Help! My Rooster tried to attack me!

[Kathryn173]

2 speckled Sussex hens and a pair of RIR

 

[webbysmeme]

Ok ,Ms. Meme, you have read enough, experienced enough and what are you going to do? ? ? Yes, I think you made a bit of a mistake to buy three full grown chickens that you had no idea of temperament. So, get rid of Mr. Red, get some chicks (it's the perfect time of year for that!) and move on to normal chicken raising! You are so nice and deserve a flock that loves you! Buy a few chicks and raise them to appreciate you, the one who brings the food and treats! You are worthy of happy hens and even a nice rooster! I wish I were near you to be your personal friend, you are amazing!

I ordered chicks! 10 of them! I'm keeping Mr. Red and the old girls. They just won't get to free range. My chicks will, I'll teach them everything I learn here on BYC! Thanks again for your advice. I may have to do something with the older ones eventually. I'm not planning to, but, they all have to get along. I posted pictures of them on page 12!

 

[webbysmeme]

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Yes, having lots of property can be physically daunting to care for. Be patient, you will get your place the way you want it to be! I live in northern California in the foothills above Lake Oroville. I don't know if you heard about the Oroville Dam in the news last year? Anyway we have 20 acres and use only about 2 acres of it right now. I want to get goats, but my husband has put so much time, effort and money into the chickens he says "NO" to goats. He says he won't do any more fences, or buildings or nuthin! Don't worry, I can get him to change his mind eventually. I've lived here for years but husband just moved up from the Bay Area a year ago, he is younger and retired later than I did. We have been working on our yard as well. We got the backyard fenced in area for the dogs squared away. We got a safer, stronger chicken coop built, and a free range area fenced too. We had a garage built and have plans and bought some of the supplies for an additional small carport. Now we are working on adding two more garden boxes with built in irrigation. The irrigation is husbands deal, I just as soon go out with a hose and water them!! We have plans for the front yard transformation and I recently found a beautiful 6 foot dogwood for the front yard at a really good price! I found a pot at Grocery Outlet cheap! and had to make it into a fountain for the front yard and that was a small one day job. I love it! I'm rattling on, sorry. If you want to find a plant exchange (it's heirloom, by the way ) use the "search" button at the top of the screen! Good luck! Where are you living? Talk to me more!


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Oh Peppercorn, I just love you to pieces! You sound like my kind of folks! I haven't been on here for a few days. I'm sorry, I just now read your post. I've been so busy! Hubby doesn't do anything around the house or yard! He works so much. He leaves at 3:00am and gets off 4-5 pm. So he's always tired and grouchy. I want to show you what I've been doing. I'm not sure how to post pics I take now? I gonna try it. I'll get back with you tonight, I have to get the tractor put away and water everything in that I planted today. Well, you can't take pics right now?

 

[Peppercorngal]

I ordered chicks! 10 of them! I'm keeping Mr. Red and the old girls. They just won't get to free range. My chicks will, I'll teach them everything I learn here on BYC! Thanks again for your advice. I may have to do something with the older ones eventually. I'm not planning to, but, they all have to get along. I posted pictures of them on page 12!

Congratulations! Your chickens are lovely. You have two speckled Sussex hens, one rhode island hen (the red ones) and mr. red is a rhode island red rooster. People don't want to type it all out and just put RIR meaning Rhode Island Red! I suggest that you let your chicks free range at a different time or day from the old flock. That's what I'm doing for now. When the chicks get bigger I'll free range them at the same time so they can get to know each other. You must be excited!

 

[Sparrowsong98]

I have found that the best way to react is if you see him charging at you, charge at him screaming with your head as high up as you can get it. In my experience, roosters do a lot of bluff-charges at first to see if you will tolerate it before actually considering attacking. If you charge back, they most likely will stop. It could take a few times to actually get them to stop, but the sooner you start this behavior, the less time it will take. NEVER use physical punishment! Chickens have delicate bones and a kick or whack with a stick can hurt them, as well as fueling the fire by giving mr. Roo a real reason to attack besides just keeping you in line. Usually, every spring he will become a hormone filled brat with a desire to murder the human in charge and will need put back in his place in my experience.

 

[Peppercorngal]

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Oh Peppercorn, I just love you to pieces! You sound like my kind of folks! I haven't been on here for a few days. I'm sorry, I just now read your post. I've been so busy! Hubby doesn't do anything around the house or yard! He works so much. He leaves at 3:00am and gets off 4-5 pm. So he's always tired and grouchy. I want to show you what I've been doing. I'm not sure how to post pics I take now? I gonna try it. I'll get back with you tonight, I have to get the tractor put away and water everything in that I planted today. Well, you can't take pics right now?

