Raising Roosters Newbie

[007Sean]

Howdy Marie Excitedto have you join the family. Enjoy your time here at BYC!

 

[Hope Hughes]

Hello
Welcome to BYC!!
So glad to have you here!!
Thanks for sharing your story!!
You have come to the right place.
There are many people on here that are ready to help in anyway they can!
The learning center also has alot of great information on it as well!
Enjoy!​

 

[Teila]

G’Day from down under Marie Welcome!

Sorry, I have no experience with roosters as we are not allowed to have them. However, I did just want to say that I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

 

[KeyshaRoo]

Typical rooster behavior. It will be interesting to see how well they do as house pets. Roosters are roosters. Many folks have lots of opinion about roosters. Some of them are very strong opinions, too! My rule of thumb with roosters-even the cuties-is when where are small children are involved you don't keep roosters. Roosters like to go for the eyes and toddlers are a prime target for attacks. Yes, your guys are cute, but remember they are not dogs. They have a certain set of genetic material controlled by testosterone. They have no idea how to be house pet. What you have are two teenage boys who will flog it out with anyone. Some get better with age and some do not.

And since these silkies are exposed to children, I would suggest talking to a vet and doing some basic check-ups. There is no telling why they have decided to be picky about eating except maybe all that testosterone-they'd rather assert who is boss rather than eat. Or they are so well fed they can afford to be picky.

Good luck!

thanks I appreciate the advice.... my daughter is the smallest of my kids and as you can see in the video she knows to keep her distance! And vet is definitely on my to do list! Im already looking to move somewhere with more outside room for them cuz ur absolutely right! They are not house pets!!
I've done alot of homework and I understand the pros and cons but I've bonded with these guys so Im gonna give it one hell of a try before I think about giving up on them. I really hope I can make it work cuz I dont know what else to do with them and am afraid to hand them over to the wrong people.

 

[KeyshaRoo]

G’Day from down under Marie Welcome!

Sorry, I have no experience with roosters as we are not allowed to have them. However, I did just want to say that I hope you enjoy being a BYC member. There are lots of friendly and very helpful folks here so not only is it overflowing with useful information it is also a great place to make friends and have some fun.

Thanks so much! And yes I've boticed how helpful & friendly everyone is, thats why I finally decided to jump in myself. As a newbie you try so hard to do everything right the last thing you want is to be made fun of free r doing something wrong lol!

 

[KeyshaRoo]

Hello
Welcome to BYC!!
So glad to have you here!!
Thanks for sharing your story!!
You have come to the right place.
There are many people on here that are ready to help in anyway they can!
The learning center also has alot of great information on it as well!
Enjoy!​

Thanks.... I need all the help I can get!

 

[KeyshaRoo]

Hi, Marie, welcome to BYC. As others have said, what you are viewing is normal rooster behavior. The social structure of chickens must be constantly reinforced. Chickens are 'flock' animals. Getting rid of one rooster will make the remaining bird very unhappy.

I thought so... Thanks for confirming that for me.

 

[KeyshaRoo]

By the way I have a bantam roo who gets on swimmingly with my five year old daughter, so it is possible. There were some challenges when he was maturing at around five to six months but she chased and carried him a lot and he soon got the message.

I keep a very

Roosters can usually live together quite happily. There will be biting and scrapping but it's when hens are around that roosters really fight. Do not be tempted to get a girl chicken because they will fight worse over her, unless you intend to keep them separate with one girl or more each.

HOWEVER, in the video you provided, that black rooster is displaying human aggressive behaviour. When it runs at you with its wings out like that it is trying to fight and/or dominate you. You must act now to stop this kind of thing. It will be worse first thing in the morning and maybe in the evenings as well. It is especially important to stop this behaviour with young children around, but it IS possible to stop it.

Unfortunately bad behaviour from roosters usually escalates. It starts with trying to woo you with the wing dance and tidbitting and then turns into chasing your feet and finally full on jumping and kicking attacks, if you do not shoe the rooster that 1) you are not part of his flock and 2) he is not stronger than you.

To do this, whenever he shows signs of aggression, pick him up and carry him around for a few minutes. Never back away when he comes toward you. If necessary, a quick sharp tug on the feathers of his tail or the back of the neck will make him think twice about nipping you if you are bending down and your hands are near the ground etc.

The brown one (shawn) he knows already! When I say no or im even nearby at all he starts acting nervous and pecking the ground randomly. Now the black one is my baby!! Keysha will jump on me and climb onto my chest/shoulder and sit there like shes a lil chick still. But I did find it odd that she jumped at me while I was standing up! That was a first so I just assumed she was doing what she normally does. So thanks because I would've probably not even known until it was too late! & wilk definately take your advice.

 

[KeyshaRoo]

Roosters can usually live together quite happily. There will be biting and scrapping but it's when hens are around that roosters really fight. Do not be tempted to get a girl chicken because they will fight worse over her, unless you intend to keep them separate with one girl or more each.

HOWEVER, in the video you provided, that black rooster is displaying human aggressive behaviour. When it runs at you with its wings out like that it is trying to fight and/or dominate you. You must act now to stop this kind of thing. It will be worse first thing in the morning and maybe in the evenings as well. It is especially important to stop this behaviour with young children around, but it IS possible to stop it.

Unfortunately bad behaviour from roosters usually escalates. It starts with trying to woo you with the wing dance and tidbitting and then turns into chasing your feet and finally full on jumping and kicking attacks, if you do not shoe the rooster that 1) you are not part of his flock and 2) he is not stronger than you.

To do this, whenever he shows signs of aggression, pick him up and carry him around for a few minutes. Never back away when he comes toward you. If necessary, a quick sharp tug on the feathers of his tail or the back of the neck will make him think twice about nipping you if you are bending down and your hands are near the ground etc.

I thought I replied.... maybe I responded to you on someone elses... well rather than retype the whole thing again I'll keep it simple this time, Thanks for the advice! I did find it odd he jumped at me when I was standing but brushed it off as the way she normally likes being on me. I will definitely do as you suggest!! Thanks

 

[KeyshaRoo]

Hi and welcome to BYC

These links are good -
First Aid kit

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/suggestions-for-a-first-aid-kit.1150128/

http://www.backyardchickens.com/t/1149741/topic-of-the-week-emergency-first-aid-preparedness

I've not had issues with keeping two cock birds, but space is a possible consideration -
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

I'm sure others will contribute additional suggestions

Thanks... I appreciate your help!