Texas

[familypendragon]

So I had to kick a rooster last night!  No, he was not hurt and no I did not enjoy it.  Normally, I just open the pen and walk off fast, so they will range without trying to follow me.  Well I was letting out the Three Musketeers as I always do, went to walk away and the dominate boy, ran around in front of me and pecked my foot HARD.  I mean draw blood hard and I was wearing flip flops.  I recognized his behavior immediately.

It was very similar to a rooster trying to round up his hens by pecking them on the head to get them in line.  So it was not aggression, but it was dominance, so first I did the "lift kick" action, sending him back, then chased him back into the coop.  Will see how it goes tonight.  I can not have him thinking either myself or my daughter are his girls.  That can get dangerous very quick. 

I really either need to find them another home, or get some girls for them.

Gah! I am about to swear off Golden Laced Wyandottes... I have 2 hens that I aptly named Witch and *****. I thought I'd be nice and get them a roo. Well I bought a chick and am raising him for them. Little jerk attacks me every night at bedtime when I round them all up to put them in the coop. I usually give him a good thump, but tonight he was not satisfied to stop at that so I ended up holding him upside down by his legs with one hand while I gathered up all the other 30 or so chicks one at a time. I have a BCM cockerel that does the same thing. He joined the upside down club. They are "well on their way to a smacked bottom", to quote Shrek

 

[Jungleexplorer]

I know this may sound silly, but beating your birds up may not be effective at getting them to stop attacking you. They need to see you as the alpha of the flock and smacking them around alone will not do it. I have studied chicken behavior for almost 30 years. I have watched hundreds of natural cock fights for the alpha position in the flock. There is a pattern to the process. Step one is getting the bird to submit. This may seem harsh, but this must be done with strikes to the head until the bird yields and runs away. Their is a little scream the bird will make when it gives up. I am not talking about fighting the bird at ground level. When he attacks you, grab it by the throat and smack it around a bit with an open hand. You don't have to hit hard. Just enough to let him know that he is out matched. Put him down and if he comes back at you, doing it again until he yields. Step two is posture and chase the loser to make sure he has given up. He should turn and run and hide his head. Step three is to flap your wings and crow. There is a certain pattern to the wing flapping that you need to mimic. Step four is to call the hens to eat. This will show them that you are not a predator to be feared, but are the alpha. You have to be careful to not cow your rooster during this process. Some rooster will not come back if cowed too bad.

It is important to know that just like a dog, a rooster can sense fear. If he feels you are afraid of him, he will attack you. Never show fear.

 

[Zootopia]

I know this may sound silly, but beating your birds up may not be effective at getting them to stop attacking you. They need to see you as the alpha of the flock and smacking them around alone will not do it. I have studied chicken behavior for almost 30 years. I have watched hundreds of natural cock fights for the alpha position in the flock. There is a pattern to the process. Step one is getting the bird to submit. This may seem harsh, but this must be done with strikes to the head until the bird yields and runs away. Their is a little scream the bird will make when it gives up. I am not talking about fighting the bird at ground level. When he attacks you, grab it by the throat and smack it around a bit with an open hand. You don't have to hit hard. Just enough to let him know that he is out matched. Put him down and if he comes back at you, doing it again until he yields. Step two is posture and chase the loser to make sure he has given up. He should turn and run and hide his head. Step three is to flap your wings and crow. There is a certain pattern to the wing flapping that you need to mimic. Step four is to call the hens to eat. This will show them that you are not a predator to be feared, but are the alpha. You have to be careful to not cow your rooster during this process. Some rooster will not come back if cowed too bad. It is important to know that just like a dog, a rooster can sense fear. If he feels you are afraid of him, he will attack you. Never show fear.

