The IMPORTED ENGLISH Orpington Thread

[HighStreetCoop]

Welcome, @JackieandChicks ! You're going to love having them.

 

[Faraday40]

Orpington roo temperament ?s I have read that Orpingtons are gentle giants. Is this mostly true for the roos as well?

I have a BIG boy at age 7 1/2 months. I think he may have tried to hit me, so I put him in solitary for 6-8 hours. Honestly it felt like he accidently bumped into the back of my leg, but I didn't want him to get away with anything. A week later, he tried to jump on my daughter's shoe while she was swinging. Again into solitary, but not sure if she did anything prior. Likewise with my son & our chicken sitter, he may have tried to attack - but a weak attack at best. He's so large that I think he could draw blood (or at least make us feel more than a light tap on the shin).

Questions: Is this aggression? Is he testing us? Is our reaction of picking him up & putting him in solitary enough? How long do roosters test the waters? Will he grow out of it or will it grow with age? Are there any warning signs we should look for? The kids know enough to never run away from a rooster, but I'm pretty sure our last rooster was not normal. Our last roo (an Easter Egger mutt) was very tame & still enjoyed human cuddles at 1 year old. (Well, he no longer jumped up into our laps, but when we picked him up, he was fine.) We got rid of him only because he crowed nonstop & over-mated the hens bald.

I told my kids not to get attached to this one b/c he's only staying until I have a reason not to keep him. He was never held nor pampered. He's so beautiful. I like the fact that he rarely crows & my hens are even growing their feathers back. I'd like to keep him around for hen protection.

One more question: Does the amount of crowing stay about the same or will it change seasonally or with age? (no other roos here)

 

[rockinpaints]

Orpington roo temperament ?s I have read that Orpingtons are gentle giants. Is this mostly true for the roos as well?

I have a BIG boy at age 7 1/2 months. I think he may have tried to hit me, so I put him in solitary for 6-8 hours. Honestly it felt like he accidently bumped into the back of my leg, but I didn't want him to get away with anything. A week later, he tried to jump on my daughter's shoe while she was swinging. Again into solitary, but not sure if she did anything prior. Likewise with my son & our chicken sitter, he may have tried to attack - but a weak attack at best. He's so large that I think he could draw blood (or at least make us feel more than a light tap on the shin).

Questions: Is this aggression? Is he testing us? Is our reaction of picking him up & putting him in solitary enough? How long do roosters test the waters? Will he grow out of it or will it grow with age? Are there any warning signs we should look for? The kids know enough to never run away from a rooster, but I'm pretty sure our last rooster was not normal. Our last roo (an Easter Egger mutt) was very tame & still enjoyed human cuddles at 1 year old. (Well, he no longer jumped up into our laps, but when we picked him up, he was fine.) We got rid of him only because he crowed nonstop & over-mated the hens bald.

I told my kids not to get attached to this one b/c he's only staying until I have a reason not to keep him. He was never held nor pampered. He's so beautiful. I like the fact that he rarely crows & my hens are even growing their feathers back. I'd like to keep him around for hen protection.

One more question: Does the amount of crowing stay about the same or will it change seasonally or with age? (no other roos here)

Hi There, I will give you a little information based on my personal experience with roosters, Orpingtons in particular. It is only on a rare occasion that I have seen an aggressive rooster. Most of the time (again in my case) the sons were the same so we generally do not even use aggressive birds for breeding. Unfortunately it does sound like he is being aggressive. When they are doing it to protect hens from predators it is one thing, but even in this case it is important to find out if it will be something that may be likely to be passed on. If they are doing to show dominance and not protecting hens it is unacceptable and dangerous especially with children.

I have never seen a rooster that could be completely rehabilitated to be safe with children after he has become aggressive, and isolation only seems to make it worse. I could give you tips and tricks that deter a rooster that is protecting his hens but I am not sure I would try to rehabilitate an aggressive rooster to be a family pet. I would never completely trust my back to any rooster that has previously shown aggression.
Again, this is all based on my own experience of over 25 years with chickens. The best place for an aggressive rooster is in a soup pot

(in my own humble opinion).
There may be a chicken whisperer or two on here who can help you if you are set on keeping him. Good luck with what ever you do and keep us posted of the outcome.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

The best place for an aggressive rooster is in a soup pot

(in my own humble opinion).

Too many good roosters out there being culled to keep a nasty one.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

My chicks are now 7-9 weeks and I've noticed something interesting as I've been taking notes and keeping track of which ones seem to be showing signs of being cockerels. All the ones that appear to be cockerels (larger combs, developing wattles, thick legs, upright posture), have a very square, blocky tails. All the ones that appear to be pullets (small combs, no wattle development, more dainty legs) have a longer, pointer tail. I started noticing this a couple of weeks ago and so far, the tail structure seems to be bearing out as they grow. So even though the tails are growing and becoming larger, the shape so far is very different and the ones that I noted tail shape on when they were 4 weeks old are staying true to whatever that tail shape was (square are all showing cockerel traits and pointy are all--so far--looking like pullets).

Has anyone else noticed this? I know "lack of tail" has been mentioned a lot when I look at posts about how to sex Orps, but I haven't seen anyone mention shape of tail.

