Topic of the Week - Aggressive Roosters: What is the best way to handle them?

[theoldchick]

Little fella needs his own place with his own ladies. Some roosters just don't get along. When this happens it's time to rehome or start building another coop.

 

[Dharmachick]

I have 2 awesome Orpington roos. They are living together in a flock and good at their jobs. They are nonaggressive towards humans or each other so they are keepers. I also have several 4 month old Orpington cockerels that I have to rehome. Not because they are bad, just because I have too many.

 

[OzarkChooks]

We had a very aggressive cockerel who ended up in the soup pot. We were too hands on with him and tried to make a pet out of him. He hated us. So we are hands off with our current cockerel and he is shaping up to be a good rooster.

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

(Not enough meat, only bantams)

Fertilizer? An early post (2016, can't recall who) suggested they help new roses bushes become established. May be a way to handle those 'bonus chicks' if its a lean breed. My $0.02

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

We had a very aggressive cockerel who ended up in the soup pot. We were too hands on with him and tried to make a pet out of him. He hated us. So we are hands off with our current cockerel and he is shaping up to be a good rooster.

First time chicken owner with chicks coming in April, learning from others mistakes thanks to this forum. I just ordered straight run Niederrheiner and pullet bielefelders. I expect 50/50 cockerel in the SR and, of course the bonus chick will be a roo. Roos from St run will be culled as I am trying the breed for meat anyway and will keep the pullets. I intentionaly ordered a bielefelder roo (and pullets) for breeding, protection and feather pattern (crafts). The roos are stunning in appearance.
It seems the overwhelming opinion in preventing roo aggression is to maintain a hands-on-only-when- necessary approach from the start. Bielefelders are docile so to speak and I would love to have a roo as a lap chicken, but I need a rooster to do what a rooster is meant to do more than I need a lap pet. I have two 80 lb pups for that!

 

[Ascholten]

Had a rooster on the farm, was aggressive, after fending off, he'd sneak up behind you and try to spike you. Also tore the hens up pretty badly too, they had totally bald patches on their back, some bloody. Finally said enough, he came after me one too many times, turned into lunch.

Sometimes they can be shown their place if they are too aggressive but when not, then it's time to make them into soup. The ladies healed up and are doing fine now as well. If they are that aggressive that they are injuring the hens too, then just like an abusive husband, they need to go! I would also recommend making this decision fairly soon too, the longer you wait on them, the more abuse and injury your hens take, and the tougher their meat becomes too.

Too bad the feathers can't be used for anything else besides compost fodder.

Aaron

 

[calboy147]

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Some roosters are really amazing flock members that knows their place and looks after their flocks without ever causing issues, or show signs of aggression towards his hens, or humans. But sometimes a problem rooster crops up that shows either excessive aggression to his hens, or attacks humans. In this thread, please tell me your thoughts on how to best manage an aggressive rooster, specifically:

- What was your experience(s) with aggressive roosters and what did you try/do to remedy it?
- Should aggressive roosters be rehabilitated, rehomed, or invited for dinner?



For a complete list of our Topic of the Week threads, see here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/topic-of-the-week-thread-archive

i have a huge rooster that has gone from a lap roo, to an aggressive to (humans? rooster. i question the term human because i am pretty much the only person i know for sure he has attacked.
My wife said he started to charge her, and my brother in law said the same.
Of course i am the only human that he is around every day all day long. I keep him around because he is an amazing flock rooster.
I have tried all the so called proven methods suggested here in BYC, to no avail. The only thing i have found to work with a modicum of success is: don't freak out: to slap the snot out of him first thing in the morning when he attacks me. We have a good fight when he initiates it then the next morning i catch him as he comes out of the coop smack the crap out of him and we are good for two or three weeks. Since the last butt whoop'n we are now on day 29. Hopefully we are done with the macho crap. I would much rather he go back to putting my leg to sleep by roosting on it when i am sitting on the back deck.

 

[Ascholten]

i have a huge rooster that has gone from a lap roo, to an aggressive to (humans? rooster. i question the term human because i am pretty much the only person i know for sure he has attacked.
My wife said he started to charge her, and my brother in law said the same.
Of course i am the only human that he is around every day all day long. I keep him around because he is an amazing flock rooster.
I have tried all the so called proven methods suggested here in BYC, to no avail. The only thing i have found to work with a modicum of success is: don't freak out: to slap the snot out of him first thing in the morning when he attacks me. We have a good fight when he initiates it then the next morning i catch him as he comes out of the coop smack the crap out of him and we are good for two or three weeks. Since the last butt whoop'n we are now on day 29. Hopefully we are done with the macho crap. I would much rather he go back to putting my leg to sleep by roosting on it when i am sitting on the back deck.

Wonder if that is hormones, he grew older, changed and just turned more aggressive? The butt whoopin works for only so long and you still, constantly have to worry about, ok when is he going to need his next one. You don't need to be distracted working on something only to have the bird sneak attack you from behind and end up bleeding.

Hopefully he learned the pecking order and YOU are the Alpha Rooster in that lot, but time will tell. Good luck.
Aaron

 

[JoDucc]

One of my older roosters, Asparagus (Or Asper for short), a lavender Orpington, used to try and attack me whenever I went in to collect eggs (They had a little box out in the run that they would lay in every now and again), and since I was down low to the ground whenever I had to, he would try to charge me. He underestimated just how many hours of my life I wasted playing video games and learning how to acknowledge and abuse patterns, so I would bait him into kicking by hanging my foot just about at chest height, and when he would jump to kick at my foot, I would raise it just a little bit and push him back with a small kick (nothing hard enough to hurt him, just enough to shove him back). After a couple of rounds doing this and having to hold him down to get him to calm down, he now allows me to pick him up and hold him like a child without any anger issues (though he is sometimes a bit freaked out when I do it haha)

 

[Ascholten]

Some roosters just need to be put in their place, others are just rotten and destined for the stew pot period! it's always great when they CAN be tamed down or at least, you stay in your corner and I won't smack you. As I mentioned earlier, the one roo was just a terrible brat who ended up with a 360 neck, this new one, which was a, I guess you could call it a rescue, he got cocky once, got a boot to the head, and has been actually very accommodating since and settled down a bunch and is rather nice.

The main thing though is how they treat the ladies as well. This one is not tearing feathers out of them and leaving bloody patches like the old one did either, so that right there, is a HUGE plus for his concinued survival

Too bad there is not like some trick or something that worked almost every time on them.

Aaron