Indoor Chicken

[Margalo]

I am new to birds, having been an RVT for 15 years. I recently got a wyndotte chick and am in love with him. So sweet and vocal. My kids 5&6 play with the growing chick outside and feed it bugs till it cant move. I reccommend a chicken for a new twist on an old idea. Be sure to get a pair of 'pants' (a chicken diaper). Enjoy!!

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Welcome to the forum

Yes, chickens are great.

Your chicken is going to be very attached to you and the kids, considering he/she is an only chicken.

I had to look up AVT:
RVT - What does RVT stand for? Acronyms and abbreviations by the ...


acronyms.thefreedictionary.com/RVT
Acronym, Definition. RVT, RV Trader (recreational vehicles). RVT, Registered Veterinary Technician. RVT, Registered Vascular Technologist (American Registry...



I'll guess vet tech

 

[Margalo]

Registered Veterinary Tech. Good guess!!
Its a rooster and is showing aggression to the smaller dog we have. Training it or redirecting suggestions, please.

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I'm glad I checked back to see your question. As you can tell from my avatar, I do have rooster experience. In a sense you need to take the role of the alpha rooster, who commands respect and breaks up flock squabbles. Fortunately, as a [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]Registered Vet Tech you already are comfortable handling animals in a way that's firm yet gentle. When he shows aggression I would hold him on the ground and press down on the upper back so that he is squatting some and then pinch the back of the neck. Essentially, that is putting him in a submissive position, and if he is really paying attention he will actually stay in that position when you release him. [/FONT]Of course rewarding your chicken for relaxed and good behavior a around the little dog helps and reducing any behaviors on the part of the dog that may set the chicken off might help too.






If you post this question under "Managing your Flock" you will get even more suggestions, I bet.

 

[Fussy8]

I had a problem with my roo for a while! I held him on his back infront of the hens or in your case your kids and dog, and showed them that i was alpha rooster (yet im a girl

) and he is now my best friend! I LOVE ROOSTERS

!! Can we have pictures?!?!?!?!?!

 

[wvgal61]

I am new to birds, having been an RVT for 15 years. I recently got a wyndotte chick and am in love with him. So sweet and vocal. My kids 5&6 play with the growing chick outside and feed it bugs till it cant move. I reccommend a chicken for a new twist on an old idea. Be sure to get a pair of 'pants' (a chicken diaper). Enjoy!!

 

[ladychicken&Ducklover]

I'm glad I checked back to see your question. As you can tell from my avatar, I do have rooster experience. In a sense you need to take the role of the alpha rooster, who commands respect and breaks up flock squabbles. Fortunately, as a [COLOR=333333]Registered Vet Tech you already are comfortable handling animals in a way that's firm yet gentle. When he shows aggression I would hold him on the ground and press down on the upper back so that he is squatting some and then pinch the back of the neck. Essentially, that is putting him in a submissive position, and if he is really paying attention he will actually stay in that position when you release him. [/COLOR]Of course rewarding your chicken for relaxed and good behavior a around the little dog helps and reducing any behaviors on the part of the dog that may set the chicken off might help too. If you post this question under "Managing your Flock" you will get even more suggestions, I bet.

My Polish Roo , ( my Avatar), was raised, by me, along with " his girls", from an egg .. He is 1 year old now, but OMG, he is soooo aggressive toward me !! He flogs me with his sharp spurs, every time I go into his coop to let them out. I have scars below my knees from spurs, he can kick hard to say the least. Im no long a quick mover, so Im not able to get away from him on time. I can tell when he is about to attack tho, and I try to move out of his way , sometimes.. Now, this is strange. He does NOT flog my 15 yr old son, who is my "business partner" , and also raised him with me. .My son is an AVID animal lover and Advocate for animal rights , as am I. Phil ( the roo), also does not attack or flog my DH, who is not involved with the chickens as much, but does go into their coop and run on occasion. We have pinned him since the first time he attacked me ,and he does " relax" once we let him go. Then 5 mins later, he gets me again. We have also carried him around the run holding him like a football, hoping that would tell him who is the " Alpha Roo", but that hasnt worked either. Here's what Really bothers me .. Whenever I post this , either here or on other forums relating to " Behavior", I ask for people to " please refrain from giving me " suggestions" , that are and Always WILL be, not an option , however, I still get those suggestions.. So, I WILL NOT ever cull or make him " reservations with a crock pot" or send him to " freezer camp" , just for being a Roo..!! He DID NOT chose to be born a roo, but he does his job in protecting his girls from hawks, finding them little bugs , rounding them up at 5:30 and chasing them into their coop. I suspect that due to his limited vision because of his head feathers hanging down into his eyes, could be causing him to be so Nervous. Because if I bend low enough to make eye contact with me, he seems to calm down a little, and start scratching around and actually being a chicken. But as soon as I stand back up, all he see are my legs again, then the attacks start again. I love him very much, he is a pet, so if Im unable to stop him from flogging me, then I just adapt and adjust to different ways of taking care of him , the girls and their coop. I dont just take an animal of mine and Kill it just for being what it is and what nature programmed it to be..Thats taking the easy way out, IMHO . I know some people just can easily kill their roo and not blink an eye, saying " He was attacking my Toddlers , young kids, elderly relatives " etc.. Well, if that was my case, I simply would just DONT LET these people in the run ! Dont put them and the roo in the position where an attack is imminent ! So, I know I went on to my "soap box", but what I am looking for here, are Other suggestions or thoughts about my situation I have posted this on the " Managing Your Flock", forum also, hoping to get suggestions there too.. I cant have too many ideas about this.. .

