Rooster questions

[K.Riggs]

Ok, i have calmed down now, i just read way too many horror stories in a row

I am just going to trust myself. I have owned many animals before chickens and geese including large powerful dogs, horses, sheep and rams. I have always had i feel a natural intuition at keeping myself and others safe around my animals and tend to have a minimum interference approach. I have had to control many powerful animals from a young age and have never had any fear even of untamed horses as a child. Respect and caution absolutely but not fear. So i am not going to start now. There wont be unnecessary touching etc, it isnt something i do anyway. I am wary of ALL animals and was taught to be, i never completely trust them. But i wont get rid of them, i will just be aware.

 

[bobbi-j]

I'm actually really freaking out now. I have never been sacred of my boys and i now i'm reading about people being mamed and flogged and knocked out and having to bash roos nearly to death. And them attacking having never shown aggression before. Now i have to go up and put the boys to bed and i'm actually a little frightened for the first time. I grew up around farm animals and literally never saw a rooster do any of those things. I am actually considering getting rid of them Please can someone at least point me to a thread about nice roos, i searched and only found posts of a negative nature.

Not all roosters are terrible or aggressive, and those who do become human aggressive, in my opinion, rarely do so "out of the blue". It can happen, I'm sure, but I think a lot of the time, the keeper misses subtle signs that things are changing. Or they don't recognize that dropped wing or dance as a sign of aggression.

Respect and caution absolutely but not fear. So i am not going to start now. There wont be unnecessary touching etc, it isnt something i do anyway. I am wary of ALL animals and was taught to be, i never completely trust them. But i wont get rid of them, i will just be aware.

And there you have it. Respect and caution. Throw in a healthy dose of confidence, and you should be fine. Look them in the eye, walk through them, make them get out of your space, move like you own the place. Oh, wait - you DO own the place!

 

[K.Riggs]

Not all roosters are terrible or aggressive, and those who do become human aggressive, in my opinion, rarely do so "out of the blue". It can happen, I'm sure, but I think a lot of the time, the keeper misses subtle signs that things are changing. Or they don't recognize that dropped wing or dance as a sign of aggression.


And there you have it. Respect and caution. Throw in a healthy dose of confidence, and you should be fine. Look them in the eye, walk through them, make them get out of your space, move like you own the place. Oh, wait - you DO own the place!

Thanks for the reply.
Yes i have been doing those things since they were chicks. Because i was never worried by them one bit. I have not made any allowences for them but i don't mess with them either. I just go about my business and they go about theirs. I don't hand feed them. I only ever give them a pat as i pick them up at night more to keep their wings down if anything and it seems to calm when i transfer them to the blacked out coop. And one of them stays for a two second pat in the morning when i let him out. That is the only physical contact other than treatments and checks.

 

[MontanaChickDoc]

And my situation is a little different. Snugglebud (who is over a year old) was never the least bit aggressive or dominant to us UNTIL the predator attack which occurred in March. But that incident changed him. He became more protective of his ladies. And I respect that, just like I respect the natural instincts of all wild and domestic creatures that I interact with. He is a rooster, and he has a job to do. I WANT him to protect his girls. And I believe that he knows that I want to protect them, too. I have known "mean" roosters that are overly protective to the point of aggression, and I feel this is different. He is not constantly challenging me - mostly we just go about our own business in a mutually respectful way. But if I do something that he perceives as a threat, he is going to do what his little bird brain tells him he SHOULD do, protect his women. I can't fault him that. I have to be smarter than a chicken.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Thanks for the reply.
Yes i have been doing those things since they were chicks. Because i was never worried by them one bit. I have not made any allowences for them but i don't mess with them either. I just go about my business and they go about theirs. I don't hand feed them. I only ever give them a pat as i pick them up at night more to keep their wings down if anything and it seems to calm when i transfer them to the blacked out coop. And one of them stays for a two second pat in the morning when i let him out. That is the only physical contact other than treatments and checks.

Hi, welcome to BYC!

No reason for you to be afraid of a rooster when you never have been before.

No, I don't believe it's just a matter of time before one attacks. I believe ALL are individuals and will behave as such. I've only been attacked by 1 of my boys and it was my first roo experience which did include lot's of coddling and on top of that I would go out of my way to walk around if they were relaxing because I THOUGHT I was teaching them they didn't need to fear me or worry about me. I thought we had a trustful relationship.

No reason for you to let these threads stop you from enjoying what you have. If you start to have fear, you may actually invite the behavior. Continue with confidence, beware of the stink eye. I agree with the previous poster who said look into rooster handling threads instead of the whole dominance thing.

