My sizzle roo is obviously the head of our flock and is starting to show it, watching out while the others eat and so forth which is great. But he has started to challenge me a bit which is very surprising since he is the most laid back sweetest chicken we have. I question him being a roo for a while (til he crowed). Is this pretty normal for young roos to do this to establish the order? What should I do to nip this in the bud. I have read holding them upside down by the feet and I just don't want to do something to make it worse. I have kids and don't want them to get hurt. Any suggestions? He has only done it a couple times, usually when I let them out of the coop in the mornings or if I go toward the group suddenly. Thanks for your help. Marie
Marie, We also have a roo that challenges and charges sometimes. I am recovering from a broken leg and am walking with a cane, so I wave my cane in the air and my other arm go towards him yelling. My husband kicks him. Wherever I go our puppy goes, the roo won't come near me if my puppy is by my side. Monica
I will just have to be more aware. He has just started doing it so I really should just keep my eye on him and if he comes at me, yell and clap my hands or something. He is only 4 1/2 mo. old and I want to nip that in the bud early on. He will get right into my lap and eat from my hand. I think he just is starting to be protective of the others and that is a good thing but he needs to know that I am boss and not him. Just wondered if anyone had any inovative suggestions on keeping the peace. Thanks. Marie
Yikes Monica, I cringed when I read that your husband kicks the roo. There has got to be a less violent way....... I once encountered a couple of roos (that neighbors dropped off, thoughtlessly, and I adopted out and worked with for a bit in their new location) that were upstarts when they were beginning to feel their hormones. I used distraction as a technique to get their minds off their dastardly mission of confronting me. Basically would not give them the time of day when they were being fresh but gave them positive reinforcement when they were calm. It did work but I know different strategies may be needed for different roo folk.........Handling does seem to do the trick for some - dominance without violence. I've been lucky that all the roos in my care have been gentle beings - never once a moment of angst with them. And all came into my care as adults that showed up out of the blue. I know it isn't this easy for everyone.....
I would never hurt one of mine but I think a nudge with your foot, not really a hard kick, would probably give him the idea that what he is doing is not a good idea. I tried a few of the suggestions on that thread last night and he did great. He did not really love that I would not let him eat until I had given treats to everyone else. (except the other suspected roos) But he did fine. I will continue to pick him up and carry him around and let him know who the head chicken is and like you said, use positive reinforcement when he is good which is 90% of the time. I let him out of the coop this morning and waited for him to pass me and then walked behind him so that my back was not to him. I usually open it and walk off and he comes out jumping a little. But he did not this morning and I was standing right ther by the door. I wanted him to see me and not think I was retreating. Then I picked him up and carried him around under my arm while I let the others out and then put him down. I will keep working with him and the others and hopefully this will pass once he has gotten use to his new hormones. I do want him to protect the flock as much as he can though so I don't know how this will effect his ability to do that? They are not ever free ranging unless I am home, but even then some dog could wonder up or something? Anyway, we will see how it goes. Thanks for your suggestions. marie
Quote:so smacking them upside the head with a rake(plastic not metal) wasn't good either? It worked though, so he hasn't tried to confront me since, next time I will try talking resonably with him I thought he was challenging me and I won he lost, end of story
I think it all depeneds on the situation and I think that as long as you don't hurt him unnecessarily then what you did was not wrong. I mean, I am sure you did not haul off and kick the crap out of him and over do it. I think you did what you felt was needed at the time to protect yourself. And each person has to make that call depending on the situation. I don't think what you did was necessarily wrong, but may not be the same for each person or each situation. Sorry if you were offended. Marie
I've heard of people using water guns to get the point across. I myself turned them upside down to calm them and then I would pet them. (you gotta catch'em first) But they know I'm the boss of the flock. Still, they will challenge me if the opportunity presents itself.
It all depends on the Roo. My Partridge Rock Roo has'nt stood up to me yet. Always backs away but he's just 5 months old so we will see if he gets braver. Chickflick's EE Roo is alot more aggressive( 6 months maybe??) Even as a chick he would pick on everybody else. The other day I was at her house and he tryed to spur my leg (just bumps right now). You bet I kicked him. And when he came back for seconds he got kicked again. And they were not gentle kicks either. He's too aggressive to ignore and has to be put in his place. So my response always depends on the Roo's actions.