Taming a Rooster?

[microchick]

What works for one may not work for another. In my flock there is a general decrease in stress to the hens when an aggressive rooster is removed permanently from the flock and a gentler rooster is allowed to remain.

I truly doubt if the roosters that I've had blinded in one eye by an aggressive flock mate are mourning the loss of the brother/sire/son that maimed him. Mine act relieved to see the so and so go. They dance, they crow, they beat their chests with their wings in what looks like a celebration. Roosters and hens do not recognize family members. I have to disagree there. A hen will let a son/sire/brother mate her and a rooster will mate the hen that brooded it or its 'sister' or 'daughter'. There are many members here who have posted that their hens were happier when an aggressive rooster was removed from the flock.

You cannot associate human behaviors with chickens. We are just going to have to agree to disagree with this.

 

[jsr5]

I too find it stressful to kill a Problem roo. or just excess roo's Heck we get broilers I know we are going to kill and eat and killing them are stressful for me I know it is and has to be done. and do it in the most respectful and humane way that I can and respectfully handle and consume the meat. When excess roo's or agressive roo's are removed I have sometimes noted a more relaxed happier atmosphere in the coop not so much in the yard or run. I have very much noticed the health of my girls is better when there are not too many agressive roo's around. I feel strange saying that I have hunted and killed food all my life nearly but it'is different when you care for keep warm keep cool feed water and raise an animal. I don't think we were meant to be nonchalaunt about it. They were given to us for meat but not to take lightly or to cause undo pain and distress. I'm pretty sure e veryone here gets that even those that choose not to kill and cull their flock by euthanasia get it and find other solutions. OH well think I have gotten across the point I was trying to make somewhere in all that rambling sorry for another ramble on post.

 

[microchick]

I hear what you are saying @jsr5. Which is why I have over 20 roosters. The ones I dispatch have been given every chance to tame down. They are all raised the same, under the same conditions and by the same people. I sincerely believe that aggression can be genetic in nature. There comes the time when for your safety, the safety of family members or even the safety of your flock you have to cull a mean, aggressive rooster.

Right now I have an active bachelor pen for all my young and extra roosters. There is still squabbling going on but the hens are less stressed without all the rammy young testosterone driven juvenile/yearling roosters around and because they are less stressed, so am I. I hate seeing a small hen get piled on by a group of determined males, their feathers pulled out, their back feathers broken off till their skin is raw.

You just have to remember that roosters will be roosters.

 

[jsr5]

Ha funny you should mention the rooster enclosure I was just talking with the crazy chicken lady aka my wife about repurposing my bantam coop to a dedicated rooster coop out front of the property where they can show off. and so we can keep more of our pretty roo's. it would house about 20 or so I think with a little work. And would easily stay full and then some. could hold 30 if they calm down when removed from the ladies.

"You just have to remember that roosters will be roosters."

My wife can atest to the fact that I"m heard to say that often when she gets her ire up at a ornery roo.

 

[microchick]

Rooster/bachelor pens work. I've gotten the best results when I put my extra roosters and over testosteroned young roos in all at once. Adding them usually causes squabbles to break out as they work out their pecking order and cause you to keep the first aid kit handy.

I would much rather my boys live in a bachelor pen than in the freezer, or like the one I butchered yesterday (my first DIY) getting ready for the crock pot. But sometimes that stock pot cannot be avoided.

 

[Rammy]

I feel I ought to point this out; you don't get a 'point across' to a dead chicken.
I can say fairly confidently that the chicken has absolutely no idea why you killed it and has learn't absolutely nothing from the experience.

But I do. Thats all that counts.

 

[TashaFrancois]

I’ve done it. He was young still under a year. I just put on jeans and a hoodie with closed toes shoes. Then I would pick him up, making sure i had a good grip and turned his legs away and down. Then hold him like he is a football and you are a running back. Then I was gentle with him and pet his back. I would stand my ground if he challenged me and pick up like I described. Eventually the stinker realized his place. But I still named him, Anakin, after Darth Vader...

 

[Shadrach]

Roosters and hens do not recognize family members. I have to disagree there. A hen will let a son/sire/brother mate her and a rooster will mate the hen that brooded it or its 'sister' or 'daughter'. There are many members here who have posted that their hens were happier when an aggressive rooster was removed from the flock.

You cannot associate human behaviors with chickens.

Wait, just above this line you say you cannot associate human behaviors with chickens; then above that you do exactly that and make a statement that been proven incorrect.
Chickens apparently do know who is a related individual. I suggest you do some research.
Lots of creatures mate with their relatives; it's just not an accepted in most human societies.
I don't think chickens know about 'happier' though and go around beating their chests at the removal of one of their kind or dance with delight.
I think you've got human behavior and chicken behavior all confuzzeled.
Disagreeing is fine, but really if you wish to be taken seriously the above posts you've made aren't going to help.

