Help---My Banty roo is a devil in disguise!

[Emptywagon2]

That spray bottle tip is interesting. Couldn't ammonia hurt them, though, if it accidentally got in their eyes?

I was wondering the same thing... I think just water would work. What does the ammonia do?

 

[AHDCST]

Okay, so the new rooster got here just before dark and roost time. He sat in the spot my husband set him down in for a good 10 minutes.He was shaking and looking around. He finally started over to the hens and clucking as if to say "is it okay, am I safe?". I am hoping that means we are off to a much better start!

 

[Emptywagon2]

Okay, so the new rooster got here just before dark and roost time. He sat in the spot my husband set him down in for a good 10 minutes.He was shaking and looking around. He finally started over to the hens and clucking as if to say "is it okay, am I safe?". I am hoping that means we are off to a much better start!

Hope all went well for you and him! Hoping For a gentle roo too!

 

[Kiki A]

One of my calmest hens went wild [almost exactly what he was doing] after a raccoon killed my top chicken. I worked really hard with her for a couple weeks and shes almost good as new. He hopefully will get used to you soon. Try giving him lots of treats and he'll soon warm up to you. If you can try to give him some grapes, mine love them. Hope he warms up soon.

 

[jrgfallbrook]

It did get in his eyes and I am sure that it stung. I felt bad doing it but nothing else seemed to work. He is now the best behaved rooster I have ever had. When I appear, he yields. I have no more bloody legs and he has not become dinner. We are both winners.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Please do NOT mix ammonia in the water for the squirt bottle!! If it gets in the eyes it can cause chemical burns and possibly blind your chicken. Please, do NOT use ammonia!! Plain water will work just as well and if not then you need to move on to another option.

 

[AHDCST]

Thanks again for the advice. The new little guy got on the roost bar just before dark and he stayed there all night. Well almost, he announced he is here to us and our neighbors(too bad) at 4 a.m.(yes 4 a.m.!)! He let my husband clip his nails and he never even squirmed. He and the hens came from a place that wasn't all that nice. They were kept in an old delapidated house. They were in 2 rooms of the house. Over 250 banty chickens, roos, hens, old, new all in together. They have never had fresh air, sunshine, dirt to scratch and play in and NO affection or even attention. I am so glad they are with me and they will stay no matter what I have to do to make it work! Thanks BYC and flock members for all your great advice and encouragement as I have learned the ropes of owning these beautiful and amazing creatures.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

Chasing roosters is one of the worst things you can do when trying to reform a mean rooster.  Even if he is running away from you, your chasing him is a challenge AND it doesn't follow the Rooster Rule of Combat:  stop when the loser gives up.  The Head Boss, dominant rooster, does not chase underlings away, he simply IS the better roo.  If the upstart jumps at him or flares his crest feathers, then the Show Down starts.  When the loser gives up, turning away from the winner, the winner stops caring about the battle.  He's won. 

I walk "through" my flock; the hens naturally move aside for me to pass.  If a rooster is in my path, I don't veer.  HE will have to step aside for me.  Mine always do so.

Sorry but a roo seeking dominance does chase down the others, then mounts them, sits on their back and pecks them in the head some times over and over. Even after dominance is established, they will chase other roos from hens. I see it every day.

 

[Darin115]

The first chickens I ever had was bought from Southern States. I think they were mixed bantams. One out of 5 one was a roo. He was a great roo and protected his hens well. He hated my kids and wife. Well he hated everyone but me. I thought it was funny because he just chased them and never really flogged anyone. One evening I was taking them water and I sat the bucket down and unhooked the waterer from the wire and was getting ready to fill it up. Out of the corner of my eye I see a gray streak coming at my head. It was him. Just in the nick of time I grabbed him in mid air by his feet. I dunked him down in the bucket of water head first. I held him there for a second or five. I pulled him up long enough for him to catch his breath and back down in the water again.
I did that until he thought he was gonna die. I then held him up and looked at him and turned him loose. He only tried to flog me one time again and one of the hens was sitting he was just protecting her so I let that one slide.

Those bantams lived for years. They died one at a time and the gray rooster was the last to go. When the bantam hens died I turned him in with my big girls. He thought he was the man!!!!
He ruled those big girls like he was the biggest roo ever. The big roos would jump over him when they fought and he would tear them up. I had to take the big one out and leave him in with the girls. I almost cried when he died.

Darin

 

[gryeyes]

Sorry but a roo seeking dominance does chase down the others, then mounts them, sits on their back and pecks them in the head some times over and over. Even after dominance is established, they will chase other roos from hens. I see it every day.

Huh. Okay. I guess I just have mellow, laid back roosters in my flock! I did cull the one cockerel which exhibited the behavior you describe. The rest of my roosters don't follow and beat up on the roos who have "given up" the challenges.