Rooster Attacked my wife for the first time.

[dae006]

The rooster is about six and a half months old and only has small nubbin spurs right now, but he still managed to put a good dent (and bruise) on my wife’s ankle while she was painting posts in the run. We bought eight chicks in May and didn’t want any roosters, but unfortunately one of the Rustic Rocks turned out to be a male. He’s surprisingly big, but how many chances do you give one before deciding to get rid of him? My wife wasn’t bothering any of the chickens at the time—just painting. Thanks.

 

[ChickenChick46]

The rooster is about six and a half months old and only has small nubbin spurs right now, but he still managed to put a good dent (and bruise) on my wife’s ankle while she was painting posts in the run. We bought eight chicks in May and didn’t want any roosters, but unfortunately one of the Rustic Rocks turned out to be a male. He’s surprisingly big, but how many chances do you give one before deciding to get rid of him? My wife wasn’t bothering any of the chickens at the time—just painting. Thanks.

Personally, one and done for me. I'm not going to have to watch my back around my birds. I also have kids, so aggression is a no go. I'm sure everyone will have differing approaches, but I would be putting him in the freezer, or giving him to someone who will.

 

[WingItRanch]

He's going to do it again if he's already showing human aggression. Especially if she was just standing there. Most people recommend no roosters for your first flock. They can really ruin the chicken keeping experience. A Rustic Rock will get pretty big and he could do some serious damage, especially if there are kids around. You could try to give him another chance or 2 or 3 but if it were me, I'd either find a home for him or process him as a meal.

My first flock had a cockerel that attacked me and I tried every trick in the book to try and change his behavior. I ended up making a delicious meal and canning bone stock.

 

[AinaWGSD]

how many chances do you give one before deciding to get rid of him?

One. Especially since this was completely unprovoked and you didn't want a rooster in the first place. Even if he never attacks again, your family will need to be constantly on guard around him, and you need to consider if/how that will affect your enjoyment of your chickens.

 

[nuthatched]

 

[EggzactlyRight]

One chance is all a rooster should get in my opinion. If it happened once then it will happen again, and the fact that your wife was not even doing anything besides being there shows that this rooster is not good with humans. Sure, technically you could try to work on it but I don't think it's ever worth the trouble because you only risk another, possibly more serious injury. It's exhausting to always have to watch your back, especially in your own yard/garden.

Not all roosters are like this. There are many who are just as sweet to humans as they are with hens, and there are also many who at least know to respect humans. These are the kind of roosters you should keep, not ones like yours.

You can try to find him a new home. When we have a bad rooster we eat them - they are very tasty!​

 

[Altairsky]

You didn't want any rooster so that's it. You have no use of a rooster, and even less use of a rotten one, so culling is the best option, or if you don't feel like culling, I'd give him to someone who appreciate a free meal.

 

[MysteryChicken]

The rooster is about six and a half months old and only has small nubbin spurs right now, but he still managed to put a good dent (and bruise) on my wife’s ankle while she was painting posts in the run. We bought eight chicks in May and didn’t want any roosters, but unfortunately one of the Rustic Rocks turned out to be a male. He’s surprisingly big, but how many chances do you give one before deciding to get rid of him? My wife wasn’t bothering any of the chickens at the time—just painting. Thanks.

Sounds like he's a human aggressive cockerel. I'd cull him ASAP. I usually give zero chances if it's genetic related, but if there's a cause, I attempt to correct it. If the cause isn't found then, he follows the same fate as the genetic aggressive cockerel, or rooster.

 

[angc11]

Depends on what you need him for and how difficult he makes it for you to take care of/enjoy the chickens. My head roo is slightly human aggressive but my flock free ranges on 6 acres and he's a fierce protector and very loyal to the hens. The hens love him and he takes care of them very well. He keeps his distance from me when I need to do any type of chicken chore and will really only charge if I approach him without some kind of implement to ward him off. I always keep a big stick with me that he seems to respect enough to always stay away from me so we have a tenuous truce. I don't have kids and he has proved himself to be essential so far (running off feral cats, getting the hens to safety when there is a hawk, collecting hens when they wander off, standing guard for dust bathing, getting the hens into the coop at night, etc etc) so he gets to stay as long as he keeps doing his job. If I ever see him not doing his job (or he finally jams his spurs into the back of my calves like I know he constantly dreams of doing), I will get rid of him.

All that being said, if I just had chickens in a run, I personally would not keep a human aggressive rooster. My roo is excellent for my free ranging flock, but he would be an absolute tyrant in a run and I would not hesitate to get rid of him because he would not be serving much of a purpose whilst being a huge detriment to the keeper trying to take care of the flock.

 

[Folly's place]

This has been a learning experience for all of you, now you've seen the behaviors that led up to this first actual attack. And it should be his last attack!!!
Trying to 'reform' human aggressive cock birds is futile, IMO, and based on our experiences over many years.
He needs to be dinner, for you or another family, soonest. If you do send him elsewhere, only with full disclosure, and realize that you could be liable for any injuries he causes out there.
Dinner! Or bury him in your yard, or something.
There are lovely roosters out there, and if you want one, try raising some straight run chicks in spring, and you might get a keeper then.
Mary