 

[Rooster_Tyranny]

Part of the problem I see most often in the ‘bad rooster’ threads is directly attributable to a persons perception of their rooster. Your rooster has absolutely no idea about good and bad behavior. He is behaving in a perfectly acceptable manner as far as he is concerned, should you be able to discuss such a point with him. You may think you’re Mr or Mrs lovely who bring him food, provides him with shelter, cares for the hens, etc, but he obviously doesn’t see it that way.

Some people are not interested and don’t have the time or patience and in such cases it is probably best all round if they get rid of the rooster and in my opinion, never get another. I read of people who have got one rooster after another until they’ve found one that behaves as they would like. This may be okay when dealing with people because you just ‘dump’ the person, but unfortunately with roosters in the above situation, people kill them. It’s a regrettable view imo that because a creature other than a human behaves in a way that one can’t cope with or don’t like, killing that creature is on the options list. Apply that to humans and we wouldn’t have the population problems we have.
compromise.

The raccoon that kills my chickens also doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, neither do the rats that infest houses, or overly aggressive stray dogs, or even mosquitos. And yet in all those cases we still decide to dispatch them (humanely I hope). And what's the alternative to that supposed to be?

I also think it's important (as you mentioned) to know the difference between someone who had a rooster pop up in what was supposed to be a batch of sexed female chicks, and someone who purposely went out and bought a rooster. If someone's going to buy a rooster I think it's reasonable for us to expect them to understand that the relationship with their flock is gonna have to be different, and if they can't make terms with this then they shouldn't have a rooster. But someone who accidentally had a rooster pop up didn't ask for any of this, and if that rooster is ruining their chicken keeping experience and becoming a real threat I see no reason why they shouldn't be killed. And besides, what else are you supposed to do? To give that problem onto someone else?

That said, I really appreciated your comment it was very informative and well thought out. And I'm genuinely interested in what you think about this. And I apologize if I'm hijacking this thread.

 

[Shadrach]

The raccoon that kills my chickens also doesn't know the difference between right and wrong, neither do the rats that infest houses, or overly aggressive stray dogs, or even mosquitos. And yet in all those cases we still decide to dispatch them (humanely I hope). And what's the alternative to that supposed to be?

I also think it's important (as you mentioned) to know the difference between someone who had a rooster pop up in what was supposed to be a batch of sexed female chicks, and someone who purposely went out and bought a rooster. If someone's going to buy a rooster I think it's reasonable for us to expect them to understand that the relationship with their flock is gonna have to be different, and if they can't make terms with this then they shouldn't have a rooster. But someone who accidentally had a rooster pop up didn't ask for any of this, and if that rooster is ruining their chicken keeping experience and becoming a real threat I see no reason why they shouldn't be killed. And besides, what else are you supposed to do? To give that problem onto someone else?

That said, I really appreciated your comment it was very informative and well thought out. And I'm genuinely interested in what you think about this. And I apologize if I'm hijacking this thread.

I don't tend to try to kill predators here despite free ranging. I do understand why people do and I try to keep my views to myself when I read such posts.
I also eat the chickens here; not many, but I'll kill to eat and sometimes to manage flocks, but that is very rare.
The predators strangely help me out with this and I would rather they did the job. My understanding is that is what nature does.
I have re-homed a number of pairs (brother and sister) to people who want to start a flock but want proven health. I can give a 6 generation family tree for some of the chickens here.
In general my objection to some of the content in threads such as this is the view that it's fine to kill one rooster after another, until you can find one that you can control, or one you're not scared of. That isn't really competent chicken keeping in my book.
My other objection is how easily the life of a creature gets so easily dismissed because it's a bit of a inconvenience and requires some knowledge and patience to deal with.
There is a view I often read that states you do what's right for you in your circumstances. It's not a view I agree with.
My view is try to do what's right for the chickens you keep. I doubt many will agree but it is my view.
The accidental rooster is an accident that an intelligent person can see coming. Fifty percent of all chicken hatchings are going to be male. When people excitedly put those eggs in the incubator, or let a broody hen sit, half of what hatches is going to be male when averaged out over time.
It seems that there isn't a worse outcome than to be born male if you're a chicken kept by humans. I don't know what the percentage of males to females is in kept chickens but I would guess it must be 95% female to 5% male, including the battery hens that supply our eggs.
Given the chickens ancestors managed a 50/50 ratio I don't feel any sympathy or empathy for those who get roosters and find that they are not the cuddly little fluff balls they were hoping for.
So, if your original intention is to eat the males that hatch, that's reasonable to me. We are after all the chickens most voracious predator.
Keeping chickens requires both sexes imo. I'm not really the slightest bit interested in reading peoples opinions on chicken keeping who a) just keep hens because they don't really keep chickens at all and b) those who kill roosters because they can't handle their behavior.