Stewy the Roo must go

[MuranoFarms]

I agree with Sunny_Side_up.....But whatever you do, do NOT post it on cragslist as an aggressive or mean roo! Just post Free rooster and details about him but not his behavior! You can tell them that in a private email. You don't want someone to take him for fighting or to 'train' a dog.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Quote:
MuranoFarms--Very good advice!!! Thanks for sharing the insight!

If you would like to keep the roo, here's the method I've used in such situations:

When rooster charges you, grab him. Easiest way to catch can be by grabbing leg (Be sure to not pick roo up off ground by leg--just grab him by leg), or catching him by net. It may be good to keep roo in coop where he's easier to catch for a few days during training period.

After you grab him, pick him up & carry him around in one arm several minutes as you do chores. Let him watch you work around his ladies. Then pet him a little & put him back down. If he charges again, pick him up again. Do not allow any attacks to go un-consequenced during training.

This seems to make a rooster realize:
* People are bigger than me & have more power than me.

* A person can take control of me whenever they want. A person will take control of me if I attack.
* The ladies are all going to see me one-upped by a person if I attack. [So embarrassing!]
* This person is not going to actually do anything mean or threatening to me.
* Even if I'm not fighting this person off, the things this person does that seem threatening to my flock actually don't harm my flock.

* I do not have any valid need to attack this person to protect my flock or myself.

I believe this method will work with most roosters within 4-8 sessions.

They may need an infrequent reminder session once in a while, but not often.

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
I have not found this to be true. The meat is full of flavor that comes only with age. How the roo or hen is cooked makes a huge difference.

Your leghorn is not going to look like a store bought chicken, or even a dual purpose; but there is meat on that bird. He will have more texture than a grocery store chicken – just like steak has more texture than veal.

If you are thinking about “meat birds” then start with this roo. It is less stress for him, if he is processed at your house and it will give you a feeling of accomplishment. Lots of great articles here on processing, and on youtube.

This is a great article for cooking chicken – not the Cornish crosses – but the heritage/dual purpose birds – this will work for your roo www.albc-usa.org/documents/cookingwheritagechicken.pdf

 

[DanceswLabs]

Sunny-side-up, don't worry, I would never misrepresent his behavior to anyone interested in him. I have placed lots of rescue dogs, and I go to great lengths to describe any negative characteristics. I don't want anyone to feel I have misrepresented anything. That is great advice though, because I am sure that some people might think it would give the rooster a better chance to paint him as positively as possible.

That's also a good point about not mentioning any characteristics (such as aggression) that might appeal to someone who would mis-use him.

I just looked at my original post, and realize that I am a birdbrain (no offense to any Phi Beta Kappa chickens out there!). Stewy is not 20 MONTHS old, but 20 WEEKS old. Does this change anything? Is there a better chance at training him? Also, if I try to train him, will he respect all people or just those who hold him and work with him. I would hate for him to go after one of my kids' friends (well maybe he could scare a couple of them...lol!).

 

[jawinder]

Our mean rooster had to go, 2 weeks ago. He was 1 1/2 years old. He'd attacked each of my 4 children as well as a friend. His attacks were getting worse.
I wanted to learn how to butcher him myself -- didn't want him to go to waste. I felt he was my responsibility since I'd raised him. It took a long time for me to work up to it though. But as he got meaner, it got easier.
I researched, interviewed, googled, you tubed, and read, and came up with the method that would work the best for me.
I knew women have been butchering chickens for hundreds of years, and if they could do it, I could learn to do it too. Wish I'd had a grandmother to teach me, that would have been a lot easier!
Let me tell you that a mature rooster can be wonderful to eat! He was 5 lbs 3 oz after he was cleaned. It's not like a roasted hen, but I cooked him long and slow (just as a previous poster said) (covered roasting pan with 2 cups water added, at 300 for hours (4 or 5?), until the meat was literally falling off the bone.) I stuffed him with a lemon and fresh rosemary. Rubbed him with melted butter, salt and pepper. We had a double batch of chicken and dumplings, enough chicken rice soup to eat and freeze, and the drippings were SO rich. I made and froze 4 quarts of stock with the carcass, skin and some drippings (the rest of the drippings went into the soup).
It was so rewarding to know that he didn't go to waste, but nourished my family, and will continue to do so as I use the stock and soup over the winter.

 

[CityChook]

okay, first of all, I had to look at this post just because I think the name Stewy is hysterical.

Second, do you have a friend who's a hunter? They would probably be able to take care of it for you and might even teach you a thing or two.

I agree with previous posters, better to not let him go to waste. You know how he's been raised. Let him pay you back now.

 

[BeccaB00]

hrm. craigslist I guess!

 

[HorseFeatherz NV]

Quote:
20 weeks is a very good age to butcher - if you decide to go that way. It is the age I like my freezer camp cockerels to be.


If you do try and train him, he is not too old, but he will only respect those in the house who work on the training with him. Any one else will be seen as an intruder who could possibly harm his girls- and he might attack (might, no positive).

 

[midget_farms]

20 weeks does change things a bit.

@ that age he is going through puberty & is full of vinegar if you know what I mean. This is the perfect time to tell him who is boss.

EVERY time you go out there you need to give him the stink eye & move toward him as if you are going to pick him up. DO pick him up if he is dumb enough to let you catch him.

As the rooster matures he will calm down considerably - usually in just a couple of months. But if you let him scare you or the kids he will definatly continue or escolate this behavior.

If he knows every time he sees you that you are likely to grab him or even just try to then he will get the picture real quick that people are the top roo in this coop!

You have a chance to do some rehab here, but remember a leghorn is not the most cuddly type of bird to start with & it may take a little more effort with him than say a buff orpington or barred rock.

 

[PoultryPedia]

Roosters I trained never attacked anyone after.
I think it would help for you to accompany the first few other people that visit. Tell them to stand their ground for sure so the rooster doesn't get the impression he can chase other people.

You can grab the roo for them if he does charge. I think the roo will come to the conclusion that no matter who comes around, if he charges then he gets picked up.

Also, if the roo struggles to get away while you are lowering him to the ground after,

it's a good idea to lift him back up whenever he squirms. When the roo stops squirming, start lowering again. If he holds still all the way to the ground, then let him go. Then the roo learns he can't take control and that he has to be calm and submissive around people in order to have freedom.

I haven't tried gentling roos specifically for kids. A modification you might try adding to roo training would be that you hand your child the roo after you catch him, and have them carry him around a while so he's subject to them.

Make sure they know how to hold the roo firmly but kindly before you let go! Holding the roo horizontally against your body pins one of the wings against you. You can use one of your hands to press the other wing against the roo. Point your 4 fingers downward to hold the wing (plus support the roo's weight) and place that thumb on top of the wing to keep the roo from being able to lift its wing free.
Kids' hands are small enough, they'll probably have to reach under the roo with their other arm to help support the roo and hold the "outside" wing. Or you might want to use one of your adult-size hands to help them hold the roo.

Best wishes!