My rooster keeps attacking me

[BigBlueHen53]

understand your reasoning here, but my "extra" boys are pets. I feed them because they are my pets, like a dog or cat.

Aaahhh, I see! Well that makes all the difference! Thanks for 'splainin' that to me.

 

[CreveChris]

I understand your reasoning here, but my "extra" boys are pets. I feed them because they are my pets, like a dog or cat. I truly understand why many wouldn't do this. The boys I kept are all good boys, well mannered, and I couldn't bear to send them to their deaths. One day, I hope to breed them. (Accidently bred one of them this year. Got a sweet hen and four roosters out of that. )

Now from this year's batch, I have one that may have to end up this way because I don't think I could sell him with a clean conscience unless the person wants a demon-possessed rooster. I called him Meenie for a bit, then Mr. Evil, and now I'm seriously contemplating naming the boy Satan or Lucifer. He would be a good guard rooster if I could train him to not go after people, and I've tried all the training I know to do, and he doesn't get it. It's weird because he will approach and eat treats out of my hand, and then grab my hand and start twisting the skin and being really mean right after.


I'm so glad to hear that! I'm hoping mine molt soon so they will get all their feathers back in before winter.

Due to color? So you're trying to breed a specific color chicken?

Glad the new roo is nicer to her

The Crevecoeurs recently imported from France included silver or blue, which is a different color from the standard black and I'm focusing on the standard in my breeding program.

I hatched two gorgeous blue girls from Marge (very light blue/white) and Cati (large black roo, since rehomed) and they have interesting blue to silver markings. But white is considered a mismark and I'd rather breed my two solid black pullets with my black roo.

I guess the standard here doesn't allow the same variety as the French. My blue girls are on the large side, which is good. Maybe someday I'll hatch a blue roo and create a separate program for them.

 

[CreveChris]

I understand your reasoning here, but my "extra" boys are pets. I feed them because they are my pets, like a dog or cat. I truly understand why many wouldn't do this. The boys I kept are all good boys, well mannered, and I couldn't bear to send them to their deaths. One day, I hope to breed them. (Accidently bred one of them this year. Got a sweet hen and four roosters out of that. )

Now from this year's batch, I have one that may have to end up this way because I don't think I could sell him with a clean conscience unless the person wants a demon-possessed rooster. I called him Meenie for a bit, then Mr. Evil, and now I'm seriously contemplating naming the boy Satan or Lucifer. He would be a good guard rooster if I could train him to not go after people, and I've tried all the training I know to do, and he doesn't get it. It's weird because he will approach and eat treats out of my hand, and then grab my hand and start twisting the skin and being really mean right after.


I'm so glad to hear that! I'm hoping mine molt soon so they will get all their feathers back in before winter.

Due to color? So you're trying to breed a specific color chicken?

Glad the new roo is nicer to her

Regarding your boys as pets, when I have rehomed roos, no one can believe they have names. But I was close to each of them and it is difficult to make the decision to rehome.

In the new open air coop and run, I can brush past Lucien with no fear of being pecked, bitten, or attacked. The rest of my boys were too aggressive. They went from spunky to bite-y when the hormones hit and attacking or biting people is not allowed. It's impossible to change and must be bred out.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Aaahhh, I see! Well that makes all the difference! Thanks for 'splainin' that to me.

I truly do understand about fresh meat and such, I just can't eat mine. I can imagine how that would go. "What's for supper?" "We're having LeeLee tonight." I hope I didn't come across as rude or anything, I want to respect everyone's decisions on what they do with extra roos.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I truly do understand about fresh meat and such, I just can't eat mine. I can imagine how that would go. "What's for supper?" "We're having LeeLee tonight." I hope I didn't come across as rude or anything, I want to respect everyone's decisions on what they do with extra roos.

Nope, I didn't perceive any rudeness. I hope i didn't come across that way, either. I forgot that people do get emotionally attached to their chickens in a way that I've decided not to. I certainly couldn't eat them, either, if I named them and made pets of them. And I'm not ready to be a vegetarian yet! Although we are probably trending that way ....

 

[BesideStillWaters]

The Crevecoeurs recently imported from France included silver or blue, which is a different color from the standard black and I'm focusing on the standard in my breeding program.

I hatched two gorgeous blue girls from Marge (very light blue/white) and Cati (large black roo, since rehomed) and they have interesting blue to silver markings. But white is considered a mismark and I'd rather breed my two solid black pullets with my black roo.

I guess the standard here doesn't allow the same variety as the French. My blue girls are on the large side, which is good. Maybe someday I'll hatch a blue roo and create a separate program for them.