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Hey there ladychicken&Ducklover, I actually have a suggestion that might work well for you. Like you, I had a rooster who I hand raised who did not get the idea that I was boss for very long even when I caught him and tried to communicate my dominance. Like you I did not raise my birds for meat so culling was not considered. He was in a large aviary with the swans so fortunately he could not follow me around the whole property kicking my butt. At first when this started happening, I made a point of wearing rubber boots and jeans when taking care of the birds. I also carried the feed bucket strategically to block kicks. But finally we devised a net to put over him that I kept near the door. We zip tied avian netting to a little hula hoop, and I would pick it up when I entered. Then when he came at me, I would place the net over him and go about my work. Of course he was miffed, but it did not hurt him, and I just picked the net off him when I was done. The attempted ambushes became less frequent, but I kept the net around. The handsome rooster was killed by a hawk who found a whole in the aviary top netting.

If I recall correctly from a thread you posted, was it your rooster (or cockerel at that time) Phil who alerted your son after you collapsed? That was one of the most amazing chicken stories ever, and I came across it largely by chance more than a month after you had posted. I'm glad the story had a happy ending.

By the way Margalo, just to reassure you some, I do have hand raised roosters who have NEVER been aggressive toward a human. My 3 year old Rascal rooster will pick fights with the hens' rooster across the wire of their run when he is free ranging, but he is a sweet rooster who will likes to be picked up. However, it is true that a rooster's temperament is not fully developed until after he reaches sexual maturity around a year old.

I also want to add, don't wear red around your rooster - it can rile him up.

 

[Jakl]

For now, I would remove his spurs. They will (eventually) grow back. All you have to do is "crack" them at the base with a pair of pliers. It causes little pain to him, and a few days later the spur will fall off. There is little bleeding, and the spur will grow back, though it will be stubby. Wounds from spurs can get terribly infected.

 

[ladychicken&Ducklover]

Hey there ladychicken&Ducklover, I actually have a suggestion that might work well for you.  Like you, I had a rooster who I hand raised who did not get the idea  that I was boss for very long even when I caught him and tried to communicate my dominance. Like you I did not raise my birds for meat so culling was not considered. He was in a large aviary with the swans so fortunately he could not follow me around the whole property kicking my butt.  At first when this started happening, I made a point of wearing rubber boots and jeans when taking care of the birds.  I also carried the feed bucket strategically to block kicks.  But finally we devised a net to put over him that I kept near the door.  We zip tied avian netting to a little hula hoop, and I would pick it up when I entered.  Then when he came at me, I would place the net over him and go about my work.  Of course he was miffed, but it did not hurt him, and I just picked the net off him when I was done.  The attempted ambushes became less frequent, but I kept the net around.  The handsome rooster was killed by a hawk who found a whole in the aviary top netting.  

If I recall correctly from a thread you posted, was it your rooster (or cockerel at that time) Phil who alerted your son after you collapsed?  That was one of the most amazing chicken stories ever, and I came across it largely by chance more than a month after you had posted.  I'm glad the story had a happy ending.

By the way Margalo, just to reassure you some, I do have hand raised roosters who have NEVER been aggressive toward a human.  My 3 year old Rascal rooster will pick fights with the hens' rooster  across the wire of their run when he is free ranging, but he is a sweet rooster who will likes to be picked up.  However, it is true that a rooster's temperament is not fully developed until after he reaches sexual maturity around a year old.

I also want to add, don't wear red around your rooster - it can rile him up.

Hi..

Thank you so much for your suggestion. I do have something similar, a large fishing net that has a handle on it.

I will try that.

Today, I tried someone else's idea of just letting him flog me and eventually he will become bored and will go about his business.

I put on my knee braces and thick jeans and went out to do everyones chores.

And , yes, Phil just went at me, just a kicking and hitting me. I would try to move strategically to have the kicks hit the back of my knees instead of the front.

After about 10 mins of this, he did seem to give up ,,,for about 5 mins..lol By that time, I was done with chores, however, I made sure he saw that I was leaving under MY terms, not his.

Could it be possible that since he is a Polish, his "hair" feathers are blocking his vision to a point that all he sees are " Killer Legs " once I stand up after letting him see me and treat giving ??

Have you ever heard of anyone putting a little bit of petroleum jelly on his head feathers to try to keep them from blocking his vision?

Thank you for your input.