Roo just nailed me! Arghh Advise?

[AZBootsie]

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This is what I do also. If he is in arms length, he gets picked up. Now he stays far away from me. Why does this create a problem?? Hope I am not building a FrankenRoo.

 

[galanie]

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This is what I do also. If he is in arms length, he gets picked up. Now he stays far away from me. Why does this create a problem?? Hope I am not building a FrankenRoo.

I think the one that disagreed with this treatment was referring to treating the roo like a pet. The ones that are hand raised and treated as a pet from the time they are chicks tend to be more aggressive to humans when they grow up than they would have if raised with a more hands off approach. Picking up one and carrying him around that is starting to show aggression that you haven't treated as a pet previously is a different story so long as you're not trying to turn him into a cuddlebunny.

 

[jmc]

this roo of mine is also a nice little guy..........at least so far

 

[DingleBay]

Thanks for the replies. I am sorry to see my roo go as the dynamic was cool. We will miss him. However I don't need him for protection as my hens don't free range. And bottom line is I have three young 2, 3, and 6 year old grand kids who love the chickens and like to go into the run to feed them. I am not taking any chances with a rooster. I think this one was particularly aggressive as he would fly at my face every time I tried to pick him up. Today he got a nice parting shot at me. Tore a nice three inch scratch in my forearm that bled like crazy. I have one on my face and others on my arms. I am not afraid of him and had bare arms but he is just not worth the trouble. I took him to a friends small farm. He has about 30 or so birds and will fit the rooster into the mix.

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:
This is what I do also. If he is in arms length, he gets picked up. Now he stays far away from me. Why does this create a problem?? Hope I am not building a FrankenRoo.

I think the one that disagreed with this treatment was referring to treating the roo like a pet. The ones that are hand raised and treated as a pet from the time they are chicks tend to be more aggressive to humans when they grow up than they would have if raised with a more hands off approach. Picking up one and carrying him around that is starting to show aggression that you haven't treated as a pet previously is a different story so long as you're not trying to turn him into a cuddlebunny.

Got ya!! Nah mine aren't lap roosters.

 

[AZBootsie]

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He is lucky ya didn't turn him into soup!! Hopefully his new flockmates will mellow him a bit. Ya did the right thing. Imagine how horid you would feel if his departure gift had landed on one of your grandchildren instead of you!!

 

[Beekissed]

From studies done on male livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, chickens, they have found that hand feeding a young male makes him imprint on the human as the opposite sex of his species. This is why they advise against bottle feeding any young breeding males you may want to have in your herd. This is also why young condors are fed with condor-look alike puppets when being hand-reared in captivity.

It is not necessarily the handling and petting of a young roo that creates the problem but the hand feeding and nurturing like a mother hen would do a young chick....she provides/finds them food, calls them to it, scratches it into the open and stands back to let them eat. When humans do the approximate equivalent they seem to confuse the young males and they develop the thought that humans are females of their flock and can be disciplined or mated like every other chicken. I'd say one could carry around a roo chick all one wants and not create confusion....but when you feed him treats, whether it is by hand or just on the ground in front of you, you are doing a mama's job and may just cause the aforementioned imprinting and resulting confused aggression.

For 30 hens, I'd only keep 2 roos....and those would be the most docile, but vigilant to predators. I wouldn't keep a banty roo for any reason....

 

[ChickyLoo]

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So at what age would it be safe to give roo treats? We have some 8wk old roos that are going to be food, we put down treats all the time some eat out of our hand. One is especially sweet he lets me carry him , i was going to keep him. How is giving them feed & water different from treats though? Very confused

 

[NYREDS]

BigDaddy'sGurl :

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Glad he's working for you even if he is aggressive: don't know if you are aware, but with that straight comb, what you have is a beautiful Barred Plymouth Rock boy...Dominiques have pea combs.

Actually Dominiques have rose combs.​

 

[NYREDS]

BigDaddy'sGurl :

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My Doms have rose combs.

I stand corrected: Dominiques have Rose Combs (

) and BRs have straight combs... wow I corrected someone with less than correct information... sheesh...

Thanks ozark!

Actually the corect term for the comb on a Barred Rock is single comb, not straight comb.