Oh, I see. How fascinating!! Good luck with the breeding!

Regarding your boys as pets, when I have rehomed roos, no one can believe they have names. But I was close to each of them and it is difficult to make the decision to rehome.

In the new open air coop and run, I can brush past Lucien with no fear of being pecked, bitten, or attacked. The rest of my boys were too aggressive. They went from spunky to bite-y when the hormones hit and attacking or biting people is not allowed. It's impossible to change and must be bred out.

Same here. When I sold one to our pet shop last year, everyone laughed at the fact I bought in a rooster with the name of Nugget. This year I brought them Julie and had to explain that I thought Julia Child was a hen when I named him. I changed it to Jules Verne once the crowing started. But Julie stuck.

That's awesome! Lucien is such a good boy! Yes, that's the problem I'm having with the new roos from this batch - the main ones I'm having problems with are the ones that came from my RIR hen. They are FEISTY. I've heard it said that RIR's are a good breed to start with, but these that I hatched out have more spunk and tend to bite more than my mixes do. Even the hens do.

Oh, so it can be bred out? That's encouraging. At this point, I'm probably not going to breed the RIR hen again because her children have so much attitude. My mixes are half RIR (and half SLW or GLW) and have the spunk and sass, but they aren't mean about it. One is a mix between a RIR + SLW mix and my GLW... he will peck but he also understands when I force him into the submissive pose and put his beak to the ground. The pullet that is the same mix is very sweet and not mean at all.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Nope, I didn't perceive any rudeness. I hope i didn't come across that way, either. I forgot that people do get emotionally attached to their chickens in a way that I've decided not to. I certainly couldn't eat them, either, if I named them and made pets of them. And I'm not ready to be a vegetarian yet! Although we are probably trending that way ....

I'm glad. Oh no, you didn't!

That may be a good thing. I've been told it's not a good idea to get emotionally attached to chickens because they have shorter lifespans and they can get sick and die quickly and things like that but I can't help myself. I'm not built that way. I still feel bad about the last batch, not having as much time to spend with them. I keep wondering if that's why some of the roosters turned out mean - I didn't cuddle them enough.

I'd like to be a vegetarian one day. But while I live with meat-eaters, that's not going to happen.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'd like to be a vegetarian one day. But while I live with meat-eaters, that's not going to happen.

That's been my experience. My late MIL loved her fried food ... And our grandkids had grown up on junk food, so it was a job just transitioning them to healthier foods, no way were they going to make it all the way to plant-based. And I wasn't up to doing separate menus! They did come a long way, though. Right now we don't eat meat every day, and chicken is our #1 choice when we do. I probably wouldn't have chickens at all if we didn't eat them occasionally and enjoy the lovely eggs. And I really love having them around. They are a balm to my soul.

 

[BesideStillWaters]

That's been my experience. My late MIL loved her fried food ... And our grandkids had grown up on junk food, so it was a job just transitioning them to healthier foods, no way were they going to make it all the way to plant-based. And I wasn't up to doing separate menus! They did come a long way, though. Right now we don't eat meat every day, and chicken is our #1 choice when we do. I probably wouldn't have chickens at all if we didn't eat them occasionally and enjoy the lovely eggs. And I really love having them around. They are a balm to my soul.

I see. I wouldn't want to do separate menus either. Glad you could get them to eat healthier anyway! I'm not a big meat eater, but when I do, I tend to go for poultry or fish.

I'm weird that I can't eat a lot of fried foods. Until we got an air fryer, I couldn't eat much fried fish because there was something about eating a lot of oil that my stomach couldn't handle. So it forced me to eat healthier options.

I agree, I love getting eggs, but I also like watching them free range and having fun. They are a delight.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I see. I wouldn't want to do separate menus either. Glad you could get them to eat healthier anyway! I'm not a big meat eater, but when I do, I tend to go for poultry or fish.

I'm weird that I can't eat a lot of fried foods. Until we got an air fryer, I couldn't eat much fried fish because there was something about eating a lot of oil that my stomach couldn't handle. So it forced me to eat healthier options.

I agree, I love getting eggs, but I also like watching them free range and having fun. They are a delight.

I'm the same way about fried foods! I don't think I've fried anything since MIL passed away. I've had my gall bladder removed but I still have gastric problems that can be really painful. I have to be really careful about fats in general. I bake chicken or make soups, sandwiches or salads out of it. If I have to eat it fried, I take the skin off, lol! I love watching them too, and listening to them talk and purr to each other.