is it time for the stewpot for him?

[slackwater]

When we decided to get 'roos (well, they just kinda came along, incorrectly sexed w/pullets), my husband and I agreed that we would not keep any aggressive 'roos (we've had BAAAAAAAAAAD experiences in the past). Anyway, we have an RIR roo who is usually fine...except when you are headed away from him, and he flies at the back of your legs. That is the worst it gets (it's more of an aggressive "move" than an attack, per se), but my husband says his time has come. He is our top dog, and if we took him out, it would be up to the BR and the Amer to sort it out...but I worry that, even though they seem relatively docile right now, they might do the same thing once they are on top. None of them are particulary good or bad with the ladies. Thoughts?

 

[hnbubz]

maybe try seperating him from the flock to see how they react?
could you try teaching him "whose alpha"? i saw another post like this i think yesterday and people were explaining ways that you could teach the rooster not to attack, or try to get you to move.
i would try resorting the issue before culling him.

 

[tdgill]

is he trying to get you back into the flock? Because he sees you leaving? I wondered if roos ever do that, you know how they will round up the girls etc. How is he in other respects? Is he calm around you otherwise? Treats etc?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
The dominant rooster is keeping the other two in check now. Once he is gone, they will decide which one is now dominant. Until the new dominant one gets a free chance to express himself, you don't know how he will turn out.

I don't know your goals or reasons to want to keep three roosters. I'll give you a link to Gritsar's Reform School which discusses retraining a rooster. It's up to you to decide if you wish to go through the effort. I don't recall if she mentions it, but you may be able to retrain him to not attack you but he may still go after other specific individuals, especially children.

Gritsar’s Reform School
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4810

 

[slackwater]

Quote:
It is only by accident that I have three roos to begin with; all of them came to me as chicks (from different places) and were sexed as pullets. Now, I have the unfortunate decision to make of who stays and who goes...I haven't done this before, per se (when our family had chickens before, they were my parents', not mine, to decide what to do with), so I guess you can say I'm biding my time and looking for any signs of who I should keep or cull. My husband is p*ssed that the RIR keeps getting him from behind (and I can't say that I've seen him do this to his hens, either, to keep them in check) - that being said, he only does it in the barn (not outside, when free-ranging), so I'm not sure how to take the behavior. I read about people having really sweet roos, which is what I would like to "get," - so should I just bite the bullet and realize that he's not what I'm looking for?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Quote:
That is what I'd do in this situation.

 

[DillardHome]

Quote:
The dominant rooster is keeping the other two in check now. Once he is gone, they will decide which one is now dominant. Until the new dominant one gets a free chance to express himself, you don't know how he will turn out.

I don't know your goals or reasons to want to keep three roosters. I'll give you a link to Gritsar's Reform School which discusses retraining a rooster. It's up to you to decide if you wish to go through the effort. I don't recall if she mentions it, but you may be able to retrain him to not attack you but he may still go after other specific individuals, especially children.

Gritsar’s Reform School
https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=4810

I have read Gritsar's blog and I really liked it. I apply her techniques as I see warranted. The one I do enforce regularly is her advice on allowing the roo(s) to mate a hen in front of me. I haven't had to try her other techniques yet. But I will if needed. I didn't have a problem before I read her blog but I decided that I would practice her tip(s) to prevent any confusion on who is the head roo-tress here.

Currently I have 2 roos to my 11 girls, I do have 2 others that I am not sure what gender they are yet. Like RIDGERUNNER said it is obviously up to you if you want to give it a try. I've only had chickens for almost 7 months so I am by no means a pro like some of the BYC members, I can only tell you what I have learned thus far (from BYC) and observed with my own flock. It kinda sounds like he is only getting you from behind because he feels like he has an advantage that your guard is down, what if after he did it you turned around and chased him a bit acting like your going to grab him or his tail feathers? I wonder if he would second guess trying it again since he knows you will react and he won't be getting away with it anymore?????

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[tdgill]

if he only does it to your husband, and you are fond of him (the roo - lol) maybe have your hubby give the roo treats in the barn? to associate your hubby - barn- treats. How old is the roo?

 

[slackwater]

The roo should be a year in May-ish. So 9 months or so? But would treats encourage the behavior? And, forgive me for being "naive" - but what does one give to chickens as treats?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Unless he's jumped one of my kids I try to give young roosters a chance if they flog me. Grab a broom or something that isn't likely to hurt him and the next time he jumps you try to knock him out of the park with it. Keep right on swatting him until he runs then chase him until you are tired of running after him. Don't let him stop, make him run! Make him believe that you are the BOSS bird and he'd better not forget it!

Usually that's all you have to do. But if he does it again the next day it's chicken and rice time for him.

.....Alan.