Roosters

[seminolewind]

I had a sweet roo, he turned into an attacker, he learned behavior modification, then he was as sweet as can be. Go to Gritsar's BYC page, and it will give you directions, and it works!

 

[lauralou]

With a child that small to worry about, I say get rid of your roosters, and don't even replace them. The welfare of the child comes first. And a rooster could seriously hurt her. Can you imagine if she got flogged in the face? Scary thought.

You don't need a rooster at all. The hens will do just fine without one.

(Just my two cents.

)

 

[Sunny Side Up]

Quote:
I think some of it is nature & some is nurture. Some is inborn temperment and some is learned behavior. I think it's easier to make a docile roo learn to be wary & defensive, therefore aggressive, than to reprogram an aggressive rooster and make him more tame. The best you can do is to condition a rooster to expect considerate care from you. If he still turns out to be aggressive then invite him to dinner. There are lots & lots of roosters in the world and precious few job openings for them. Most of them have a purpose on a plate. Do yourself & some mannerly rooster a favor and liberate him from some meat pen.

I wouldn't take time to retrain a mean rooster unless he had rescued my children from a burning building.

 

[mikeksfarmer]

Thanks for your comments. I have 4 young roos 2 RIR, 1 RIR (RIRxRIW) and a White rock. I wanted to have a Roo to make Cinn Queen RIRx White rock. Non of the roos are mean yet I feed them by hand daily. However I dont want to have to kick a Roo down every time I enter the chicken yard or house. At this point any mean bird is named soup. Again thanks

 

[briteday]

Wish me luck. We have a super sweet EE roo and I'm bringing home a young RIR rooster (for breeding purposes) tomorrow. I hope they will get along in the same pasture but I do have the means to separate them in smaller runs.

 

[seminolewind]

It's all about how a rooster sees you. If he sees himself as alpha roo, and you as 2nd in command, he will treat you like that. I think from the time he crows, you can go out and make him move out of his space every chance you get either by walking into his space or actually pushing him out of his space with your foot-not kicking. Also , if he goes to eat, stop him. If he goes to get nookie, stop him, if he goes for water, stop him. Make it as tho he needs your permission to fart. If you back off, you lose.

I love roosters. I wish I could keep them all. My neighbor has a huge roo that needed his spurs clipped. I went over there (they're all terrified of him), and he came at me, and I went at him, and grabbed him, turned him over and trimmed his spurs. I put him down and he came at me again, and I made him move all over the yard for 30 minutes, just following him and keeping him moving. I did it again the next day. Now he's very sweet with me, no aggression. However, I would not ever jeopardize a small child, not to a rooster, or dog, or any other animal that can hurt them.

 

[BarkerChickens]

Some roosters can be fine if they are taught who is boss. Some are just nasty from birth. We have had 25 roosters (we kept 2). ALL of my mottled Javas were evil and mean. My Buckeye's were give or take. Some were mean while others were fine...one was a wuss and hid all the time from loud noises. Our Jersey Giant rooster is nice and both the salmon Faverolles were absolute sweeties (we kept one...the other had a crooked beak and had trouble eating, so we let him go rather than starving to death). The Delawares were 1/2 and 1/2. Some breeds are more gentle than others while some roos are just plain 'ol bossy until they learn the ropes.

With that being said...we kept 2 roos for our 28 hens. Why? Because we wanted roosters and to hatch chicks. We started with hens only and no roos. It was great! No problems! The hens were just fine (one was the most dominant and kept everyone (including the dogs) in line. Roos are required unless you feel you need one as a protector and if you want chicks.

I agree with Seminolewind...If you have a rooster that you really want to keep, but he needs behavior modification, visit Gritsar's Rooster Reform page (click here). She is a member on this site and that page is her BYC Personal Page. It is very useful! We have personally used it with great success! We refuse to keep mean roos (unless it is a "misunderstanding" that can easily be corrected with a little reform school). It is in their nature to be dominate and protect...but some are just plain 'ol rotten...and they make the best dinner!

 

[Hens4Fun]

My last flock were 8 hens and one rooster (that was supposed to have been sexed a hen

). The roo was nice as pie to me ... he knew I was boss ... but the minute my back was turned all he$% broke loose. I couldn't handle all the feathers flying and the screeching. Some days he would stand in the doorway of the henhouse and not even let the girls out! Well ... not the happy chicken experience I had envisioned, so he got re-homed. My girls led a peaceful, happy existence without him. I generally got 6-8 eggs a day for a couple of years until they started aging. Except for their beauty ... I have no love lost on roosters. Though, I now have 1 for sure cockerel, and 2 maybes in my current young flock. The dark brahma is so gentle (so far) that I may try keeping him for a while. But, the minute he's a bully .... adios and no looking back.

 

[kelidei]

I am still a newbie with chickens but from my limited experience I would say genetics play a big part in the tendency for aggressive behavior. I currently have 6 roos. One Blue Andalusian, a Columbian Wyandotte, a Gold Laced Wyandotte, a Black Australorp, a Buff Orpington and a mixed breed that is a cross between the CW and one of my Partridge Rocks. The only one I have any trouble with is the Blue Andalusian and they are known to be more high strung with a tendency towards aggression, like RIR roos.. The other five are very laid back. The Orpington is the alpha in my second coop so he is more stand offish but he doesn't challenge me at all--- he keeps a respectable distance. The other ones will eat out of my hand and they will let me touch them.

This is the meany Capt'n Jack--- he is on a reprieve right now but could still end up in freezer camp

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25346_jack.jpg


This is a really nice guy Wyatt

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25346_img_5466.jpg

Cornelius the mixed breed

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25346_mutt2.jpg

Gold Laced Wyandotte named Maximus Rooster

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25346_max312.jpg

This is the alpha in the second coop---- Cletus

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25346_clet2.jpg

And finally Clement--- the Australorp

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/uploads/25346_clement12.jpg

 

[kelidei]

I am still a newbie with chickens but from my limited experience I would say genetics play a big part in the tendency for aggressive behavior. I currently have 6 roos. One Blue Andalusian, a Columbian Wyandotte, a Gold Laced Wyandotte, a Black Australorp, a Buff Orpington and a mixed breed that is a cross between the CW and one of my Partridge Rocks. The only one I have any trouble with is the Blue Andalusian and they are known to be more high strung with a tendency towards aggression, like RIR roos.. The other five are very laid back. The Orpington is the alpha in my second coop so he is more stand offish but he doesn't challenge me at all--- he keeps a respectable distance. The other ones will eat out of my hand and they will let me touch them.

This is the meany Capt'n Jack--- he is on a reprieve right now but could still end up in freezer camp

This is a really nice guy Wyatt

Cornelius the mixed breed

Gold Laced Wyandotte named Maximus Rooster

This is the alpha in the second coop---- Cletus

And finally Clement--- the Australorp