dangerous to you or your children.
Do not keep him, some roo's just don't change.
I had a mean Old English game roo that use to attack everyone no matter what.
He was horrible and could and did do alot of damage.
We tried everything and he just never got nicer.

Good luck with your rooster!
They are not all bad, only some.
All chickens have their own personality's so try and get to know yours.

She beat me to it! Exactly what I was going to say! My roos respect me. They don't normally try to mate with me around, but if they do, they get a chasing.

I also don't tolerate any aggression towards the hens or one another. Steve (my silkie roo) tried to peck a girl that jumped up on the roosting poll beside him, and I swiftly pushed him off. He has never tried anything at me, and he is 1+ years old. My BR is still young. No aggression or mating attempts yet. He also gets pushed off the roost if he tries to bully. This seems to be the only time I see bullying.. at night on the roosts. I have 4 - 4' roosts and 13 chickens. They normally all pile on the same roosts (silly chickens!), and my dominant hen won't let any other chicken sleep on the same roost as her, so really, it's 3 4' roosting poles between 13 chickens

 

[CMV]

Although I agree with what the first 2 posters said in general, I must point out the folly of having a roo around a 2 y.o. child unless that roo is constantly penned. You will never be able to let your child roam around the yard with the birds unless you are standing over them at all times, and not even then if your roo is aggressive. I hate to be a spoil sport, but I also have had experience with a roo attacking my child. Fortunately, my child was 5 at the time and a martial artist who is used to defending herself from attack. A 2 y.o. would not stand a chance against a roo.

Please consider that. Good luck.

 

[AinaWGSD]

Thank you for being a "spoil sport" (and I really do mean that in a totally non-sarcastic way!). I did bring that up when we were talking about the idea of getting a pair instead of just two pullets, but you know how some people are when they get an idea in their head...my husband is one of those people. I will be keeping an especially close eye out for my toddler. He's not generally allowed in the yard unsupervised anyway (I do remember my wanderlust as a small child, and he is very much my son, so with two gates that are not particularly secure it wouldn't be safe for him to be in the yard unsupervised rooster or no), but we may have to consider having chicken time and then toddler time in the yard until my son is a little older. I will not tolerate any aggression towards my child whatsoever, Basil gets one strike and then he's soup.

And thank you to the other two posters with the tips on how to get a rooster to be respectful. He is young, not more than 6 months, so I do anticipate him challenging us a little and knowing how to handle a potential challenge from a rooster ahead of time is important to me.

 

[dragonlair]

I have had several roos who were great with my young sons, I've actually only ever had 1 Sex Link roo that was nasty. I wouldn't hesitate to have a roo around small kids, but i would also make sure I was in the area when they were together.

 

[M.sue]

Mating in front of the Boss... A sign of disrespect & aggression. I never knew that. I'm still new to chickens but have been raised around them. Mine is 7 months old and has showed little signs of aggressions. He did try to mate in front of me a couple times when I was in the pen handing out treats. He got a very slight boot and quit it. Now.... what if he's out and about free ranging and I'm in the yard? I have seen him do this when they are free ranging but he's never been in close proximity of me when doing so. Should I go over there and break his fun up?

 

[JodyJo]

M.sue :

Mating in front of the Boss... A sign of disrespect & aggression. I never knew that. I'm still new to chickens but have been raised around them. Mine is 7 months old and has showed little signs of aggressions. He did try to mate in front of me a couple times when I was in the pen handing out treats. He got a very slight boot and quit it. Now.... what if he's out and about free ranging and I'm in the yard? I have seen him do this when they are free ranging but he's never been in close proximity of me when doing so. Should I go over there and break his fun up?

I didn't know this either...in my opinion, I would say if he is free ranging, and you just happen to be in the yard...its ok...I believe it is meant if he is front of you, or you have approached the flock and he is telling you what is what....

Am I right?​

 

[foxypoproxy]

Quote:
I didn't know this either...in my opinion, I would say if he is free ranging, and you just happen to be in the yard...its ok...I believe it is meant if he is front of you, or you have approached the flock and he is telling you what is what....

Am I right?

Ya, i'm pretty sure its only if your in the area, like close by.
Think of it as if you were a rooster.
If the Alpha rooster was standing as far away as you are from them when its happening, do you think he would notice and try to break it up?

 

[M.sue]

OK got it....sorta like this is my turf, my chicks, I'm the guy. Most generally I'm out in the yard when they are free ranging. They roam around, go about their business and periodically come running if they see me...thinking/knowing I've got treats. If I'm by the house and their by the shed, everyone going about as normal it's fine, just not the "Look, I'm in control" right in front of you.