 

[JanetMarie]

Orpington roo temperament ?s I have read that Orpingtons are gentle giants. Is this mostly true for the roos as well?

I have a BIG boy at age 7 1/2 months. I think he may have tried to hit me, so I put him in solitary for 6-8 hours. Honestly it felt like he accidently bumped into the back of my leg, but I didn't want him to get away with anything. A week later, he tried to jump on my daughter's shoe while she was swinging. Again into solitary, but not sure if she did anything prior. Likewise with my son & our chicken sitter, he may have tried to attack - but a weak attack at best. He's so large that I think he could draw blood (or at least make us feel more than a light tap on the shin).

Questions: Is this aggression? Is he testing us? Is our reaction of picking him up & putting him in solitary enough? How long do roosters test the waters? Will he grow out of it or will it grow with age? Are there any warning signs we should look for? The kids know enough to never run away from a rooster, but I'm pretty sure our last rooster was not normal. Our last roo (an Easter Egger mutt) was very tame & still enjoyed human cuddles at 1 year old. (Well, he no longer jumped up into our laps, but when we picked him up, he was fine.) We got rid of him only because he crowed nonstop & over-mated the hens bald.

I told my kids not to get attached to this one b/c he's only staying until I have a reason not to keep him. He was never held nor pampered. He's so beautiful. I like the fact that he rarely crows & my hens are even growing their feathers back. I'd like to keep him around for hen protection.

One more question: Does the amount of crowing stay about the same or will it change seasonally or with age? (no other roos here)

Putting him into solitary will make him mean, and he will not understand why he is in solitary. When I have had a rooster challenge me, I always knew for sure. One rooster I still have now, who was snuggled by me while growing up, would nip at my heals sometimes when he was reaching maturity. He doesn't do that now. My roosters have never changed their crowing habits once they grew up, unless you add another rooster then he will crow more.

 

[TherryChicken]

Try papabrooder on here

Thank you

 

[JackieandChicks]

Looks like I am on the hunt for a Chocolate Bantam Orphington girl...would prefer close enough to me to pick up (in Michigan) versus shipping. Any leads or suggestions are welcome. Thank you!

 

[Faraday40]

Putting him into solitary will make him mean, and he will not understand why he is in solitary. When I have had a rooster challenge me, I always knew for sure. One rooster I still have now, who was snuggled by me while growing up, would nip at my heals sometimes when he was reaching maturity. He doesn't do that now. My roosters have never changed their crowing habits once they grew up, unless you add another rooster then he will crow more.

What did you do to show you're the boss? Or, did you just ignore it? What I felt was a light tap on the back of my leg as I walk walking & calling for the chickens to follow me to the garden. I scolded & lunged at him then scooped him up. I continued back to the garden to toss some treats, did a couple more things one-handed, & then put him into an extra cage in the garage. He never showed any aggression before, but there have been a few times in the last month that he may have tried the same kind of light tap to other people. He's so big, that I'd expect to feel an attack. That's why I was wondering if roosters go through a teen-like testing phase.

He's never tried to circle me or drag a wing. I've never seen his hackles ruffled. Once in a while I see him standing sideways between the hens & me. When I walk toward him, he moves out of my way. Sometimes he crows a bit too frequently so I may do 1 quick step in his direction to make him back away. Are these things normal testing or early signs of aggression?

 

[JanetMarie]

What did you do to show you're the boss? Or, did you just ignore it? What I felt was a light tap on the back of my leg as I walk walking & calling for the chickens to follow me to the garden. I scolded & lunged at him then scooped him up. I continued back to the garden to toss some treats, did a couple more things one-handed, & then put him into an extra cage in the garage. He never showed any aggression before, but there have been a few times in the last month that he may have tried the same kind of light tap to other people. He's so big, that I'd expect to feel an attack. That's why I was wondering if roosters go through a teen-like testing phase.

He's never tried to circle me or drag a wing. I've never seen his hackles ruffled. Once in a while I see him standing sideways between the hens & me. When I walk toward him, he moves out of my way. Sometimes he crows a bit too frequently so I may do 1 quick step in his direction to make him back away. Are these things normal testing or early signs of aggression?

He was behind me following me and did a weak nip at my ankles. When I turned around to talk to him, he turned away as if to pretend he's not doing anything. He only has done this a few times as a "teenager". When he has been a really bad boy, as in chasing hens unnecessarily, I pick him up and hold him and scold him. As soon as I pick him up he is calm and submissive, and when I put him back down he stops the chasing. He knows I'm boss and does not challenge me, even though he does lean towards me sometimes. He is very tame and personable, probably since I raised him along with his flock mates from hatching eggs, and they thought of me as their mom. He is a Production Red.

Early in chicken keeping I had one rooster who got the idea that my husband and I were dangerous and started picking fights. He would charge at me from the front with feet in the air, wings flapping, pecking my legs (drawing blood one time), and one time he charged at my head. He also told the hens to stay away from us. Now that is truly a bad rooster who was serious about fighting, there is no rehabilitation, and could not be tolerated. A big difference between that and a little nip. This one was also a Production Red, different bloodline from the other one.

When your boy moves out of the way as you walk towards him he is showing that he knows you are dominant. What your describing here seems very mild testing and normal behavior, and correctly described as teen-age stage.