X 2 We had a big beautiful BO roo several years ago that started w/ stomping. I would walk up on him and "push" him around the yard while the other birds ate. He spurred me once, I picked him up by the neck and held him till he went limp. He finally got the message, but I didnt trust him around the kids since he had already made my DD afraid of him, so he went to freezer camp. Thats one reason I so Love my JGs. My grandson has grown up around the chickens and he loves to hug Simon, the head BJG roo (once he corners him). Simon doesnt try too hard to get away and tolerates the huggs. Grandson is leary of o/ne of the BR roos, and he can tell the 2 in the free range flock apart.

Just thought I'd share a video! This is one I got of the bats that have been living on my patio. I'm pretty excited that I got to see them, but then it started raining again and they all snuck back into their little nook. The babies are so small! Like little mice! It's adorable!

When we lived in SC we hung bat houses in the trees. It was so neat to eych them go in and out

 

[LBejaran]

When we lived in SC we hung bat houses in the trees. It was so neat to eych them go in and out

We don't go outside at night very often (if we wander out and make a noise, our duck Che comes running full force and starts a fight with the dogs, haha!), so we don't see them very often. But I was out checking the lights on my quail and I just couldn't help but watch them. They are so awesome. I want to hand some bat houses, but I'm thinking I'll do it out by the tool shed and coop. It'll be near the trees, so there is plenty of cover and the bugs all swarm by the lights there. My Dad is going to enclose our patio, but I definitely want them to come back!

 

[TammyTX]

We put glue boards up in the attic a couple of years ago because we thought we saw mouse droppings (turns out grasshoppers have similar droppings!), we didn't catch any mice but we did catch a bat.

Your idea of putting the bat houses away from the house is smart because bat pee really smells! Have you ever been to downtown Austin under the bat bridge? Whew! We have never watched the bats come streaming out of the bridge, but several years ago we were by a large old stack near the old Austin High School and the bats just kept pouring out! It was cool. I believe that stack was torn down...not trendy enough to be a bat lookout, I guess.

 

[LBejaran]

We put glue boards up in the attic a couple of years ago because we thought we saw mouse droppings (turns out grasshoppers have similar droppings!), we didn't catch any mice but we did catch a bat.

Your idea of putting the bat houses away from the house is smart because bat pee really smells! Have you ever been to downtown Austin under the bat bridge? Whew! We have never watched the bats come streaming out of the bridge, but several years ago we were by a large old stack near the old Austin High School and the bats just kept pouring out! It was cool. I believe that stack was torn down...not trendy enough to be a bat lookout, I guess.

Right now, since they live in the pillar, it's kinda gross, haha! There is a brown mark there from the dirt and feces, but so far it hasn't smelled. It helps that the air can be really dry down here, so it never really gets to the point where it's smelly. But once they leave for the season, I'm going to spray some vinegar on the pillar to prevent them from coming back there. Hopefully, they'll accept a new home in the trees. I've never been to Austin, but I know my Mom wanted to go see the bats.

I really like the idea of homing bats here, though. They do so much for us. Providing free manure (kinda) and eating the bugs that the dragonflies don't eat up, it's a great service they do for us and it's free! Especially right now with all the rain, there are so many bugs out and they just gobble them up. My Dad says that he prefers dragonflies but I am trying to convince him that the bats are just as important. They are kind of the dragonflies of the night....but they have their own superhero fashioned after them.

 

[TammyTX]

I wonder...do the bats from up this way migrate to your area in the winter? I thought they went to Mexico. Do you have bats that over-winter there?

 

[LBejaran]

I wonder...do the bats from up this way migrate to your area in the winter? I thought they went to Mexico. Do you have bats that over-winter there?

Hmmm...if I recall, we have them during a portion of the winter. I think they have their babies here and then migrate towards Mexico. Then they return in late spring to midsummer to reproduce again. I'm trying to remember though. I get them mixed up with birds who are here nearly all year. Hence all the bird-watching that goes on in our area.

Then again, I live about 25 minutes from the border. I don't think there is much of a difference between Mexico and here, haha!

 

[TammyTX]

Bats and Birds don't know from Border!

 

[TammyTX]

You know it's September when the Ox Blood Lilies are UP!! YEA!!!!

They are soooo pretty!