Well, it finally happened. I have been bragging about LeMerde, my Black Copper Marans rooster; how docile he is, how beautiful he is, and how he lies down and clucks when he is pet. He'll follow you around and is very pleasant. Until today.
I was sitting with the chickens in our backyard (we are still working on the run so they free range with me watching them during the morning and afternoon) and with no provocation at all, LeMerde attacked me. He bit my leg, drew blood and bruised it pretty nicely. I went inside and put on jeans over my pants, put on a big fluffy vest and my thick chicken-handling winter gloves and grabbed a broom. I went down to the coop to see if he had calmed down and he ended up chasing me up the hill and back into the house! I had read that if you kick them back or react too strongly then the rooster will think that he has a spurring partner, so I just used the broom to protect my body. He hasn't shown signs of aggression before and I figured it was too good to be true that I had such a nice rooster!
I ended up asking my neighbor to help distract him while I got the girls into the coop - I had 8 little Buff Orpies waiting for me at the post office and received the call right when I went inside to put on my rooster protective gear, so it was imperative that I got the girls into the coop and pick up my little fuzzies. We walked down to the coop and LeMerde gave a warning song and eyed me like he did just before he chased me up the hill. He was clearly not cooperating. I got a laundry basket and put him under it while I got the girls into the coop, and once I got them back in, I flipped over the basket and liberated him from it. He still won't let me near him.
This forum has been incredibly helpful and I have gotten a lot of good advice, including separating him from the girls so he's at the bottom of the pecking order, which I intend on doing. Some people say to keep him separated and if he is taken by predators then so be it - some people say to give him away but I had a hard time trying to give away my other rooster just a couple of weeks ago - and others say that mean roosters make very good chicken soup, but we are vegetarians! Any other advice or your own stories would be much appreciated.
I do have another cockerel in the coop who is about 8 weeks old and I've imprinted on him - he follows me around and still flies into my lap for petting. I have high hopes that he won't turn on me but after this guy I'm not sure what will happen.
I was sitting with the chickens in our backyard (we are still working on the run so they free range with me watching them during the morning and afternoon) and with no provocation at all, LeMerde attacked me. He bit my leg, drew blood and bruised it pretty nicely. I went inside and put on jeans over my pants, put on a big fluffy vest and my thick chicken-handling winter gloves and grabbed a broom. I went down to the coop to see if he had calmed down and he ended up chasing me up the hill and back into the house! I had read that if you kick them back or react too strongly then the rooster will think that he has a spurring partner, so I just used the broom to protect my body. He hasn't shown signs of aggression before and I figured it was too good to be true that I had such a nice rooster!
I ended up asking my neighbor to help distract him while I got the girls into the coop - I had 8 little Buff Orpies waiting for me at the post office and received the call right when I went inside to put on my rooster protective gear, so it was imperative that I got the girls into the coop and pick up my little fuzzies. We walked down to the coop and LeMerde gave a warning song and eyed me like he did just before he chased me up the hill. He was clearly not cooperating. I got a laundry basket and put him under it while I got the girls into the coop, and once I got them back in, I flipped over the basket and liberated him from it. He still won't let me near him.
This forum has been incredibly helpful and I have gotten a lot of good advice, including separating him from the girls so he's at the bottom of the pecking order, which I intend on doing. Some people say to keep him separated and if he is taken by predators then so be it - some people say to give him away but I had a hard time trying to give away my other rooster just a couple of weeks ago - and others say that mean roosters make very good chicken soup, but we are vegetarians! Any other advice or your own stories would be much appreciated.
I do have another cockerel in the coop who is about 8 weeks old and I've imprinted on him - he follows me around and still flies into my lap for petting. I have high hopes that he won't turn on me but after this guy I'm not sure what will happen.
