I think I made a mistake

[tabilheu]

My husband and I went to our local feed bin the other day looking for a rooster to add to our bunch. I've been reading about which breeds are more docile than others and thought I had my facts straight when I ordered 3 roosters. I ordered 3 RIR's thinking I read they were not very aggressive. When we got home I started reading more about them and found out I was totally off and they tend to be aggressive.

I know every rooster has the ability to be a "menace", is there anything I can do to combat aggressive behavior? I wouldn't be so worried if it were just my husband and I but, we have a 9 year old daughter, a Chihuahua who thinks he is a bad @ss, and a lab who thinks everyone and everything is his friend. I also have nieces and nephews who like to come visit from MO for the summer. I do not want anyone to get hurt and I don't think I would have the heart to ?cull? them.

 

[bobbi-j]

How many hens do you have? Do you even need 3 roosters? In my opinion, the only way to manage aggressive rooster behavior when you have kids that will be in contact with your chickens is to get rid of the rooster. Period. You can keep him locked up when your daughter is outside, of course, or others are visiting, but to me it's just not worth the risk. Believe me, you will have the heart to " cull" if one injures a child on your place. Now let's talk about the word " cull". Often, people use it in place of of the word " kill" . They are not the same. You can also " cull" bird by selling or giving it away. Personally, I'll kill a mean rooster instead of dumping my problem bird off on someone else...

 

[tabilheu]

How many hens do you have? Do you even need 3 roosters? In my opinion, the only way to manage aggressive rooster behavior when you have kids that will be in contact with your chickens is to get rid of the rooster. Period. You can keep him locked up when your daughter is outside, of course, or others are visiting, but to me it's just not worth the risk. Believe me, you will have the heart to " cull" if one injures a child on your place. Now let's talk about the word " cull". Often, people use it in place of of the word " kill" . They are not the same. You can also " cull" bird by selling or giving it away. Personally, I'll kill a mean rooster instead of dumping my problem bird off on someone else...

I have 12 pullets. 8 RSL and 4 NH. I ordered 3 roosters just in case anything happened to one of them. When they are old enough to go outside we plan on keeping them in a 1 acre fenced in area. With all the predators we have in our area I do not feel comfortable free ranging them. We live in Northern WI about 12 miles from Lake Superior and our property has a river running through it. For this reason I felt like I needed a rooster to protect my girls.

 

[bobbi-j]

That many roosters could be hard on your hens. Hopefully it will all work out for you and you luck out with a nice one out of the bunch.

 

[satay]

I have an rir rooster and he is the sweetest thing. My 2 year old nephew can pick him up. I think 3 would be far to many for that amount of hens. I would suggest just one but I guess you can try the 3 and see how you go.

 

[sbucciarel]

That's too many roosters for that amount of hens. I have one over 11 hens and it keeps him busy and happy. I had two, but one was aggressive and wanted all the hens for himself, so I took him to the chicken swap so he could get his own flock of hens. I think that a rooster having too much rooster competition can also cause them to become more aggressive. I'd rather have one tired but happy rooster than to have them fighting.

 

[AppalachianLawn]

My RIR roo is actually very docile and loves the kids...

 

[Habibs Hens]

I think its all about how you raise them

I have some very docile roos and did have a very docile Asil (yes Asil and very Docile)

but my Cream Legbar is a B to every one even me

he will attack at any given moment

hopefully he will be replaced with LONDON HENS Cream Legbar

 

[WoodlandWoman]

You can always go get one or two others, of a different breed. Either way, as they start to develop and show more of their temperament, choose the best one and put an ad up on Craigslist for the others. You can usually put an ad up on the bulletin board at feed stores, too. Let someone else either add them to their flock or eat them.

Some roosters are very considerate and court the hens. They also find and offer food to them. They watch over them. Others are very rough with the hens and only think of themselves. A good rooster is a wonderful addition to a flock, a bad one is not. How they are with the hens is pretty much just a matter of genetics, although if they're raised in a flock, they might learn from watching the rooster. Some of how they react to non-hens on the property is influenced by how they are handled and some of it is influenced by their genetics. That part, well, it's a gamble and you just have to see how it goes. You can always try again later, it it doesn't work out.

 

[VT Chick]

We named our chickens and thought of them as pets. However, after repeated attacks and trying to get the RIR rooster to "understand" that I was in charge, we had to make a decision...continue to watch our back and be flogged at least once a day or get rid of the aggressive roo. One afternoon my son was knocked clear off his feet collecting eggs. That was the rooster's last day. It was sad but absolutely necessary. I hope one day we get a docile roo but I learned a very important lesson, aggression is NOT to be tolerated especially when there are children involved.