Rooster Chat

[Amelia Egghart]

Eek! You have other roosters too, so you already know how a rooster should behave. Yikes. Have you tried distraction? I had a Jersey Giant that would go straight into attack mode but we'd distract with something positive and talk calmly to him until he piped down. Granted, he died soon after we started having a positive effect so I'll never know if that technique really worked. Man... That's awful! I'm sorry!

 

[cabinchicky]

Larry sounds like a handful. Personally I would not keep him or let him mate to pass his aggressive nature on. Even if he is a beautiful rooster there is no reason you should have to watch for an attack even time you go in your coop/run. It is part of raising them and it can be heartbreaking but you need to remove him ASAP for your own good and your flock. Good luck!
I had a bantam who was much worse so he was removed, permanently. Have had to put down a gorgeous blue cochin male after he broke both of his hips sparring. That one was hard to do, had hoped he would be my breeding stock. He was also a big cuddle buddy.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

In other news....

Nero has slept through the night outdoors in the coop TWICE in a row now! I had been putting him inside a dog crate at night inside the house when I heard him start crowing. He didn't like it but also didn't struggle and ended up sleeping in the crate until morning. But after getting some real sleep he was calm!!! This happened maybe four times. Both last night and the night before he was good. Maybe the crate broke the cycle? I'm leaving it set up do I can put him somewhere if need be at any time but fingers crossed that this worked.

But in other other less good news...

Looks like my adopted rescue Phoenix chick is a little boy. :-/ the neighbor's daughter loves him of course but I don't think Nero will allow another boy, even a delicate little Phoenix. I might be surprised, but I see it going badly. Time to start looking at rehoming options. Shouldn't be too hard for a Phoenix, but he is a special needs bird.

 

[Amelia Egghart]

And I agree with cabinchicky. What's the advantage of keeping him? If you breed him, his offspring have a higher chance of being aggressive. You'll be watching for attacks all the time and your stress level, not to mention your flocks stress level, will be higher. If you have a way to divert the attacks and keep stress down, then he might be able to live out his life there but you'll have to put a lot of work into it.

 

[masondixonchix]

So sorry about your troubles with Larry. Don't give up on him! You wouldn't want him to give up on you.

Below is a pic of my rooster, Minky and girlfriends. They get a treat almost every night. Last night was mac and cheese.

 

[TroyerGal]

Can we get our two boys together? Maybe some of your sweet boys sweetness will rub off on my brat. Larry was supposed to be a girl. He wasn't. He and I have been playing the bad rooster game for the past two months now and at the moment I'm ahead, but barely. In fact I just got done chasing the little feathered demon around the run with the first thing I could grab which happened to be a plastic bag with some (not a lot) pine chips in it. No, I know, it sounds terrible but my LO boy is a hand full right now. I have one rooster that is a doll. Wouldn't trade him for all the gold in the world. My two Welsummer roosters are okay. They have to be watched simply because every now and again they like to do a sneak attack on my heels when my back is turned but they have never caused any real damage and when they do it, all I have to do is spin around really fast at them and they take off running in the opposite direction. But Larry is....well I'm starting to think a bit of a mental case. He is an absolutely GORGEOUS LO. He weighs a good 12 pounds if not more and stands heads above the other 3 roosters. He also likes to try to dominate me, which just started a month or two ago.  Until then he was a nice boy. I would pick him up and carry him around thinking that he would be easier to deal with and then when the spring hormones came into play, my sweet Dr Jekyll turned into My Hyde. I have tried everything with this rooster and have decided that it is just a battle of wills between us. Today I was sitting out in the run with two of my 12 week old pullets sitting on my lap and was aware that Larry was moving in on me. He does it slowly, casually, side stepping a bit, reaching down, picking up a tidbit, laying it down, all the while moving closer. Because he is unpredictable right now, I don't let him get too close, so when I put the two youngsters down and stood up, out went his hackles at me. I keep a broom handy just for such an occasion but it was sitting outside the run by the door and I didn't want to back down from him so the first thing my hand encountered was this plastic bag with some pine chips in it that I had left sitting by my bench. The next thing Larry knew he had the bag between him and me but he wasn't backing down. He flew at the bag spurs first and actually ripped a hole in it. Since he had done the same thing to my right foot last week and managed to puncture not only my muck boot but my foot also, him attacking the bag was an all out cavalry charge as far as I was concerned. I went on the offensive, and finally got him to back down from me but we got a pretty good work out. As long as I can get him to back down, he usually stays good for a week or so and then challenges me again. I seriously do not know if he thinks I am a stronger Rooster as he is the #4 rooster, bottom of the pecking order. Or if he thinks I am a big hen that he is trying to win over. I know there are people who would and will say get rid of him, eat him, send him on a slow boat ride to China but in all honesty, what saves him is the fact that he is a beautiful rooster and I am bound and determined to make him see the error of his ways so we can at least live with a truce between us. But then again, I have a feeling that once a week for the next 6 years I'm destined to be galloping after the silly bird with my trusty broom in my hand or bag of pin chips, whatever in order to preserve the sanctity of my feet and ankles.

So that is the story of Larry Bird. Tell me about your sweet LO please? Let me know that there are really nice ones out there.

