My rooster is always attacking me!!!

[NickyPick]

My original flock came with two roosters (one requested, the other an "oops") One of these guys was great until he hit 18 months, Then he started attacking other family members and my boarders. Then he started going after me. I found a new home for him right quick. The other rooster turned out to be the best rooster ever. He not only protected the hens, he would show the new pullets where to nest, how to nest and would even raise the chicks for me. When I got more roosters as my flock grew, he started to get picked on, so I moved him to the Nursery/Infirmary coop with a hen that would never quit being broody. The two of them raised many a group of hatchery chicks and helped injured hens recover in peace. He died last year at 10 years old. Mr. Feathers - best rooster ever.
Anyway, my view, is that aggressive roosters have no place on my farm. In the last few years, my flock grew to 60+ hens and I had 8 roosters. 5 were young flock-mates and they turned into a ##(^% gang (would actually break the pelvis bones of hens by over breeding, one after another!) I let a friend dispatch them and peace reigned. I currently have 96 chickens, and 8 roosters. And again, 5 of which are from the last incubated batch I had back in April. SO FAR, they're doing great. They've merged with my 3 older roosters (2-5 years old) and no one is ganging up on anyone. There is one iffy guy in the group, the bottom of the pecking order of Roosters, but the second he does something stupid, the hens squawk and all the other roosters run up and chase him off the poor girl.
A good rooster is worth his weight in gold. A bad rooster, no matter what your soft feelings for, is nothing but a hindrance, and even a threat to your flock. These guys I have now - I haven't had an aerial predator kill in 2 1/2 years now. They are awesome.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Once they learn they can attack you they will, especially if you show fear.

 

[Cherishedchicks]

Hey guys! I currently have 9 chickens, 7 hens and 2 roosters but the main rooster won’t stop attacking me when I go outside with them. I feed them every morning and give them treats and fresh fruit a couple times a week and I’m outside most of the time! But I’ll be giving them fruit or going to go get our eggs and he just comes as fast as he can to come and get me! Now he’s not consistent though he’ll do it some times but not all the times but it’s so random and today he really scared me to the point where I couldn’t even move for 5 minutes because I was so scared of him and he was just in front of me not letting me take a step. idk what to do about it! Please help!

I have one that was like that. He was a bantam, but thought he was Godzilla. I just carried a rake, holding it between me and him. I also started calling his name in a soft tone when he was near. When he learned his name, he would not attack. (It's as if he was saying to himself, "she saw me and knows who I am.") Now, I call his name and he follows me to a location out of sight of the hens and I feed him peanut chips. Unless he thinks I'm going to hurt one of his women, he leaves me alone.

 

[Debbi H]

I have to agree with everyone else. I have gotten rid of aggressive roosters. My granddaughter was afraid to come over because of one particularly mean one I had. The solution I found was to just give them away to a family that I also give my old non-laying hens to. They said they make delicious soup. I have butchered many a chicken in my life, but I just don't even want to anymore. At least I know they are feeding someone who can do all the dirty work and reap the benefits.
Now that being said, I DO still have two roosters. One of them is my sweet Doodle (you see him on my shoulder) who is now almost six years old. The other is a goofy little Silkie that came from the shelter, and his name is Archie. My husband absolutely hates Archie and is basically afraid of him. I'm sure Archie senses the fear because he makes a beeline for my husband every time he steps out the back door! We're talking a very mismatched weight battle here! My husband is a big guy. I can pick Archie right up no problem and he loves the attention. Soooooo....since Archie was a "rescue" who already got dumped from one home, because they said he crows too much, which he doesn't, and since I'm the one who takes care of the chickens, he stays.

 

[Tilhana]

Suppose I suggest to you that life is a unit measure; a bit like a spark, it's either glowing, or it isn't. There is no unknown state.
Suppose then I suggest that all life has the same unit spark. That spark is no bigger, or better in a dog, than it is in an ant. Both are subject to the on or off condition.
I don't think I could be at ease with myself if I felt comfortable placing a price on this spark, or if I did then should I price human life on the same scale?
Perhaps we could arange the scale by the number of creatures of a particular species there are. Bengal tigers, being rare, would be close to maximum value.
Humans because there are so many of us; we would be close to your dime a dozen group.

That's fine if you're talking about animals in their natural environment, or even keeping chickens as pets. I agree that life has value regardless of its utility to humans, and regardless of the number of individuals in a species.

But most people keeping chickens, especially in a small farm/homestead setting, are doing it for an explicit purpose: eggs or meat. Farming - even if you're not doing it for monetary profit - is a business, and the relationship between the human and the animal needs to be mutually beneficial. The human invests time, money, land, and other resources into keeping the animals fed, safe, healthy, and happy, and the animals in turn have a job to do. If an animal is not doing its job, or is making the human's job harder or more dangerous, then it doesn't make sense to keep it.

