Roo getting aggresive?

[Misfit Farm]

Thanks for the replies. Snoopy has tried to come at me a couple more times. He won't come at me if I am looking at him - If I am watching him he pretends that I don't exist

but he will try to come at me if my back is turned. The other day I was going up to the house and walked past him. As I walked towards him he acted like I wasn't even there. I took about 2-3 steps past him and turned to watch him and he was getting ready to charge. I charged at him chasing him and grabbed a broom as I went past the coop. I proceeded to chase him half way across the horse's field (probably about 600 feet away). When I quit chasing him he fluffed his feathers and crowed calling the hens to him. I ignored him and proceeded to the house. What I probably should have done was kept him in excile for a bit, keeping the hens away from him in hopes of teaching him that aggressive behaviour does not pay off. He has seemed a little better since then, he gave me an aggressive look and postured a bit last night when I was in the coop and put my foot in front of one of my EE hens to prevent her from going out the door. He may have thought that he needed to protect her. I just gave him a look and he backed down so his time isn't up yet. I am hoping that he will quit with the agressiveness if/when he realizes that it doesn't work. I really don't want to have to make Snoopy stew but I am leaving all options open.

Hotwings wrote:

Some breeds of rooster are better than others.

Which breeds are better? I like having a rooster because I feel that they help look out for the hens and I want to have a few chicks. If Snoopy ends up on the dinnr plate I will want to replace him but want to minimize the chances of another agressive roo. Thanks.

Jen​

 

[bigzio]

jen, I only have Light Brahmas and are the best. There is no breed that has nothing but gentle roos, it all depends on the individual bird. The first year is always the worst and roos tend to get better with age.

bigzio

 

[joanna]

i've had good luck with my polish roosters. they seem to be MUCH gentler breeds than the others.

 

[Llysse]

I've heard that Faverolles are usually very genteel (hence my choosing to get Faverolles this year!) They're also BEAUTIFUL birds.

Pretty picture here: www.raskippen.be/algemeen/rassen/F/faverolle

 

[dharveymi]

Okay. I read a post somewhere on this forum (sorry I can't seem to find it back now), on why roosters behave the way they do. They said in a nutshell, that roosters have a certain "pecking" order. They fight for the position of alpha rooster, second in line is the beta rooster. The aggressiveness we're seeing is his struggle to position himself as the alpha rooster. Our job is to step into the position of alpha rooster. I've been trying this for the last couple of days, letting him know who is the boss.

Anyway, according to this thing is that the alpha rooster never allows the other roosters to begin eating at the same time as the hens. So, chase him off until the hens have been eating for a couple of minutes. Instinctively, he knows this is a positioning technique. Never let him pick on one of "your" hens. If he does, chase him down and give him a good piece of your mind, or foot. The alpha rooster would do this. Likewise with him trying to mate with a hen in your presence. The alpha wouldn't allow that. Generally, just get aggressive with him a few times a day, putting him in his place.

You can still pick him up and hold him, etc. But when you set him back down, give him a little swat on the behind so he remembers his position.

This all seems to be working. His challenges, the frequency and severity of them, seems to be lessening.

This has to work because the other option of putting him in a stewpot doesn't work for me. I'm a vegetarian who fell into this whole chicken thing kind of by accident. My kids were involved in a Bethlehem Village for five weeks near Christmas, so we picked up some baby chicks so the kids visiting the "village" could watch them grow. They seemed really cool and fun until this whole rooster problem. Now my kids are emotionally attached. Who am I kidding? I kind of like them, too.

 

[gallinamadreymispollos]

I currently have an aggressive roo that enjoys attacking me & no one else in my family. The bloody bugger only tries to attack me when no one else is around, when my husband or 11yr old son is with me - he doesn't even attempt it.

I've been trying to be mean, yell at him, chase him, etc, but I haven't seemed to be able to show him who's boss yet.

I love the sound of him & I think he keeps away the predators, but I do have to protect myself when I go into the yard alone. Recently, he got real bold & attacked my head - thank god I was quick enough & he only got my hand.

I've been told you have to be stern & not appear afraid - I have trouble with that, because I am scared to death every time I go into the yard!

Good luck to you & let me know if you find something that works!

Lisa