So sorry about Larry! My roo is only a couple months old so i don't think his hormones have kicked in yet but, my brother said he saw him trying to mount a pullet who is the same age as Hans... anyway, Hans is a very sweet little buddy he follows me if i give him treats. I hope larry will be a better boy

 

[cabinchicky]

Part of being a responsible chicken owner is making sure you, your families and your flock are safe.We also have the hard decisions of when to remove a flock member due to injury, defect or aggressive behavior. Larry is possibly causing stress to his owner and flock mates with his behavior.There is no reason to be worried of entry into your coop/run from an aggressive rooster. Some of them you can never break out of it no matter what you do. I have tried, believe me. You must keep in mind what he could do to a toddler who might get too close, would you keep that type of threat? Yes I know he could be the only male of that breed for the owner, but is it worth it. What else is there?Be on guard every time you enter his domain? Put him in his own pen where he could attack every time you go to feed him? It is not the type of life I would want for me, family, anyone caring for them or my flock. Yes it is horrible but you have to come to terms that it could happen if you have roosters, especially multiple roosters. I am not trying to upset anyone but please think of what he could do to a small child. Is that worth the risk?

 

[microchick]

Part of being a responsible chicken owner is making sure you, your families and your flock are safe.We also have the hard decisions of when to remove a flock member due to injury, defect or aggressive behavior. Larry is possibly causing stress to his owner and flock mates with his behavior.There is no reason to be worried of entry into your coop/run from an aggressive rooster. Some of them you can never break out of it no matter what you do. I have tried, believe me. You must keep in mind what he could do to a toddler who might get too close, would you keep that type of threat? Yes I know he could be the only male of that breed for the owner, but is it worth it. What else is there?Be on guard every time you enter his domain? Put him in his own pen where he could attack every time you go to feed him? It is not the type of life I would want for me, family, anyone caring for them or my flock. Yes it is horrible but you have to come to terms that it could happen if you have roosters, especially multiple roosters. I am not trying to upset anyone but please think of what he could do to a small child. Is that worth the risk.

Agreed, cabinchicky. Which is why nobody except for myself and my husband is allowed in the coop or run. My best rooster, a Buff Orpington named Red is treated with the same respect you would give a stallion or a bull. Even your best rooster can at times be unpredictable. This is not my first time at the rooster rodeo. Last summer I had to re-home 2 roosters , knowing they were going to be eaten due to aggression not only to me but to other roosters. I have a year old Welsummer rooster who will probably have to be put down eventually due to a joint injury that I believe was caused by the aggressive roosters trying to kill it when it was young.

As for children. we do not have any nor do children visit our farm with the exception of an rare Amish child who is quite well versed with the definition of ' a mean rooster '. Our chickens do not free range due to a problem with predators. Our run is also hot wired, so yes, I do consider myself to be a responsible owner.

2 years ago, I retired from 40 years of service as a nurse. I have dealt with death more times than I care to remember, so that option is very low on my list when I deal with any animal, and as stated earlier, I really do like my roosters but view them realistically. And yes, there will probably come a day when I will have to make a decision about my Larry BIrd.

But not today.

 

[cabinchicky]

Part of being a responsible chicken owner is making sure you, your families and your flock are safe.We also have the hard decisions of when to remove a flock member due to injury, defect or aggressive behavior. Larry is possibly causing stress to his owner and flock mates with his behavior.There is no reason to be worried of entry into your coop/run from an aggressive rooster. Some of them you can never break out of it no matter what you do. I have tried, believe me. You must keep in mind what he could do to a toddler who might get too close, would you keep that type of threat? Yes I know he could be the only male of that breed for the owner, but is it worth it. What else is there?Be on guard every time you enter his domain? Put him in his own pen where he could attack every time you go to feed him? It is not the type of life I would want for me, family, anyone caring for them or my flock. Yes it is horrible but you have to come to terms that it could happen if you have roosters, especially multiple roosters. I am not trying to upset anyone but please think of what he could do to a small child. Is that worth the risk.

Agreed, cabinchicky. Which is why nobody except for myself and my husband is allowed in the coop or run. My best rooster, a Buff Orpington named Red is treated with the same respect you would give a stallion or a bull. Even your best rooster can at times be unpredictable. This is not my first time at the rooster rodeo. Last summer I had to re-home 2 roosters , knowing they were going to be eaten due to aggression not only to me but to other roosters. I have a year old Welsummer rooster who will probably have to be put down eventually due to a joint injury that I believe was caused by the aggressive roosters trying to kill it when it was young. 

As for children. we do not have any nor do children visit our farm  with the exception of an rare Amish child who is quite well versed with the definition of ' a mean rooster '. Our chickens do not free range due to a problem with predators. Our run is also hot wired, so yes, I do consider myself to be a responsible owner.

2 years ago, I retired from 40 years of service as a nurse. I have dealt  with death more times than I care to remember, so that option is very low on my list when I deal with any animal, and as stated earlier, I really do like my roosters but view them realistically. And yes, there will probably come a day when I will have to make a decision about my Larry BIrd. 

But not today.

I understand your thoughts with Larry and your dealing with him. Not everyone can deal with an aggressive bird like we do, different strokes fir different folks. was only saying my thoughts for those who are new to having roosters and what they could face having one that is aggressive. Co-worker just learned his adopted flocks rooster will go after his kids. I myself do not have small children but plenty of great nieces and nephews who I watch while they are near my coops. Good luck with him and I hope you stay safe.

 

[microchick]

Thank you cabinchicky. Don't worry. I'm very realistic about dealing with my boys. I love them, but I also respect them and treat them like roosters. They are not pets. They have a job to do and as far as Larry is concerned, the head rooster doesn't let him have his way with any of his ladies and he considers them ALL as his ladies.

Amelia Egghart, I agree with you whole heartedly. I've put a lot of effort into Larry all ready and will have to make a decision about him at some point. If I knew somebody who would caponize him I would do it in a minute so he would just live out his life peaceably. I don't. SO my next step if he doesn't settle down will be to separate him and the extra roosters I have from the main flock and see if that will calm him down. I suspect not.

Before I admit defeat, I want to be sure in my own mind that I have explored all possibilities before I act. Dead is a permanent and long time solution.