You may value each rooster as an individual, but unless you're starting a rooster sanctuary for all the unwanted male birds, you have to realize that a lot of people are hatching chickens from eggs, and about half of those chicks are male. Are we all supposed to keep all those roosters, even though a flock that's half male would be unnatural and unbalanced? Do you think it's possible for everyone to find homes for all those roosters with humans who aren't going to kill and eat them? And if raising chickens from eggs means some males are going to be killed for meat, then it makes perfect sense for the human caregiver to select the more aggressive ones for that purpose. Less aggressive roosters are still completely capable of defending the flock from actual predators. And honestly, I don't think they really care about they eggs; their instincts are to protect the hens, not help raise the offspring.

If you don't want to be involved in killing animals for meat, that's perfectly fine, but if you're trying to imply that killing a rooster because it's too aggressive is immoral, then you should probably be preaching and practicing vegetarianism. But if you do eat meat then you're being a bit hypocritical.

Even if you keep chickens and don't kill them, you must realize that wherever you got the chickens from, someone raised them from eggs, had a surplus of males, and almost certainly killed them for meat or sold them to someone who did. So by buying hens instead of roosters from that person you're still supporting that business model.

 

[Debbi H]

This one is the “alternative” approach and, actually, pretty cool to watch. The rooster kept attacking his wife, so he turned it into dinner. I love how ethically he treated the a-hole offender.

Oh, dear. I couldn't watch after he got him tied up. Not that I haven't killed and butchered chickens before. But this one looked too much like my little Doodle!! (the one on my shoulder in my pic!)

 

[Migo]

Hey guys! I currently have 9 chickens, 7 hens and 2 roosters but the main rooster won’t stop attacking me when I go outside with them. I feed them every morning and give them treats and fresh fruit a couple times a week and I’m outside most of the time! But I’ll be giving them fruit or going to go get our eggs and he just comes as fast as he can to come and get me! Now he’s not consistent though he’ll do it some times but not all the times but it’s so random and today he really scared me to the point where I couldn’t even move for 5 minutes because I was so scared of him and he was just in front of me not letting me take a step. idk what to do about it! Please help!

My friend had same issue. I advised her stock pot would resolve problem. She now carries stick into her coop and rooster leaves her alone. So yiu might try that. You done need 2 roos though. I have my flock down to one lovely sweet roo...RooBurt is his name.

 

[SulkyBantam]

Anyone Wanna Hear My Opinion?

True, but the progression of logic should link the two.
If the rooster had a hen with chicks, and say a hawk dropped out of the sky and the rooster attacked the hawk and successfully defended the hen and chicks, but died in the process, I dare say there would be a number of posts praising the rooster.
If a human stranger attempted to steal the hen and the chicks and the rooster attacked the intruder and saved the hen and chicks then I dare say there would be yet another string of posts praising the rooster.
Because in this case the person getting attacked "owns" the rooster and provides food and shelter, the rooster is somehow supposed to reconcile this with the loss of his future offspring. I wonder how many humans could manage such a moral dilema.
As far as the rooster is concerend his future offspring are being predated.
Most creatures that lay eggs will defend them. What if it was a hen defending her eggs, or chicks?
My belief is some small modifications to the humans behaviour based on the understanding of how the rooster views the events would produce positive results.
Not taking eggs while the rooster is present often works. Not feeding his hens without offering him the food to distribute has worked for me on a few occasions.
Unfortunately most people can't get further than what they want and this often leads to conflict.
So, a better understanding of the rooster may not directly equate to more acceptable behaviour but with some trivial modifications to the keepers behaviour it might.
It's got to be a more constructive approach than killing anything that exhibits unacceptable behaviour hsn't it?

Personally, I'm happy to see someone else with this view!
The roos are actually doing a wonderful job defending their flock from 'predators'- just because we happen to be the predators doesn't change things for them...

There's really not an 'ideal' hen/ rooster ratio, it's more about the space available and the individuals involved

I agree with this. people get told they have the 'wrong' ratio, when in fact SOME roos can be fine with 30 hens or 3.

I think I'll just ignore the personal comments and tell you a story.
When I first started looking after chickens, (yep, roosters as well, they do after all reperesnt 50% of chickens ) some 50 years ago on my Uncles farm, great pride was evident on how aggressive the free range cocks were. I'm British and we call roosters cocks. The aggressive roosters fared a lot better at keeping their hens safe from predators and in a free range environment, and some speed and skill was required when collecting the hens eggs, if one wasn't to end up getting flogged by an irrate cock.
I can't help wondering if the desire amoung many keepers to have some fluffy cuddle butt for a rooster to the extent of killling off those that show even the slightest human aggression will in the end producing cocks that are incapable of carrying out their primary function; that is to protect the hens, their hens nests and the eggs in the nest and carry their genes forward.
I've got six cocks here currently, all free range and I'm happy to write that over the last ten years about 70% of the cocks that have lived here have shown some degree of human aggression. I'm also happy to write that I have never had to kill one for it's behaviour towards me.
The rule here is children, nervous people and those unused to farm animals and a farm environment are warned not to go near the cocks, the broody hens with chicks, not to stick their hands in the coops hoping to find eggs and not to go in the field with the donkeys, the ram, or pester the ducks. All are dangerous to varying degrees if they feel threatened.

Yay!

I want to say, I see both sides. On the one hand, an aggressive roo can be dangerous and unpredictable for the farmyard.