Wow! Your work around that beautiful deck is amazing. I love the planters you put in and when they are all planted it will be perfect! You seem to be a very hard worker. It's too bad that your husband is working so much and not able to work with you. I love to work on projects with my hubby! What breed of chicks did you order? And why a rooster??? After all you have been through! Raising a rooster from a chick does not mean he won't turn out to be a bad rooster! You can tame him if anyone can, I see that after what you have done with Mr. Red! I have two coops and runs and put my two old hens in the small coop and the new flock of 26 chicks in the bigger coop. They are 3 months old yesterday and now I am free ranging the old girls at the same time as the new chicks. Myrtle Mae is mean to the new chicks, she likes to chase them away and eat their food. She does eventually move off into the verge to eat bugs and leaves them alone! I got 3 Silver Laced Wyandotte, 3 Ameraucanas, 3 Black Giants, 1 White Giant, 4 Buff Orpingtons, 7 red sexlinks, one speckled Sussex and one free dark brahma. I ended up getting 3 roosters when I ordered all pullets. One black giant is a rooster (black bart) and he is crowing now. I love the sound of his crow, it's deep and soft and comforting. The free dark brahma is a rooster and his name is Elmer. Also it seems that the white giant is a boy. We will name him Harvey (the white invisible rabbit from the movie) or Hector Heathcote. So far they all get along and are friendly to me as well. Don't work too hard, it's very hot here. Today it's 88 degrees. I hope you are cooler.

These are my roosters, Harvey, Black Bark and Elmer.
I also have 4 dogs and wonder why at times!

 

[bruceha2000]

I'm glad @bobbi-j posted the link to @Beekissed's information on handling roos, it is what I would have suggested. As I think you have figured out, you don't want to go in on defense but on offense. You shouldn't even want him to be your BFF but a member of YOUR flock that thinks of you as a superior always. When you try to make him a buddy, he thinks of you, AT BEST, as an equal if not an underling.

Do you have your brooding area set up and ready to go? You'll need to read up on integration as well. Younger birds are less likely to be seen as competition but they need to be kept with the older birds, though separated by a barrier they can see through, for a period of time. Actually better is to raise the chicks in that environment so the older chickens are well used to seeing them as they grow. Then let them out together, supervised, in a non feed situation as that is often a big source of competition aggression. Bring them back into their own spaces and do it again the next day, etc. It will take time and there WILL be a pecking order set up. You can not avoid that.

Not sure why you ordered a cockerel unless you plan to get rid of Mr. Red. The boys will likely get into battles when the cockerel gets bigger.

 

[Crow-ded house]

Did you see the pics I posted of them? I want to know what kind they are?!

Do not know what kind but he is a nice looking fellow.

 

[webbysmeme]

I've had many roosters during my lifetime. Some very docile, others terribly aggressive. From my experience I have learned they do not like water sprayed on them. I have a spray bottle filled with water that I carry and have handy near the chicken house for such occasions. My chickens free range inside the fenced in area of about 5 acres, but they are closed up in the chicken houses with a run during the night and at times when we can't be home to care for them. My little black cochin bantam rooster, named Rooster Pooster, sometimes wants to kick someone. He is my pet, but he does not like all humans. I keep the spray bottle handy when he is loose. You may try the spray bottle with plain water or you may want to add a bit of apple cider vinegar mixed in with it. For larger roosters I have sprayed them with the water hose in past times. It changes their attitude quickly.
And yes roosters can hurt you! Their spurs grow long if left untrimmed and rounded on the point. They can hit you hard enough for those spurs to stick into your body. Doctors will require a tetanus shot. They can be dangerous to children, and you as well, as they can fly up high enough to damage their face/eyes, etc. You need to keep up on the trimming of the spurs and the toe nails if they don't free range.

Ok, so, I'm supposed to cut his toenails? Never heard anything about that! How in the world do you cut a chickens toenails? Are there special clippers for this? Can you hire someone that does that sort of thing for a living? I just don't see me doing that with Mr. Red. Oh Lord, what to do now?

 

[webbysmeme]

Do not know what kind but he is a nice looking fellow.

Thank you. I think he is beautiful! And he has the strongest crow I've ever heard. I just love him.