Mean Rooster!

[Gladesgirl]

I have a RIR rooster that I have raised since a chick...he's now a little over a year old. I started out with 4 roosters and 2 hens from TSC chick days! I have slowly dwindled down to 1 rooster & the 2 original hens and we have adopted "friends" from next door, 4 more hens. My RIR rooster is mean to everyone (meaning people!) but me...he chases, intimidates and is all and all a real jerk to everyone (especially my 2 grandsons who are 2 and 3 and fascinated with him). What should I do?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Unless you are willing to pen him up 24/7, I know most folks on the forum will recommend that he goes the way of your other roosters considering that you have young kids around on a regular basis. I tolerated a mean rooster who would improve some after caught him and carried him around, but i was never able to really trust him. It wasn't a big problem for me because I kept him in a large aviary with my water fowl, so he couldn't chase me around everywhere.

 

[MommaOrp]

Try picking him up when he starts and holding him, walk around with him a little. I had this problem with my welsummer roo, he's gone now, he wouldn't change his ways! He's just protecting his girls from anything on his territory, he knows your boss but everyone else is a threat, just try to reinforce your authority a bit more, see if that helps.

 

[sourland]

Given that you have small children visiting, I would suggest getting rid of the rooster. The potential for serious damage to a child is just too great to take the chance.

 

[Omani]

I hate to say this, but I vote to get rid of him. I'm sure that if there were no children involved I would think differently. But if the little ones got hurt (and you know what kind of damage a rooster can do), you would never forgive yourself. I know I couldn't.
Err on the side of caution.

 

[Gladesgirl]

Thanks so much everybody for your input. And I think I have my answer. I'm not totally comfortable with him "going the way of the other roos" however, my grandchildren are more important than anything. Was kinda hoping nature would take its course and he would go "away", but it doesn't seem like that's going to happen.

 

[creekrats]

I have a similar question. Our BR Roo was the most docile roo I've ever seen, until my hubby shoed the hens away from the worm bed Monday. The roo attacked him and I thought my husband had shown him who was boss, but yesterday out of nowhere, he attacked again! This time with no reason. My husband was retrieving the food dish from the box we have a hen and chicks in and when he turned around Longshank attacked.

Now he doesn't do this to me or either of our boys, but should I be concerned that he might? It kind of has me slightly afraid to go in the coop when he's in there. I'm not worried when we're in the run (I have at least a chance to get away from him) but it's a little tighter in the coop.

Should we cull him now that he's gotten aggressive? What's the chance he will turn on me or my sons?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

Unlike a lot of folks on the forum I really do favor trying to remedy the problem as long as your kids are not too young (meaning their faces are well above rooster kicking height).

So far it sounds like aggression is triggered when he sees someone as a threat to his hens, so far he doesn't see your boys or you as a threat. Will he willingly let you pick him up and carry him around, I mean without you chasing him around?

Here is one link that might help: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2588-Roo_behavior

 

[creekrats]

He has always let us pick him up. That's why I thought he'd lost it when he attacked my husband. I understand why he did it the first time, but yesterday there was no reason for him to.

My youngest son might be within kicking height.

 

[North Slope Farmer]

It has been with a truly heavy heart that I decided to do away with my really beautiful Ameraucana rooster this week. (Someone else did the deed for me.) He was quite vicious, so much so that we carried a net around with us whenever we ventured forth from the house. It had gotten to the point where we had to escort guests to and from their cars and we feared for our grandkids' safety whenever they came to visit. We tried various techniques to pacify the roo, all to no avail. It was pretty amazing how one little bird could exert such a reign of terror over us all! Our neighbor, who has a large flock, has promised us a gentle bird to take the evil one's place. So.... my guilt alternates with my sense of relief. And I don't know if I can actually eat our old nemesis. As my husband says, how do you eat a creature with whom you've had a relationship (albeit a pretty rocky one)?!