On the other hand, he's just trying to protect his girls.

I myself would try to discourage the roo from violence before culling him.

On another note, someone we know has a lot of hens.
They kept being attacked and eaten by various predators.

Then they got a roo.
I'm not saying he was a sweetie.
Because he isn't.
In fact, he's aggressive to the people around him, and by that I mean rushing at those who try to collect the eggs so they shove him off with a broom.

But they just keep a broom handy.

And they've not had a single other attack.

Now, if this roo is a danger to you I'm not telling to to keep him.
I'm just agreeing with @Shadrach on this point: He's not to blame, he's not being malicious... its natural for him.
We all KNOW this, but thinking about it helps to see things from another aspect.

@JadeFarms has a lot of roos also.

 

[7 Biddies]

Hey guys! I currently have 9 chickens, 7 hens and 2 roosters but the main rooster won’t stop attacking me when I go outside with them. I feed them every morning and give them treats and fresh fruit a couple times a week and I’m outside most of the time! But I’ll be giving them fruit or going to go get our eggs and he just comes as fast as he can to come and get me! Now he’s not consistent though he’ll do it some times but not all the times but it’s so random and today he really scared me to the point where I couldn’t even move for 5 minutes because I was so scared of him and he was just in front of me not letting me take a step. idk what to do about it! Please help!

I’ve had that same problem and decided to take the offensive position, instead of waiting for him to attack me, first. I always carry a walking stick that I chase him away with before he even gets started. After just a few times, he steers clear of me, now. But, if he even starts to come close, which is his “tell”, I start swinging and he starts running away.

 

[Shadrach]

That's fine if you're talking about animals in their natural environment, or even keeping chickens as pets. I agree that life has value regardless of its utility to humans, and regardless of the number of individuals in a species.

But most people keeping chickens, especially in a small farm/homestead setting, are doing it for an explicit purpose: eggs or meat. Farming - even if you're not doing it for monetary profit - is a business, and the relationship between the human and the animal needs to be mutually beneficial. The human invests time, money, land, and other resources into keeping the animals fed, safe, healthy, and happy, and the animals in turn have a job to do. If an animal is not doing its job, or is making the human's job harder or more dangerous, then it doesn't make sense to keep it.

You may value each rooster as an individual, but unless you're starting a rooster sanctuary for all the unwanted male birds, you have to realize that a lot of people are hatching chickens from eggs, and about half of those chicks are male. Are we all supposed to keep all those roosters, even though a flock that's half male would be unnatural and unbalanced? Do you think it's possible for everyone to find homes for all those roosters with humans who aren't going to kill and eat them? And if raising chickens from eggs means some males are going to be killed for meat, then it makes perfect sense for the human caregiver to select the more aggressive ones for that purpose. Less aggressive roosters are still completely capable of defending the flock from actual predators. And honestly, I don't think they really care about they eggs; their instincts are to protect the hens, not help raise the offspring.

If you don't want to be involved in killing animals for meat, that's perfectly fine, but if you're trying to imply that killing a rooster because it's too aggressive is immoral, then you should probably be preaching and practicing vegetarianism. But if you do eat meat then you're being a bit hypocritical.

Even if you keep chickens and don't kill them, you must realize that wherever you got the chickens from, someone raised them from eggs, had a surplus of males, and almost certainly killed them for meat or sold them to someone who did. So by buying hens instead of roosters from that person you're still supporting that business model.

I may not have made myself clear.
The post you have quoted is a general comment on the low regard for a chickens worth compared to some other creatures.
The problem I have with this type of thread is that some people believe it is acceptable to kill because another creature won't behave in what they consider an acceptable manner. It has nothing to do with the morality of farming, or eating meat.
We kept bees here until recently. In order to protect ourselves from getting stung when we harvested the bees honey we wear protective clothing. We accept as do most bee keepers that the bees will try to protect their hive annd their food supply. We don't kill the bees because they look aggressive or even if we get stung. It's counter productive and bad management and if one continues with such an attitude one won't have any bees left eventually.
At my uncles farm they kept Mink. If we needed to move the mink, or feed them, or clean their cages we wore protective gauntlets and face protection. We didn't expect the Mink to behave nicely because we fed them and saw ourselves as the bosses.
We laso kept pigs at my uncles farm. The sows in particular were dangerous. It's sommething one has to come to terms with when keeping breeding sows; they'll prootect their young. We didn't kill the sows because they weren't nice to us either.
So, it's the attitude of the keeper and in the long run their suitablilty for keepinng any creatures. If one can't accept that self preservation and aggression towards predators is a natuarl response in any creature and one expects these creatures to respect you then my view is you are not the right person to be keeping these creatures.
In this case we are talking about a creature that may weigh 6 or 7 pounds, is not likely to be much taller than knee height and some keepers are so terrified of getting attacked that they kill the poor creature. If they were killing because they wanted to eat the rooster then that is part of farming and nature. Killing because some creature won't do as it's told isn't.
The intelligent way foreward is to learn about the creatures one keeps, take adequate precautions to prevent injury to oneself in the event that one is not confident in dealing with any aggression, accepting that the creature is exhibiting natural behavour and letting it live.