Rooster

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I wanted to add that many people manage and handle their roosters differently. There is no one right way. You have to figure out what is comfortable for you and what works for you. I don't confront my roosters, I deal with them. I don't hurt them, but I do correct them if necessary in a manner that another rooster would. So read a lot and go with what sounds like the best way for you. What works for one person might not work for another.

 

[microchick]

Very true oldhenlikesdogs. And yes, you do have to be careful if you dangle them. So far I haven't had any problems and it seems to work with my roosters. Granted, I don't dangle them for very long, just long enough for them to realize that the more they struggle the longer the humiliation is going to last. As you said, it works for me but may not work for everyone. Some roosters may give you the flogging of your life if you try that. Only the owner knows their own particular rooster and how they will respond to adjusting behaviors.

I was just out in the coop locking up and moving a rooster to my bachelor pen to add body heat as it's going to be down in the teens for the next few nights. Rocky, my Buff O roosters with the big mouth was in a mood, fighting with his brother mainly and when I put a hen on the roost next to him, he took a bite at me. I didn't have time to deal with him as I usually do so I just pushed him off his choice spot and told him to knock it off. When I had my hands free, I reached for him on the floor and he took off like his tail was on fire. Uh Uh, wasn't going to go there. He knew what was coming next if he got caught. So he forgot about biting me and went back to beating up on his brother.

Sometimes you just have to know when to turn off the light and lock the door behind you.

 

[Beekissed]

I've been carrying chickens by their feet for 40 yrs now and never had one choke or come to any harm whatsoever. Awhile back people were putting out the belief that it would kill them if you hung them by their feet....if that were true, all our work in processing chickens would be over and all we'd have to do is put all the chickens upside down and then come back in a few minutes and eviscerate them. They can hang upside down for quite some time without the combs darkening or looking any different than they normally do, no breathing difficulties noted at all....if a chicken turns purple and shows respiratory problems when turned upside down they already have some underlying health issue that is compromising their health. Most likely ascites or heart failure...or both.

Chickens have been carried by their feet since the beginning of time....it calms them down quicker than any other kind of hold and it doesn't take more than a matter of seconds to see them calm down in that hold. It's not cruel or harmful at all...that's just people attributing what they are feeling to the chickens, because humans don't like to be upside down they feel like it's cruel or harming them to do so.

As for roosters that bite...they need some training with a light switch or rod to respect humans. The first bite should have been the time to do that....now that he's gotten away with it so often, he'll have a tougher time getting his attitude changed. Kicking him or chasing him when he bites you is just a knee jerk reaction to his attack, which he will just see as you defending yourself and inadequately, at that. Makes you a weaker presence.

Go on the offensive and discipline this rooster BEFORE he attacks you, treat him like a dominant hen or rooster would treat him....invade his space, move him about with that rod by tapping him with it, drive him away from the flock and keep him moving. Let him relax a moment and eat a bit, then surprise him with an "attack" with your rod, right on the fluffy butt or on his head, nice and sharp like a peck...just enough to make him jump and run to get away from it.

Walk through him and the rest of the flock when you enter the coop and run, advance into his space until he gives you room and keeps moving. Keep practicing that way of walking every day until he understands that you have a personal space, you control HIS personal space and you will not tolerate his approaching or touching your body.

Go out to the roosts at night and take him off the roosts...hang him upside down until he stops fighting or flapping, then move him up to your arms, lay him on his back on a solid surface and examine his body...handle him everywhere, grasp his head and examine his vent, etc. all the while holding his feet together in the nondominant hand and elevated up to his chest. If he struggles, return him to the upside down position until he tires of it, then resume your handling of his body. A person should be able to inspect every bird in their flock at any given time and should do so at least a couple of times a year to check for parasites, body condition, skin condition, etc.

Don't know why you weren't letting him breed, but he had every right to peck you if you reached down to try and break it up....he's doing what comes natural if another chicken were to do such a thing. Until you've done the ground work with a rooster, he may not see you as any authority to move him off a hen...do the ground work on schooling him on who rules the roosts and see how it changes everything about him. After that, if he mates while you are near, just walk towards the pairing and see if he doesn't hop off and move away from you as fast as he can. He should do so. My rooster won't even mate a hen if I'm nearby and I've never tried to break up a mating...he's just too wary to be in that position when a human is near.