Rooster Gone Sour

[Folly's place]

I can't believe that this farm owner hasn't resolved this situation already! It's not about 'convincing' your friend to fix it, it's about having the bird removed from the property ASAP.
Mary

 

[aart]

I can't believe that this farm owner hasn't resolved this situation already! It's not about 'convincing' your friend to fix it, it's about having the bird removed from the property ASAP.
Mary

Ditto Dat!!!^^^

My friend does not own the farm, he's just a worker. I really hope the owner can convince him to get rid of that bird on Tuesday.

The owner should 'order' the worker to do what's right.

 

[Buff-Blondie]

Ditto Dat!!!^^^

The owner should 'order' the worker to do what's right.

I agree with you 100%! The only problem is I am a measly volunteer with no say-so. But it shouldn't be my job to shield little kids from that darn bird. Most of the parents don't do squat anyway and say, "Oh! He's fine!" or just sit on their phones and let the kids chase the birds. Meanwhile, I'm trying to maintain order while all of this is happening. At least the owner is smarter than my friend and will most likely get rid of Clux on Tuesday. Out of all 24 grown birds, he is the only one showing behaviors like this. It makes no sense to get rid of the nice roosters and only keep this mean one. He's not going to change.

 

[Shadrach]

Hello. I'm new here. I work on a historic farm that is open to the public and help take care of 30+ chickens (we got some new babies and more on the way). One of the roosters, who my friend named Clux, has recently lost his dominance. Over the summer, he used to have a ton of hens following him everywhere and he was nice to me (except he did treat me as a subordinate hen as the months went on), but he has become extremely aggressive this past month. At the time Clux was friendly, we only had three roosters: Clux, a small runt named Nugget, and a fiesty and skittish rooster named Loudmouth. We now have two more grown roosters. Out of all the roosters, Clux is the only one who attacks children, hens, other roosters, and now me (who he is probably fighting because he sees me as either a threat or because he wants my dominance). I liked this rooster and the other worker who owns him wants to keep him and let the other friendly roosters go, but now I'm really scared of Clux. He made me bleed really badly tonight with his spurs (glad I wore my new farm pants instead of shorts). My friend argues that we should keep Clux since "he's the best rooster we have," but wouldn't it make more sense to dispose of Clux and keep the friendly roosters instead? Would getting rid of the nice roosters make Clux friendly again? Is it a good idea to keep this bird at all? I'm afraid to volunteer now because this bird apparently means more than my own and other people's safety!

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.

 

[ValerieJ]

If the owner wants to keep the rooster, then at least it should be kept separate from the public during business hours. It needs to be in a separate no-touch run.

 

[slordaz]

My 5 year old rooster does this during molting, and seemed worse this year to point I locked him up in a cage for it, we will see if it gets better when his feathers come back in,when he molts I always wanna give him Midol during molt this year I wanted to wring his neck. Today I am cleaning out where I store tools, so he can be right next door to the hens but is separated in the cage as he seriously went after one of his hens. if it don't change he is going to have to go.

 

[aart]

The only problem is I am a measly volunteer with no say-so.

You're in a tough position.
I would not go there anymore if I had been injured and no one did anything about it.

 

[townchicks]

This is a ridiculous situation. I cannot believe that a "worker" has so much sway that he can decide that a dangerous animal can be allowed to attack the public and those who work there. You need, as the person who sees the danger, to raise your voice until it is heard. If the manager of the farm does not respond, go over his head.You would feel horrible if a child were badly injured. Even if you are "just" a volunteer, you do have a responsiblity to speak up. Frankly, I don't think you should have any roosters there. Yes, I understand that a historic farm would have roosters, but the farmers knew how to deal with them, and what to do if they became aggressive (and I'm not talking about training) Maybe your friend that loves the bird so much, should take him home. Good luck.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

When this rooster attacks and hurts anybody, it needs to be reported to Animal Control. You need to document every incident. It sounds like his prior bad acts have already been reported somewhere, get that info to Amimal Control and ask for whisteblower status. Or at least inform them that the bird has a history and let them research it. They may confiscate the bird and fine the ower, at the very least. Be prepared to show pics of your injuries and a doctor's report if you have one. Write a letter and send copies to the city, state, the board, Chamber of Commerce, or anyone who has an interest in keeping this business open. If necessary write to your State Rep or Congessman and ask for help and suggest that your local TV investigative reporter might be interested. This bird has to go. Children should not be at risk. If the people responsible are not taking control, go higher up the ladder. Good luck!

 

[aart]

Yes, I understand that a historic farm would have roosters, but the farmers knew how to deal with them

Yes, yes they did!