Official BYC Poll: What Do You Do With Your Aggressive Roosters?

[FuzzyOwlFeet]

Aggressive with the hens = rooster flock
Aggressive with me = shot

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

I’ve had several roosters who showed varying levels of aggression towards humans. I was able to train most of them out of it, usually starting when they first showed the behavior as cockerels. However, a few were just so stubborn they couldn’t be trusted. Those roosters made interacting with my rooster-only flock difficult, as I couldn’t spend time with my friendlier roosters without them making aggressive advances. Eventually I separated those two aggressive roosters I had at the time into their own rooster pen apart from the non-aggressive roosters.

 

[3KillerBs]

He got one freebie, when he charged me while snatching up hens to weigh them. Then he attacked my wife, while she threw treats to the flock.

That evening, he became sausage. Tasty, if a bit fatty. I should have targeted 22% fat in the sausage, rather than 26-28%, chicken fat is far less firm at room temp than cow or pig fat. Live and learn. Well, I did.

But yes, based on age, either stew or sausage.

Most males I cull before they are old enough to seriously show interest in the girls, so their hormones have not driven them to full aggression, merely dominance displays.

Care to share the recipe for the sausage?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Care to share the recipe for the sausage?

I'm about to lose my street cred here.

Disrobe and debone the chicken, reducing meat to chunks not more than 1/2" cubes - same with any subcutaneous fat. Set in a single layer on a 1/2 sheet pan, and chill to near freezing.

Set up your sausage grinder while you wait, use your largest die from the standard set (you want a 3/16-5/16" grind here +/-) and a large bowl.

Sprinkle the near frozen chicken cuts with Legg's Snack Stick Seasoning #116 based on weight. Add pink salt (Prague Powder #2) based on weight. Toss to ensure even coating. Process thru the sausage grinder as normal, either directly into casings, or into the bowl and from there, press into casings and tie. Best results with smoked collagen casings of medium diameter - not a bratwurst, knockwurst, or summer sausage size.

Move fresh sausages to the fridge at least 24 hours to chill and dry. 48-72 is better.

Smoke 1-3 hours at low heat over a mild wood - I like hickory or oak. Transfer on a 1/2 sheet pan to the oven and finish, bringing internal temp to 165 degrees. This is where you find if you overstuffed your casings - they should be firm, but not split.

Serve immediately, or cool and store in the fridge for later.

Tastes like a hot dog, only a hot dog you actually want to eat!

(I've not figured their mix out yet of spices - I know it has onion, garlic, mustard, coriander, black pepper - all things I keep on hand in quantity. I suspect it has a handful of additional spices in small quantity I don't much keep around, like mace. Sadly, due to an auto accident, my palette is no longer discerning - I trust my wife on this.)

/edit If you don't put this in casings, it makes excellent (if a bit pepper-y) pre-seasoned chicken burgers. Toasted sourdough bun (homemade), whole egg mayo (also homemade), thick slice of fresh tomato, maybe some pickle (again, homemade).

 

[Abriana]

I trained my first rooster (Napoleon) as an adult because I was very young when I got him and didn’t know better. I was scared of him for a long time but then I was like no more! He died last year, he was honestly the best rooster, I miss him a lot! Another thing I do is re-home, but I always re-home extra roosters anyway regardless of aggression levels. And lastly, train when they are young. I have two cockerels I’ve been training since they were young, both began showing light aggression but I nipped it in the bud and they’re good now. They are both beautiful and very well-behaved so I am hoping to find them an actual home rather than a soup pot. The rooster I have now (Uriah) is so sweet and good, he isn’t aggressive but is a gentleman and very protective of his ladies. He is also super fluffy which is a very large plus

 

[Florida Bullfrog]

I’m fully convinced, having tried the discipline methods, that human aggressive roosters cannot be fixed. I totally reject the notion that a rooster that attacks humans is “defending his flock.” Human aggression is a mental defect.

I also strongly suspect that human aggression is caused by the rooster imprinting on humans as a chick and the best way to avoid it is to avoid excessive contact with fresh chicks.

 

[3KillerBs]

I'm about to lose my street cred here.

Disrobe and debone the chicken, reducing meat to chunks not more than 1/2" cubes - same with any subcutaneous fat. Set in a single layer on a 1/2 sheet pan, and chill to near freezing.

Set up your sausage grinder while you wait, use your largest die from the standard set (you want a 3/16-5/16" grind here +/-) and a large bowl.

Sprinkle the near frozen chicken cuts with Legg's Snack Stick Seasoning #116 based on weight. Add pink salt (Prague Powder #2) based on weight. Toss to ensure even coating. Process thru the sausage grinder as normal, either directly into casings, or into the bowl and from there, press into casings and tie. Best results with smoked collagen casings of medium diameter - not a bratwurst, knockwurst, or summer sausage size.

Move fresh sausages to the fridge at least 24 hours to chill and dry. 48-72 is better.

Smoke 1-3 hours at low heat over a mild wood - I like hickory or oak. Transfer on a 1/2 sheet pan to the oven and finish, bringing internal temp to 165 degrees. This is where you find if you overstuffed your casings - they should be firm, but not split.

Serve immediately, or cool and store in the fridge for later.

Tastes like a hot dog, only a hot dog you actually want to eat!

(I've not figured their mix out yet of spices - I know it has onion, garlic, mustard, coriander, black pepper - all things I keep on hand in quantity. I suspect it has a handful of additional spices in small quantity I don't much keep around, like mace. Sadly, due to an auto accident, my palette is no longer discerning - I trust my wife on this.)

/edit If you don't put this in casings, it makes excellent (if a bit pepper-y) pre-seasoned chicken burgers. Toasted sourdough bun (homemade), whole egg mayo (also homemade), thick slice of fresh tomato, maybe some pickle (again, homemade).

I haven't had a commercial chicken sausage that I liked, but that sounds delicious.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I haven't had a commercial chicken sausage that I liked, but that sounds delicious.

the key is using an old bird, so it has flavor, and not treating it as "chicken". I've had a number of commercial chicken sausages as well, usually the size of a respectable bratwurst, that don't taste like anything - or worse, they are all white meat and have been combined with some fruit which is somehow both sweet and mild, like apple or green peppers. This is savory. Firmly savory.

 

[3KillerBs]

the key is using an old bird, so it has flavor, and not treating it as "chicken". I've had a number of commercial chicken sausages as well, usually the size of a respectable bratwurst, that don't taste like anything - or worse, they are all white meat and have been combined with some fruit which is somehow both sweet and mild, like apple or green peppers. This is savory. Firmly savory.

Sounds like my kind of sausage!

And I would have no objection to mixing it with some pork butt to add fat.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I have two cockerels (almost roosters now). One is a cochin bantam, and he has always been an absolute sweetheart. He never showed any signs of aggression or anything.
My other cockerel is an Easter Egger. He was great when he was a baby, but once his hormones started to kick in, he became a little aggressive. Nothing terrible, but he doesn't like it if I handle his ladies a lot.
Most of the time, he leaves me alone, but occasionally he does peck at my boot and kind of charge me (which isn't really that bad because his spurs are still short and rounded).
At first I kind of "fought" him with my boot until he backed down. But I tried a new method about 2 weeks ago. As soon as he pecked me, I grabbed him, held him to the ground, and held his head down. I was very gentle, and didn't hurt him, but he got the message. He hasn't charged me at all since then.