Yesterday afternoon I went out to feed my flock (11 hens, 1 RIR rooster). I was dipping crumbles out of the Rubbermaid can into the feed bowls and all the hens were standing at my feet watching. The rooster came strolling up, cocked his head to eyeball me, and then jumped up and sunk his spurs into my shin. Other than an occasional peck at my foot I have not had any trouble with him and I've had him for two years. Now, I've got a bruised shinbone and two puncture wounds where healthy skin used to be. Perhaps needless to say, I don't mistreat my birds. They are well fed and watered, stay in a nice coop, and have a large (48 x 16) pen to roam around in. I told my wife he's lucky it's me. My daddy would have had him for supper after a stunt like that. I'd like to keep ol' Rooster Cogburn around but not at the expense of my mobility. Are RIR roosters prone to unprovoked attacks or to develop a mean streak? Any hints/tips? Thanks in advance.
roosrerswill get mean an flogg you.its in their nature.they say you can break them from flogging you.but you cant in my book.theres 1 thing todo with him an thats the stewpot.or keep him an get flogged.but wouldnt let wife or kids in the yard with him.years ago i had a rooster that would flogg me several times a day.as i workedfeeding bottle calves an watering them.id use a 2 by on him nothing worked.i got fed up told my dad he had to go.so dad got the shot gun.went out to where he was an that dumb roo starting flogging again.so we finally beat him back an blew his head off.end of devil roo.
OHB, it is only going to get worse!!!!!!! You've had your wake up call already!!!! So, basically it is up to you as to how much your willing to take from the mean rooster. Of course it is your call, but I'd wring that things neck and not give it a second thought! Be extremely careful if there are children around. He could jump up and spur a small child in the face and might put their eyes out. I wouldn't chance having him around anymore if I were you.
Some mean roosters are hard to break, but it can be done. I had a roo attack me one time. I gave him a very swift kick as he was charging and then chased him around the yard and he didn't come back till night fall. Another approach is to cuddle them and taking him around the yard all day. None the less, stewpot is the safest method.
I read somewhere that RIR roosters are notoriously aggressive... but I've read all over this board about lovey-dovey RIR cocks. I do think roos of all breeds are more bound to act out in the spring. There was a really good article several months ago about working with problem roos; it was in Backyard Poultry magazine (which I adore), and more or less described the situation you were in. Lessee... it was in the April/May issue of 2006. I think you can still order back issues of those. It's a relatively long (and very good!) article that I recommend reading in full. In essence the advice that pertains to this particular situation was to consider if any changes in environment may be causing the rooster to behave differently or perceive you as a threat to HIS hens . For example, the author says that carrying large, flat objects like empty feed bags can trigger a "defend from flying predators" response in nervous roosters. Another example he gave was a time when he'd moved a couple hens out of the breeding pen the day before, and his rooster attacked him the next day as he was filling the feeders. When he thought about what had happened, he realized that "Now (the rooster) had a different sense of what was at stake" when he went in to fill the feeders, so he simply changed the way he serviced the pen before the rooster got set in his defensive behavior. It's just an excellent article. It was written by Harvey Ussery, and he gives a web address in the article: www.themodernhomestead.us
I am so sorry that after 2 years you got flogged. I have had 2 such roosters. One I think an owl ate one night and I really didn't miss him. The other was a real beauty... a Lakenvelder and he started on me the day he started to crow. My legs were a mess and that was through jeans. I started to carry a broom into the coop with me and if he started at me I would knock him with it. He would just come back for more. Three weeks ago I was finally able to give him to a man who said he had 80 hens and no roosters. Well he sure has got one now! It is so much nicer to go into the yard now without having to be on my guard all the time. I do have a RIR rooster in there and he is only 1 year old so I am hoping he stays as wonderful as he has always been.
Hi ohb, If you have an attachment to him, just trim his spurs. It's a pretty simple process that can be done many ways. Lots of chicken books will tell you how (garden clippers, or a saw, or even heavy duty dog nail clippers). It's a 2 person job. You need to have cornstarch or flour handy after the trimming to help stop the bleeding. You can even google "timming rooster spurs" on the web. My rooster is friendly, but we keep him trimmed just to make sure. Even the hens can pay a price (when mating) with too long of spurs.
I have an ol Red Rock Cross Rooster (RIR cross with Barred Rock) who put his spur right through my jeans. Went to work limping and said I banged my knee Well I got my best fish net out and caught him and trimmed them spurs off.
Hey, OHB Take good care of those holes in your leg. A lot of bacteria probably went in with those spurs. A friend of mine got that same treatment from her RIR roo and hers got infected. (Not that the breed had anything to do with the infection! )
Thanks to all for your replies. I would hate to get rid of the old roo. He has some really pretty coloring and I am a bit fond of him. Even the neighbors like him. They've told me they like to hear him crowing in the morning. They said his crowing makes it seem more like the country (ours is a rural development of about 15 lots around a 25 acre pond). I think some of these folks grew up on farms and hearing a rooster crow may remind them of a time that once was. Anyway, I've decided to give the old boy a second chance since this is his first real transgression in two years. What Llysse posted about a change in habitat may be it. I've just recently made some minor changes to the coop to facilitate egg gathering. It may have been just enough of a change to upset his applecart. I'll keep y'all posted on whether Rooster Cogburn goes on the prod again.