I ran from my rooster

[aart]

it’s easier to train the chicken keeper and the rooster, and then you go from there.

I think you mistyped the above.
I think it should have been it's easier to train the rooster than it is the keeper.

Might not be easier, but certainly more appropriate.(but you know that)

 

[Shadrach]

The surest way to get my aggressive boy to go on the offensive is to stick a boot out at him. If say I forgot to grab the “ magic chicken stick of respectfulness” and am out there in yoga pants in a coffee deprived, crack of dawn stupor... which never happens! It’s just the perfect Target for him to work out his morning frustrations on.

Edit: I didn’t know about this until it happened, I tested it out again a few days later, and yep, presenting a boot in the wrong way can trigger an undesirable, but natural, attack response. Like I said... a learning curve, and experience is the best teacher if you adopt an attitude of learning from these events.

I mention this in my article; feet is fighting talk to a rooster.

 

[Kris5902]

My husband puts his boot out too and the rooster beats up his boot then walks away. They're sweet unless you trigger them.

There was a pet goat here once, it was an orphaned bottle baby from one of the feral herds. And he liked being kicked in the head by select individuals wearing heavy boots... it was a head butting game for him, but very dangerous for the other player. He was essentially “trained” to only “play” like that when my Husbands Grandfather was wearing a specific pair of boots. Again it’s about natural behaviors that aren’t really appropriate or desirable for humans.

 

[gtaus]

I don’t think this idea of “human aggression is always a genetic disposition” is necessarily valid.

I don't breed birds, so I cannot speak from personal experience. However, I know two guys who have been breeding birds for 20+ years. They both told me that if any of their birds show any signs of bad behavior, they are immediately culled because they don't want those genes passed on to the next generation. OK, neither guy is a scientist, but they seem to know what they find successful or not. Neither guy raises birds as pets, so they don't build up the emotional ties to their birds as maybe some other people do. They also cull any bird that does not meet the breed standards, again, feed the family situation.

As for myself, I ordered chicks from a hatchery and am just happy with what I got. I'm not showing my birds, just enjoying them. This year I have all hens, but would like to maybe get and keep a well behaved rooster next year.

 

[----------]

dont anyone ever give their roosters mealworm treats so hes happy to see you comung all the time ? they need love too

 

[Kris5902]

I mention this in my article; feet is fighting talk to a rooster.

“Coffee deprived, crack of dawn stupor”!!! And I’m still learning too

You should maybe link in a few of those articals for @Kchicken1988 to look into.

Very helpful in figuring out the more important things, which are 1: why did my rooster do this? 2: what can I do differently to prevent this from happening again? Then if all that fails... stewpot, or new Family for the boyo better equipped for his behaviors, and maybe they don’t really want/need a Rooster after all...

 

[Kris5902]

dont anyone ever give their roosters mealworm treats so hes happy to see you comung all the time ? they need love too

This is a tactic I employed when one of my boys was being a little overprotective and hormonal. I give him a single meal worm, he gives it to one of his girls, repeat x30-40 worms daily for a week. I’m not competition, I’m not vying for his girls affections, I give him tasties to give to them... did wonders for our relationship.

 

[Kris5902]

I don't breed birds, so I cannot speak from personal experience. However, I know two guys who have been breeding birds for 20+ years. They both told me that if any of their birds show any signs of bad behavior, they are immediately culled because they don't want those genes passed on to the next generation. OK, neither guy is a scientist, but they seem to know what they find successful or not. Neither guy raises birds as pets, so they don't build up the emotional ties to their birds as maybe some other people do. They also cull any bird that does not meet the breed standards, again, feed the family situation.

As for myself, I ordered chicks from a hatchery and am just happy with what I got. I'm not showing my birds, just enjoying them. This year I have all hens, but would like to maybe get and keep a well behaved rooster next year.

Research and maybe see if you can get a proven mature “good boy” or cockerel to start, would be my advice. Cockerels can be quite a handful, as evidenced by the many posts of this nature. Those breeders might be willing to part with a not up to breed SOP cull of a good nature, often birds are kept for quite a while before the final “decision” is made.

There can be a genetic proclivity towards certain (aggression, flightiness, docility) behaviors, I don’t dispute that, but I also think way too much store is put in the “bad aggressive rooster genetics” category. Culling is by far the easiest route to take when an animal demonstrates what we perceive as “bad” behaviors.

 

[FortCluck]

There was a pet goat here once, it was an orphaned bottle baby from one of the feral herds. And he liked being kicked in the head by select individuals wearing heavy boots... it was a head butting game for him, but very dangerous for the other player. He was essentially “trained” to only “play” like that when my Husbands Grandfather was wearing a specific pair of boots. Again it’s about natural behaviors that aren’t really appropriate or desirable for humans.

I think that humans tend to think livestock SHOUKD act a certain way when it's not natural or realistic for that animal.

I'd play the headbutt game. Sounds funny to me, but I'm sure I'd leave with bruises.

 

[gimmie birdies]

If I had 2 roosters I would chose a friendly one over a mean one, I would also chose a rooster that didn't crow as much or start crowing too soon. My last rooster crowed at 7 months.