We have two flocks on our property, one consisting of one female turkey and three hens, and the other consisting of 10 hens and two roosters. So 15 chickens total. (Two separate coops, but they all run together during the day).
Recently, maybe over the past two months, our Blue Andalusian rooster has been getting very fiesty with me and our friend who is renting from us (the other flock momma). He's been running up to us, showing us his chest and attacking and spurring us. It kept getting worse and worse over the past two months, and I've just about had it. I love the guy, because he does a great job at protecting the flock(s) - minus Georgia the Turkey. He runs her off all the time
My friend however, isn't enjoying him because since her hens started laying before mine, he started mating early and now their back feathers are all ruined from him overmating them (is overmating a word?). Our other rooster, Bigfoot (Partridge Cochin), doesn't act like he would protect the flock. The main reason we kept him was in case we wanted to breed our chickens, we wanted a bigger bird in the gene pool. But unfortunately, poor Bigfoot can't get any kind of tail mainly because Blue attacks him when Bigfoot even attempts to mate. And of course, we kept Blue because he DID protect the flock. But now he's turned on us and is trying to (I guess) protect them from us (you know, the people that bring him food and goodies).
We've done a little bit of research. I've seen some where they say let them attack you and ignore them and then an hour later come back and feed them, to show them you aren't a threat. I tried that for a week straight before I gave up. My legs were bruised like crazy (and luckily I was wearing jeans and not shorts). Then I was told to hit them with a big stick (sorry to those who believe this is wrong). So I've tried that... multiple times. And so has our friend. And well, that obviously didn't work. We've also tried crating him, thinking that possibly the time separated from the flock would allow Bigfoot to swoop in and become alpha. But that didn't work either. Another thing we read, but haven't tried is the file down the spurs. The only reason we haven't done this because it doesn't correct any behavior, just makes the beatings less painful. The weird thing is is that Blue won't attack my husband or my friend's boyfriend. He just attacks women. And my breaking point was when he came straight up to me in the middle of our chicken yard and jumped up and nearly got my face. And then didn't back down from the fight.
So our next step is killing him, but I don't want to jump to that if there's ANYTHING I can do. I know it may be a lost cause. But I'm asking just in case, because I do love the way he looks after the girls. So if there's anything I can do, please let me know and I will try it. Thanks in advance.
Recently, maybe over the past two months, our Blue Andalusian rooster has been getting very fiesty with me and our friend who is renting from us (the other flock momma). He's been running up to us, showing us his chest and attacking and spurring us. It kept getting worse and worse over the past two months, and I've just about had it. I love the guy, because he does a great job at protecting the flock(s) - minus Georgia the Turkey. He runs her off all the time
My friend however, isn't enjoying him because since her hens started laying before mine, he started mating early and now their back feathers are all ruined from him overmating them (is overmating a word?). Our other rooster, Bigfoot (Partridge Cochin), doesn't act like he would protect the flock. The main reason we kept him was in case we wanted to breed our chickens, we wanted a bigger bird in the gene pool. But unfortunately, poor Bigfoot can't get any kind of tail mainly because Blue attacks him when Bigfoot even attempts to mate. And of course, we kept Blue because he DID protect the flock. But now he's turned on us and is trying to (I guess) protect them from us (you know, the people that bring him food and goodies).We've done a little bit of research. I've seen some where they say let them attack you and ignore them and then an hour later come back and feed them, to show them you aren't a threat. I tried that for a week straight before I gave up. My legs were bruised like crazy (and luckily I was wearing jeans and not shorts). Then I was told to hit them with a big stick (sorry to those who believe this is wrong). So I've tried that... multiple times. And so has our friend. And well, that obviously didn't work. We've also tried crating him, thinking that possibly the time separated from the flock would allow Bigfoot to swoop in and become alpha. But that didn't work either. Another thing we read, but haven't tried is the file down the spurs. The only reason we haven't done this because it doesn't correct any behavior, just makes the beatings less painful. The weird thing is is that Blue won't attack my husband or my friend's boyfriend. He just attacks women. And my breaking point was when he came straight up to me in the middle of our chicken yard and jumped up and nearly got my face. And then didn't back down from the fight.
So our next step is killing him, but I don't want to jump to that if there's ANYTHING I can do. I know it may be a lost cause. But I'm asking just in case, because I do love the way he looks after the girls. So if there's anything I can do, please let me know and I will try it. Thanks in advance.
