Trained my now slightly aggressive rooster

[chicknfun]

I do not want anyone to think that I was just looking for a reason to off my rooster, and I did search for info , but all the suggestions that I had read required me to get a hold of the roo, which had become impossible at that point. Please don't think that i was just looking for an easy way out.
I also had 2 people that I know who have had chickens all their lives say that they didn't know what to do about him. It's not like I didn't try to deal with the issue. I had found a home for him with one of those people, but the described incident took place before the guy could come get the roo.

ETA: I also want to add that people don't just start out knowing everything about something, and there is a learning curve, no matter what the situation. Could I have done something differently BEFORE this situation presented itself- YES- I know that NOW

did I ever imagine this scenario before I got chickens, so that i could seek out info on how to prevent it....

It certainly is not like I did not totally adore this rooster, and I still haven't fully gotten over the incident.
One cannot foresee every situation that could ever possibly present itself in the future.
I guess I should have just kept my experience with that roo to myself

 

[PSJ]

My experience is only with one rooster. He's a huge black australorp. Since he was a day old he's been less friendly than the others. I've never handled him except a couple of times when it was necessary. A few times i've gone out of my way to show him i was boss by making him move out of my way. He's the best rooster i could ask for. He's protective, good with the girls, yet never offers aggression toward me. He's not a pet for sure, but he sure does his rooster job well. I think animals like these get confused when we try to make friends with them. That's not how their minds work. My situation may work different than someone else's. I have a semi free range

yes, he does exist. And the common thread among those of us who have had multiple roosters over the years and not had problems with them is we leave them alone. We treat them with a healthy respect but don't handle them or try to make pets of them. There's a current thread about bringing a rooster up right somewhere here that has some good info, mostly like WalkingonSunshine's post. The best roos for a flock are kind of like livestock guardian dogs......you don't make a pet of them, just leave them alone and let them do their jobs.

I completely agree... I have a black wyandotte rooster that is VERY good at his job. He protects the girls, but is not aggressive toward me or other animals unless they threaten his girls. He has never even looked at me cross ways. He has never been handled more than necessary and I don't treat him like a pet. He is there to do a job and I let him do it. I don't and will never walk around him. I act like he isn't even there when I go to the coop.

However, until a few days ago, I had a RIR rooster that I raised from a baby. He was handled a lot and treated like a pet. He was horribly aggressive. I had to boot him several times, I carried a "rooster stick" with me, I tried all of the suggestions I've found..the carrying them under your arm..ALL of it! It would work for a little while but then he would do it again. It got so bad that he would try to attack my 3 year old daughter. The house dog couldn't even go outside by herself. He would spot her across the yard and take off in a full sprint to attack her. He had MANY chances but was still overly aggressive. He had to go. I honestly believe it makes a difference as to whether you treat them like a pet or not.

 

[PSJ]

I do not want anyone to think that I was just looking for a reason to off my rooster, and I did search for info , but all the suggestions that I had read required me to get a hold of the roo, which had become impossible at that point. Please don't think that i was just looking for an easy way out.
I also had 2 people that I know who have had chickens all their lives say that they didn't know what to do about him. It's not like I didn't try to deal with the issue. I had found a home for him with one of those people, but the described incident took place before the guy could come get the roo.

ETA: I also want to add that people don't just start out knowing everything about something, and there is a learning curve, no matter what the situation. Could I have done something differently BEFORE this situation presented itself- YES- I know that NOW

did I ever imagine this scenario before I got chickens, so that i could seek out info on how to prevent it....

It certainly is not like I did not totally adore this rooster, and I still haven't fully gotten over the incident.
One cannot foresee every situation that could ever possibly present itself in the future.
I guess I should have just kept my experience with that roo to myself

Don't feel bad. I totally understand where you are coming from. Sometimes, you can teach them who is boss and sometimes they are just hard headed, aggressive, and will never learn. When that is the case, you do what you have to do. All experiences are welcome!! Again, don't feel bad!

 

[chicknfun]

Quote: Thanks for that- i must admit, I frequent this forum to learn , and I exited out after my above reply with confusion.....But- as you can see- I do not give up easily...LOL
and so, here I am again

 

[chicknfun]

Quote:

I completely agree... I have a black wyandotte rooster that is VERY good at his job. He protects the girls, but is not aggressive toward me or other animals unless they threaten his girls. He has never even looked at me cross ways. He has never been handled more than necessary and I don't treat him like a pet. He is there to do a job and I let him do it. I don't and will never walk around him. I act like he isn't even there when I go to the coop.

However, until a few days ago, I had a RIR rooster that I raised from a baby. He was handled a lot and treated like a pet. He was horribly aggressive. I had to boot him several times, I carried a "rooster stick" with me, I tried all of the suggestions I've found..the carrying them under your arm..ALL of it! It would work for a little while but then he would do it again. It got so bad that he would try to attack my 3 year old daughter. The house dog couldn't even go outside by herself. He would spot her across the yard and take off in a full sprint to attack her. He had MANY chances but was still overly aggressive. He had to go. I honestly believe it makes a difference as to whether you treat them like a pet or not.

ok, so if I am reading this correctly, in the future I should literally just ignore a roo, but swiftly deal with any first sign of aggression from one. That is probably where I went wrong with my BCM, I continued to try to pet on him when I would go in the coop. I have only had my chickens for about a year, so I totally admit i have very little experience. I haven't really tried to pet my other roos after that incident with the BCM, and I can see now how that has created a situation where they do not seem to have the same aggression level.
Thanks for the info!!

