My rooster bit me today

[roosters97]

Why are all ya'll like against roo's?

. I love'em just as much as my hens!!!

 

[Mrs MIA]

We're not against them... just their aggressive behavior.

Some of us fall in the cut-and-dry category of removing them if they're aggressive. I must admit that it had crossed my mind. But I'm in a grey area right now... he's my only rooster, and has been keeping the girls fertile. So far they have been used as home-school hatching projects, and since they are crosses they're not going to be bred. Any roosters from these hatches will likely grace the dinner table. But I just can't bring myself to remove him from the flock, even with the aggressive behavior. Not yet. I haven't had to be wary of him til now, but with Spring in the air, his hormones are probably raging. I can't really blame him for that, but if I can't break him of it I may have to take him out. I seem to remember reading somewhere that aggressiveness can be bred out of a breed? Has anyone heard of that?

 

[chickenannie]

I'm starting to feel lucky that my 2 roos are non-agressive types. I just assumed they were typical roos but I guess I lucked out.

I wonder if it has anything to do with being in a pen versus free-ranging? And having lots of space to run around in at the farm. Does anyone have free-ranging roosters (free-range all the time except at night) that are aggressive?

 

[SkyRoo]

nannie I do much the same with our current rooster. (skyroo) (a bit over a year old and he is all rooster) I am surprised to read this whole thread and feeling ever so blessed and nervous about our upcoming cockerels.
maybe being free-range provides a sense of security....not being trapped...I dont know.

we let them free range our property and coop them only at night or very yucky weather. we dont pick up rooster SkyRoo or try to mess with him, or pet him, or force our dominance upon him...

but he is more than friendly and very much a family pet. SkyRoo has NEVER EVER displayed any sort of aggression or dominance towards any member of our family. (including our active 5 yr old daughter) we can hold, pet, do what ever with the hens.

when we bring treats out he is usually the first to alert the girls of our presence by calling them and running as fast as he can towards us...BUT he always stays a distance back and the girls eat first. *I think this is positive and the right relationship with him* sure it would be nice to pet him and handfeed him...but I think it would blur some boundaries that are there.

He is the only chicken of ours that actually comes up on the porch and pecks at the door. *and leaves us rooster gifts on the steps* poo *smiles* but as soon as we come to the door he slowly hops down the steps...very respectful rooster.

we have been so blessed with the fella that we can safely lay down on our tummies in the grass and hang out with the flock and never any concern of his behavior. we even play ball and run around with the kids, just be our normal selves and he is perfectly fine with our presence and activities.

I would consider our rooster very watchful and protective of the hens...he is always on guard watching and calling out and prepared to protect at all costs....against planes, hawks, dogs, 4wheelers, anything of the sort. he is very gentle to the hens and an all around great rooster and a joy to have in our family.

I guess we just let him do his own thing...and treat him with respect and not treat him exactly the way we do the hens *we dont EVER handfeed him, pet him, try to pick him up, or do anything like that.* but there is balance and respect and he knows we are not a threat...we are not his equal...we are not exactly his buddy...but he is not exactly afraid of us...

I think with SkyRoo *not saying for every rooster...but with him* that if we were picking him up by force this might make him perceive us as more threat and a source of unpleasant experiences...A big old predator/or competitor that keeps picking him up against his will...but that he always defeats once he is turned loose (set back on the ground again)

just my logic that I think about

after picking him up and restraining him by force...subduing him
then you walk away to carry about your business for the rest of the day...
who won that battle?
who is walking away?
who is left with the hens?

I think maybe in his mind currently we are not much more than just a mobile food dispenser to the hens and an automatic door opener and closer.

I dont know...this is just our experience with this one rooster...

we are very new to chickens and I am sure that every rooster has its ways and personality....one way is not perfect for every rooster. I think our other roosters that we are handraising up indoors will be different because of the attention they get as a chick...so it probably be different than life with SkyRoo...and probably require us to learn all sorts of different interactions/boundaries and ways of building mutual respect. *sure I'll be posting my own "help what do i do" thread in due time*

sure be nice to have a "Rooster Whisper" like dog whisper Cesar Millan.

