Rooster Gone Sour

[townchicks]

@aart you made me laugh, as that scene was EXACTLY what I was thinking of, as I was typing.

 

[SimplyLivinthatFarmLife]

I think this is a very dangerous situation for you as well as the visitors to the farm. My hope is that the owner will do something swiftly before someone is seriously injured, the owner is sued, and may inevitably be shut down. It seems quite simple to me-put the rooster in a no-touch area as someone has suggested to see if he gets better or get rid of him. Lawsuit waiting to happen.

 

[Folly's place]

As an aside, there are many stories of 'petting farms' gone wrong, from people, especially children, being injured or sickened. There was one some years ago where such a place didn't have their stock (who should have been) vaccinated for rabies. One pony, I think, contracted rabies, and then the problem was finding everyone at risk and getting them vaccinated. It ended well, but not a good situation, and so stupid!
This rooster is such a liability, it is amazing that he's there.
Mary

 

[Buff-Blondie]

Wow! Thank you all for your responses to this situation! I will definitely get some boots and better clothing to prevent further injuries. And yes, I'm pretty angry with this farm right now. It sickens me when the parents let their children chase the birds and expect that nothing will happen. This isn't a petting zoo! The cuts and bruises on my legs hurt really bad and we have filled out three incident reports on this bird. The video, while posted for satire (funny by the way), was true. If the bird can't behave themselves, then punishment is sure to follow. Meanwhile, my other friend is trying to find a way to keep the bird separated from everyone. I'm not sure how this would work. That bird chases and spurs everyone. He's risking himself getting kicked and those spurs are about one and a half inches in length!

The only thing I can do now is just sit back and wait. The manager and I will talk on Tuesday about what is to be done. Hopefully she will say the bird needs to go, but if he does stay, I'll just need to walk away from that bird every time he goes after someone. It's sad, but I'll just need to wait for something to happen if it comes to that. I'm still going to get the boots and heavyweights in case another rooster ever acts up. What causes roosters to act like this anyway? Clux used to be very friendly. Does it depend on the season?

 

[Buff-Blondie]

I'm sorry if this comes over as a bit blunt.
Whoever owns/runs/is responsible for this historic farm is incompetent.
If a rooster has managed to draw blood through your work trousers then they are not fit for purpose. Get some heavyweights and boots.
Volunteering is great but when there are free range roosters around you need to know what you are doing. That often means experience and training. I get the impression you have neither.
It's a constantly reoccurring problem. The media image of chickens as lovely cuddly fluffy butts is not only misleading; it's plain wrong.
If no one has made an effort to tame the chickens that the public have access to both the males and females can be a liability.
This rooster, like it or not, is doing what a good rooster should. It's unfortunate that his natural behavior is likely to be the death of him.

I agree with you on this and I wanted to thank you for suggesting the better clothing. He is a very good and strong rooster. I don't think any predator would want to mess with him. The downside of this is Clux is on a public farm with little kids and only two people out of all the staff know how to handle the birds. If he were on a private farm where everyone knew him, then it would make more sense to keep him around. I handle those birds the most out of everyone and they are very comfortable around me (with the exception of Mister Clux and this probably explains why I get beat up the most ). We do have baby chicks now and one of them is a young male that is already poking my hand. I'm going to handle these chicks as much as I can so they will hopefully be better behaved around people, but I can't make promises.

 

[Folly's place]

Friendly' cockerels are sometimes actually bold, and sizing you all up, and when they mature, they figure that humans are flock members who should be managed.
I hope you've been to the doctor's about your injuries, and have an up to date tetanus vaccine on board!!! Get on it today if you haven't, and charge it all to the farm owner, who's responsible, very likely legally, depending on where you live.
This rooster needs to be gone...
Children, or any visitors, shouldn't be able to chase the birds, ever. Some farm!!!
It just sounds like a bad situation on many levels here.
Mary

 

[Kris5902]

I’ve got several, I’ll be nice and say “feisty”, roosters. I have two that constantly want to challenge me, but I am on a private Farm. I don’t allow other people to handle those two birds and they aren’t in a position to cause harm to others. Yes it is natural behavior, however in a position where there is public interaction you need a tame laid back rooster. And even a calm and manageable boy could be triggered by something (small children especially seem to be an issue, I think it’s a combination of size, pitch of voice, and colorful clothing).

Management needs to intervene for public safety, and if your friend with more poultry experience is so attached to him then perhaps adoption would be an option? Yes, there are things that can influence his attitude... breed, number of hens, proximity and pecking order with other roosters, time of year, even time of day seems to affect my little jerks. None of that is going to make so great a difference though that he would be suitable for this situation.

As Mary @Folly's place said it is the most friendly and cuddlesome cockerel chicks that seem to turn into human aggressive jerks, so extra handling could be detrimental. Perhaps the “historical farm” should try to obtain a more “mellow” breed of rooster or find a way to segregate him. What worries me is the proximity of people. Yes I’m sure it’s great for ambiance, but chickens are livestock and can be unpredictable, and free public interaction without adequate supervision is a recipe for disaster IMO, for the birds and people alike.

Parents on phones while children are chasing the birds? No wonder the boy is in a tizzy, and I’m honestly surprised something worse hasn’t already happened! Sounds like some good fencing would help. I’m all for children interacting with livestock, but it needs good knowledgeable supervision, especially with Roosters. Hopefully the management isn’t going to wait for some little child to get seriously flogged before they take action.

 

[Shadrach]

I agree with you on this and I wanted to thank you for suggesting the better clothing. He is a very good and strong rooster. I don't think any predator would want to mess with him. The downside of this is Clux is on a public farm with little kids and only two people out of all the staff know how to handle the birds. If he were on a private farm where everyone knew him, then it would make more sense to keep him around. I handle those birds the most out of everyone and they are very comfortable around me (with the exception of Mister Clux and this probably explains why I get beat up the most ). We do have baby chicks now and one of them is a young male that is already poking my hand. I'm going to handle these chicks as much as I can so they will hopefully be better behaved around people, but I can't make promises.

Handling chicks does not necessarily make them people friendly when they mature. It is particularly perilous with cockerels.
May I suggest you read this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[Buff-Blondie]

Handling chicks does not necessarily make them people friendly when they mature. It is particularly perilous with cockerels.
May I suggest you read this.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

Thank you so much for sharing this article with me! The aggression part of the article was very helpful at explaining why Clux may be acting out. All of Clux's hens are following a different rooster now; he lost his dominance to another rooster named Bigmouth recently. His tail feathers are broken from fighting so much! We also have five roosters now and I understand it's one rooster per ten hens; we have 19 hens. The weather is also changing, however, it isn't spring so I'm not sure if it's a mating thing or not. He probably wants my dominance since the hens follow me everywhere and one little buff Orpington wants me to hold her all the time (that's her in my profile picture). I know that roosters do not like the color red, but would this also apply to different bright colors like yellows and greens? I've also read that giving the rooster treats shows him that you're not a rooster and don't want to fight; roosters don't double as food dispensers! I think all of this information will come in handy for me in the future, but it's unfortunate that Clux is still on public property. I think Clux still likes my friend and I'm starting to wonder if he can take the bird home himself. I just don't want anyone to get hurt or have legal issues rise to the point that the farm needs to be closed.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Pepper spray? It will add a nice flavor to a cooked bird!