 

[centrarchid]

I'm going out on a limb here but I'm thinking your methods of hand rearing cockerels may be far different then some of these others.
I think they are raising them more like it's a child. Holding and carrying them in their arms like a baby. Lots of hugs, kisses, snuggles, whispering sweet nothings in their ears, etc.
Maybe I'm wrong but not picturing you doing quite the same as some of these younger girls/women are doing.
If I am wrong I apologize and think we would all love to see a video.

FOUR WAYS CHICKS HAVE BEEN RAISED BY ME

I am into behavior so imprinting is particularly interesting. Some of this I am trying to manipulate to improve my rearing efforts. Some rules followed here but not mentioned may be violated by some parties hand-rearing and brooder-rearing chicks that may cause troubles later.


Brooder-Raised

Chicks reared in brooder imprinting only on other chicks. They can sometimes be afraid of you although they can overcome the fear when food or water is involved.


Hand-Raised

Chicks reared in brooder although imprinted on you as well as each other. Imprinted chicks will follow you like they follow hen even when now food involved. Interactions involving physical contact between me and young birds are much more frequent and often involve allopreaning. This takes a lot of time out of your schedule to do.


Hen-Raised

Hen only participates in rearing chicks. All parties (chicks and hen) imprinted in each other. Once chicks weaned from hen, they have only each other. This system occurs when hen rooster ratio is high. Chicks generally scared of me unless hen brings them to me a few times for eats. Most I currently raise in this manner and almost all my hens bring broods to me.


Harem-Raised

Hen provides virtually all nurturing during first five weeks although rooster provides tidbits and limited protection from predators. During this time rooster and chicks bond on each other and process seems to occur when rooster puts his head down among chicks as they forage together. With respect to ground predators, rooster will get loud and stand in open as hen slinks of with chicks, when predator distracted rooster goes for cover as well. With some ground predators, rooster will assist hen in attacking it and occasionally can surprise something like a fox or young dog. With respect to hawks (Coopers in particular), the rooster is the front line defense while hen largely tries to cover chicks up. I have seen hawk-rooster interaction multiple times in games but not yet with American Dominiques where chicks are involved. Parental game rooster acts like a broody hen when dealing with threats and does it only for chicks of his harem. When hen weans chicks as they become juveniles, the rooster then takes over brood care as hen starts another clutch. The rooster then has juveniles with him until they are pushing 12 weeks old. He provides protection from predators during that time as well. Some roosters during first few weeks will actually brood during rain events or when weather cold. The rooster also very important in getting juveniles to roost up if the hen has not completed or started the process. At some point after 12 weeks, the rooster boots offspring from harem or at least they drift off during day. This system occurs when hen rooster ratio is low. Subsequent interactions between me and chicks follows same pattern as with hen-raised broods.


Each year; I brooder-raise, hen-raise, hand-raise and harem-raise roosters. Rearing method itself does appear to be factor impacting aggression, nor does confinement by itself as free-range also used. Particular events the rooster remembers do appear to play a role. The particular events jibe better with each rooster being different even when of similar genetic background.

 

[aart]

I am just going to trust myself. I have owned many animals before chickens and geese including large powerful dogs, horses, sheep and rams. I have always had i feel a natural intuition at keeping myself and others safe around my animals and tend to have a minimum interference approach. I have had to control many powerful animals from a young age and have never had any fear even of untamed horses as a child. Respect and caution absolutely but not fear. So i am not going to start now. There wont be unnecessary touching etc, it isnt something i do anyway. I am wary of ALL animals and was taught to be, i never completely trust them. But i wont get rid of them, i will just be aware.

You will most likely succeed, you have a head start over many others here having worked with other livestock. It's most often more about the keepers attitude and awareness of animal behaviors than the animal.

 

[K.Riggs]

Thanks for the replies aart and Eggsighted, i will just keep doing what i have been. My roos are 7 months old, so far so good. I will read less horror stories from now on, i got in a trance binge reading them and spooked myself for a moment

 

[Bonniebooboo]

What do you mean by hand raised?

Not raise by the hen. Hatched, fed, watered and petted or messed with each day. They were friendly and unafraid of people. That's what I mean by hand raised. For awhile I was thinking they were pullets, but my gut was saying maybe Roos, just because they seemed a bit leggy. Other wise, nice filled out body and small comb and no rooster tail feathers until 4-5 months old on that set of Buffs. I have had others that never got aggressive like that and I had handled them a lot. Hormones changes things....