 

[professor-yellow]

My 1.5 yo Barred Rock has numbered days. He is a beautiful bird and planned to keep him for breeding. He has been challenging me and he has lost the battles. Yesterday he waits till i am way in front then runs at lightning speed and tried to spur me at about 3 feet in the air. I had a produce box that cut him short. Just not enough room for this nonsense.

He is great to the hens but I cannot get my work done if i have to keep watching my backside.

 

[KrisRose]

When you put a roo in his place and he backs off and gives you your space then you have won the battle. Roosters are not philosophical, they are hard wired for very few things-mating, must protect hens , mating, must protect hens etc...
With an agressive roo the most you can hope for is at least a few days of submission before he challeges you again. If not, well, there are not many options for bad boys.

 

[chantald]

Gosh.. I'm wondering if it is wise to keep a Roo, after reading all this. I suspect I have one if not two Roos in my current batch of 6 Australops.. This is my first foray into chickens. I have 3 children, ages 7, 3 and 1 that play in our yard.. and I had planned on allowing the chickens to range freely.. Now I'm scared that if I do have an Australop Roo, he will hurt the children.. The littlest one doesnt' go outside alone but the 3 and 7 year old do...

Maybe a Bantam rooster would be a better choice....??

 

[Mrs MIA]

The bantams certainly get the job done, and even if they are aggressive, they're not as dangerous. We had a barred cochin bantam roo that would do his little wing-shuffle, then launch himself at my ankles. Just holding my foot up would knock him over!

I would suggest you try having a rooster - just be aware of the possible behaviors and keep an eye open. In retrospect, we raised the bantam from chick, so he was used to the boys and being handled. He knew his place. My current roo was brought in as a year old - new harem and all, he doesn't know us from Adam, so it's not surprising that he's being protective. I just need to spend more time with him.

 

[chickenannie]

Skyroo, your roo and the way you raise him sounds just like ours -- with the same results of a non-aggressive roo. I agree-- i felt that if I made a point of handling him or interacting with him at all (by trying to pet him or pick him up to hold him, etc) then he would then start to view me as other than a pair of legs occassionally walking around filling feeders. I ignore him and he ignores me and therefore we maintain those respectful boundaries. I am like you in that this is my first roo experience, so I may have just lucked out.

On the other hand, my young, free-ranging turkey tom has gotten pushy and I have had to do alpha-training with him which has worked well. He follows me around (all his girls are setting on nests) wondering what I'm up to, but if I look his way, he takes a step backwards and keeps a distance of several feet from me now. He is still what I would call gentle, but he has started chasing bicycles down the lane occasionally and the neighbor's truck when it drives into our farm -- I think it's an act of protection like a dog, because the turkey never does it to us or our vehicles. My tom is basically a gentle guy - -he doesn't fly at people or attack them or anything like that - but he'll display his feathers and start getting closer and closer, and if the person doesn't shoo him away, he'll basically try to hump their shoe. Has happened maybe once or twice.

 

[bigmike&nan]

Mrs. AK-Bird-Brain :

The bantams certainly get the job done, and even if they are aggressive, they're not as dangerous. We had a barred cochin bantam roo that would do his little wing-shuffle, then launch himself at my ankles. Just holding my foot up would knock him over!

I would suggest you try having a rooster - just be aware of the possible behaviors and keep an eye open. In retrospect, we raised the bantam from chick, so he was used to the boys and being handled. He knew his place. My current roo was brought in as a year old - new harem and all, he doesn't know us from Adam, so it's not surprising that he's being protective. I just need to spend more time with him.

I have been reading this thread with much interest as our bantam Kingfish has been a little aggressive with my wife - she wears sandals around the yard and he's gotten a little too pushy with her for my liking.

Now I love animals, but I am The Alfa Male at my house - no dog, cat, rooster, deer or ANYTHING ELSE walking is gonna be top dog over me. I found me a real nice piece of 2 x 2 that I carry around. It's just over 3 ft. long, when I need to round up the girls (they stray A LOT into other yards) I just bring that along. Kingfish squaks at me and I yell at him... if he did his F'ing job and kept them in OUR YARD I wouldn't have to yell at him... And so on... I tell ya, I have cats, and they are curious but keep their distance. If Kingfish EVER went after the wife or one of the cats he'd be Coq a Vin in no time...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coq_au_vin

BigMike

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