ETA: I must from now on resist my urge to touch the pretty roo.........LOL

 

[6 littleHens]

chicknfun,
Thanks for telling about your experience. For safety sake, your story cautions others and could prevent someone from being seriously injured. New chicken people need to know all of the facts so they know to be careful and to look for subtle changes in there roosters. However, my feelings are that these aggressive roosters are very dangerous animals! I wouldn't waste the time to research on how to deal with a bear or a tiger that was waiting for me like my rooster does. Anyways, I'm no killer yet, so I have put it off for now. I have found a way to feed and water them so that he is not able to get to me. I will try to put the peepers on him to see if this calms him. His comb might not allow them to fit. If they fit and they calm him, then I will remove his outer spurs at that time.

 

[6 littleHens]

PSJ,
I have a rooster stick too!

 

[Bogtown Chick]

So my question is: Does a rooster that is good with the girls, protects and doesn't attack - without daily handling exist?

I kept 2 Roos out of 3 (Bantam, New Hampshire, Partridge Rock). They were all handled however by myself or kids especially early on--the bantam more than the other two. But of the two I kept (the bantam and New Hampshire), the leader was handled the least-the New hampshire. He showed natural leadership from an early age--3-4 weeks old on. he was never skiddish with us. He can detect an aerial eagle, hawk assault about 30 seconds before it happens. Free ranged his flock all last summer without one loss. I have raccoons, wolves, bear, fox, neighborhood dogs trapesing through my yard every once in a while. How he did it I have no idea. But I owe my flock to that Rooster of that I'm about 90% sure and I'm sure the other 10% is God and Luck. He's had little moments where I moved too fast towards his hens for his liking and I understood immediately what I did wrong.

To put it in short, yes they do and can exist. I think giving a rooster his space also is a good thing. But handling once in a while should be tolerated too. That's what we do with the New Hampshire. Kids walk up to him and pick him up whenever. And sometimes weeks can go by before they do. He's pretty tolerant.

 

[Victoria-nola]

I'm sorry that I said "someone just looking for an excuse to off a roo". I didn't really mean that about people looking for help, I actually was thinking more about people who advise killing any roo with any exhibition of aggression without any thought about the context of what is going on and the human trying to change what may well be the human's poor choice of behavior. For example, I seriously did not know that treating a roo like a pet could result in inappropriate expressions by the roo. I have stopped seeking to pet him and even also his hens. I have noticed that he gets peeved when the hens run up to me and I coo at them and call them all by name. That makes me sad but I'm trying to understand the world from his point of view. Meanwhile, I've got a serious scar from where he stabbed me in the thigh and definitely need to avoid that happening any more.

On the other hand, I have had success with the holding/neck lowering method. It changed things. But it also took other changes on my part. I no longer seek eye contact with him, I realize now that just causes problems. But he is moving away from me when I come into the yard and that's the right direction. And, he doesn't fight with anyone but two people-- our handyman who has spent a lot of time in the yard, and myself. He doesn't have an issue with my husband or even other regular visitors to the yard. Anyway, to me, it's a learning curve-- for the humans.

And I'm taking him to get his spurs trimmed, and plan to keep them trimmed. Youch!

 

[6 littleHens]

That's ok. I still have my rooster. My husband is going to help me put peepers on him and trim his spurs. He's small and comes up behind us and jumps on back of our legs for now. So, I think we have time to think about what we are going to do carefully. I don't usually run out and do everything suggested in posts without thinking on it awhile.

However, I realize that a year with chickens does not give me any expert knowledge on them and that old timers are usually right. For instance, they say chickens aren't pets. Well, I tried to make pets out of them, and after a year, I realize that you can make pets out of them, but their not like other typical pets. Lol, their not too bright and only care about free range and bugs. They don't rub their head on my leg like a cat or enjoy being petted like a dog. If I had been raised with chickens I would be able to cull, process, and eat my own. But, I am unable to do this. Although, I have changed and think i could kill a problem chicken without crying and whining.

If we could understand animals and they could understand us, then we wouldn't be able to kill them to eat, (not me, lol). They'd be yelling, help me! Don't kill me! I think God made it so animals couldn't understand each other for that reason. We would starve.

I have developed a thicker skin and I may have to end my relationship with my rooster yet. But, I will be ok if I do and I will know that I did try to problem solve.

Looking back on my year with chickens, I still love them. I love watching them. I love it that they seem to tattle on each other to me. I love the egg songs. I love getting eggs. I love animals. I got through this winter without seasonal affective depression that I get every winter without meds or herbs! Now, if hubby let me get a dairy goat! Been thinking of hiding one in chicken coop!

Do goats get aggressive and break your heart too?