I don't want to cull my cockrel, but...

[monaname]

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That may be the route I take as well. I want to give him some time to figure himself out....but the clock is ticking. I've never culled before, so I'm not looking forward to it.

 

[Evelle]

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x2
i dont deal with aggressiveness
i had to cull my roo that i loved so so much because the kept attacking me i tryed everything that i could to keep him around but when he kicked my daughter in the face when she was sitting on the deck eatting a popcicial that when i decided not to ever keep a nasty roo around.

 

[Pele]

I'm sorry that you're having trouble with your roo

. If you can't catch him to hold him down, you can 'walk' him around the yard to show your dominance.

Spread your arms, and slowly walk towards him. Don't offer violence, don't yell or scare him (that'll trigger a defense response in his chicken brain to save his flock).

He should realize you are bigger and back up, then back up again, then back up more. Walk him around your yard like that until he stops challenging you and runs away. You can teach your kids and husband to do this too. Unless he's completely beyond help, this will make him realize that he shouldn't pick fights with humans.

I like to end walking with catching the roo and forcing him to endure several minutes of being held and cuddled while I go about my chores. It seems to humiliate the heck outta them

 

[tinychicky]

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Howdy neighbor! I'm in Ashby, MA. Thanks for the tip, but how should I go about getting a hand on him if he's trying to take me out? When it happened, I turned around and yelled at him. He stepped back a little and then prepared for another go. Since I grew up with horses, I know that you can't fix a problem with animals by being aggressive back, so I just eyed him close and we danced a little. Then he finally calmed down and I was able to continue about my business. I'm confident I can handle him, it's really my husband and 2 year old daughter that worries me. My husband has zero farm experience and a 2 year old just doesn't know better. Today the gang is in their run. I'd like to let them out, but I need a break from being harassed.

hello! i'm in hollis! with the inexperienced members of your family around, maybe culling is the best option. he can tell if your afriad of being attacked by him and that means he'll only attack you more. you have three options: let him know people are big and scary and mean and attacking them does nothing but get them angry (not the best option; the rooster will be scared of you and even meaner to other people), you can cull him (sure kill him or shove him off to some one else, but what does that do, really?) or, you can make friends with your rooster (i like this option. it's best for you and best for the rooster). if you can convince him that people are like his hens, he'll treat you as such... in every way. i have a rooster who grabs my bracelet in his beak and tries to mate with my hand. it gets a little annoying but then, he also follows me around the yard and sometimes into the house (!) and jumps onto my lap and lies down next to me to dust and sun bathe and just today i was out in the yard with the chickens and an enormous hawk flew into the yard, below the tree tops and the rooster stood firmly next to me, making warning noises and trying to shoo me into the barn. he's very sweet. i achieved this by spending lots of time with him and acting like a hen around him (yes that means making chicken noises and scratching in the dust, i got a lot of strange looks lol!). anyway if you want to convince a mean roo you aren't another rooster or a predator, react to an attack like a hen would. act calmly and normally around him, not warily, and if he attacks you, make some kind of loud noise and jump away a few paces then shake yourself and go about your business like nothing happend. that's what a hen would do. soon he should learn that people are things to protect, not attack. if it doesn't work, cull him. with a lot of work he could get nicer, but it may be more effort on your part than it's worth. let me know how it goes! i hope he gets nicer. if not and you cull him, try again with another rooster of a more docile breed like an ameraucana i believe the women i got my sweet rooster from till has a few of his brothers. she's tellynpeep on here.

 

[monaname]

Update in the rooster....He has been re-homed. The final straw was a recent fox attack in which the rooster was the fist chicken to run to the coop, hens be ******. Now, the only reason I wanted a rooster was to have a bird willing to put himself in harms way so that the other girls could get away to safety. With his aggressive antics and his recent cowardice, I gave him away. Problem solved.