Opinions on rooster agression?

[bobbi-j]

Dispatch him as quickly as you can! Roosters can really hurt people. My friend's father lost his eye as a child to a mean rooster!!

I think the OP has checked out.

 

[Folly's place]

I see that.
Mary

 

[bluefreeze]

@bluefreeze , every choice has it's good and bad points.
No rooster can manage total flock protection! I love having roosters here, and they will alert to danger, but save hens directly? No, they are still only chickens, and any larger dog or other canine, or hawk, or whatever, will still mostly win.
When a bird comes up missing while free ranging, it's time to lock everyone in their safe coop and run, while the problem gets sorted out. Here, a bird missing every few days was often a hawk, but any predator will be happy to return if you don't protect your survivors.
Dogs generally kill many, and leave feathers and bodies everywhere, because it's sport, not about meals. If your neighbor is sure it's his dog, of course he owes you for them! A hit to the wallet can be incentive to fix the situation. If it's not his dog, he still needs to make sure the next time isn't on him.
Mary

Yes to everything.. the silliest part of that is the neighbor told me they finally bought the electric fence system. So all summer though, they are coming over to see if I have seen the dog?! I ask why they aren't using it, she says oh we are trying to train the dog, or the system is complicated, whatever! The last time the dog was running around my husband yelled screamed and shot his rifle in the air. Funny, now I see the dog stands at the edge of her yard barking but doesn't cross our hay field. So maybe NOW they got the message? I still have all my chickens in their yard, I don't know, still aren't sure. Oh and we had to re-nail and secure everything like crazy! Once she (full grown german shepard) got through the coop by tearing a half foot hole in some chicken wire 4 feet off the ground, jumping up on some feed bags, went through a laying box, into the coop, then out the small automatic door into the yard! Caught her in our fenced yard, dead hens everywhere. If you think a dog can't break wood, wire and nails to get to a flock, they can!! So, double secured everything now, once she lifted a latch to get in the coop, just made a mess that time. We have to put a pin though the latch now - every time. It is so nuts!!

 

[Henry&Friends]

I wonder, as I only get gentle breeds, if breed has any bearing on how aggressive a roo is.

Maybe not aggressiveness, but the result? I would have to run from a big scary buff Orpington rooster, but I would laugh at any Silkie rooster even if he was spurring me up and down.

 

[pamiejune]

I also wondered about breeds, but like the previous post, it never seemed to matter..Right now I am at a crossroads with it all. We live on 6 acres surrounded by rural farms, few neighbors. I mainly have chickens for the eggs, and to keep the insects/ticks down in the yard. So I would keep a roo to protect the hens. The most gentle and kind roo did a poor job of protecting the hens. The opposite with a mean roo. I had a wonderful roo this summer along with 8 chicks I raised...As adults, the roo was almost tame, coming to me whenever I called, he was so wonderful. One by one, I started losing hens until I was down to 4, then he dissappeared in the middle of the day. So obviously it is all relative, a nice roo doesn't always do a good job? A friend gave us a bunch of youngins, I have kept them in their fenced yard as they get used to their new home. I have a young roo I just discovered in this batch, and am leary of keeping him. A barred rock, which was my worst roo in the past...I don't know, let my chickens run free, take my chance on the roo? It is really a bummer, I don't want an aggressive roo, but I want my chickens to be free, it is just awful, this summer has really made me want to give up having chickens anymore. The neighbor promises me constantly that their dog is being controlled, then poof every few weeks there he is trying to get at the chickens..He is the one that took out my flock one by one I am sure of it, they want to pay me, I don't want their money! They don't seem to take it seriously. I don't know...

That IS tough. Can you have geese? They are very protective and I believe will go after a dog. What are the laws in your state about livestock? In NH, we can shoot to kill any animal that is even harassing our livestock, never mind killing them. If you have the same law, a little education can be very effective. I did that at a former address and never had another problem with loose dogs. Neighbors knew I meant it and kept them controlled (there was a leash law). I never had to follow through, thank goodness. It was fox, raccoon, skunk, and weasels that picked them off, one by one, even with a fenced-in pen and tight coops. We were backed right up on some deep woods which didn't help. Now I have a wide-open property, no woods except way at the back of my pasture, a big, well-fenced yard up against the house, plus tight coops in pens in this yard, and haven't lost a bird yet. We have fox and skunk for sure as they've been spotted. The pens are right next to the house and there's lots of cover (apple trees, lilacs, tall gardens, under large porch) so I'm sure that helps with aerial predators when my birds free range. We do have hawks and an eagle nearby (there's a large river/reservoir just down the street) but I think my two neighbors' lax poultry protections are satisfying those birds, sadly. I find explosions of feathers now and then out in my field and across the street in the park. If you can fence in your yard, that might be a start, although many breeds of dogs can be quite persistent and will dig under or even try to climb over a normal size fence (4'). Some people use electric fencing/wire which is very effective. I guess it boils down to how much you are willing to spend to keep hens. Most of ours are pets, so I don't worry about how much I spend as I have a 8 yo granddaughter who would be devastated if anything happened to her bantams. I hope you find a solution and yes, I would take the money. If they are offering it, then they know their dog is the culprit. He probably brought the carcasses home!