Ugh... hurt my roo tonight. *Update* He attacked DH.

[tammyd57]

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My grandma, who knew more about chickens than anyone I've ever met, told me to never hold a chicken upside down by the feet. That the reason they get calm when you do that is because they can't breathe right in that position and it can damage them. It can also injure their legs.
I've also read that same information on threads here and elsewhere.
From what I understand it's okay to flip them onto their back, not dangling by their feet.

 

[dogdollar]

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Well, keep on killing your roosters then...after 40 years, how could you possibly be wrong about anything?
DD

 

[tammyd57]

Quote:
Well, keep on killing your roosters then...after 40 years, how could you possibly be wrong about anything?
DD

Oh, I could be wrong about any number of things, just like anybody else. I don't know everything, never claimed I did. I do know that we eat extra roos here, and if I have one who insists on attacking me and one who does not, guess who goes in the freezer?

 

[mulewagon]

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My impression is that some roosters feel dominated by being picked up and held, so it comes to the same thing. My roosters didn't seem impressed by it, so I stopped picking them up when they're awake. (Though Yazzo has an interesting page about training roosters not to bite when they're petted - I'll try that wth the next generation.)

I trained mine, when they were young, to keep their distance by waggling something in front of their faces. A plastic shopping bag works great, or a stick - not to hit them, just waggling it at eye level. That backs them right up. Now I don't have to carry anything - when I'm working in the chicken yard, I just randomly walk at the roosters until they back up. That keeps them reminded.

It's important to recognize when they're challenging you, way before it becomes an attack. It'll be a funny walk, either sideways or in a circle around you, stiff-legged and maybe with the head and one wing down. Always walk at them when they do that, until they back up.

I was darn glad I'd trained them like that, because it turned out we had way more roosters than hens. Things got pretty violent before we could get all the excess roosters slaughtered, but none of them ever went for me. I would wade into a mob of eighteen roosters (after we'd slaughtered eight!) to break things up, sometimes grabbing them by the tails and throwing them. They didn't retaliate, I guess because I was established as the boss.

We now have four roosters and eleven hens, and eveything is quiet. The survivors settled right down as soon as the excess roosters were gone. We didn't pick them for temperament, but for being the largest and prettiest. They're eight months old, so I don't know if they'll get more aggressive when they're older. I may have to rotate them, or slaughter a couple more. The hens are fine with this many so far - they aren't hiding and they're gaining weight and seem happy.

As a matter of fact, the hens are much harder on me than the roosters! They got used to being carried around and protected during the rooster reign of terror, so now they come up, peck me on the leg, then step back and look me in the face. So I pick them up and they settle down to sleep. Sometimes I'm breaking up a rooster scuffle with a hen under each arm - swear to goodness I'm not making it up!

 

[chillmiller]

dominate him, he gets to close... push him back he he pops up on a ledge next to you push him off of it your the boss you control his fate make sure he knows that

 

[GAchick]

My rooster Earl Attacked me twice. Once after I picked up a hen and she screamed, once with no provocation. He later attacked a friend on several different occasions, going so far as to 'sneak up' on him when his back was turned. Said friend wound up kicking said rooster across the yard. My DS started getting attacked when he came around. Bobby 'dominated him' by grabbing up a 5 gallon bucket, and tossing it over rooster. Wound up tossing rooster in the dog kennel with two juvenile roos. Said rooster continued trying to attack DS through chain link. 7 of us enjoyed some of the best rooster and dumplings I've ever eaten yesterday...

 

[tuesdays chicks]

I have a dutch bantam pullet that came off broody to molt, right now I'm giving her the benefit of doubt that her harmonies are playing up, but she is acting aggressive towards me since she came off the nest and the other day I nearly rang her neck, if you feel threatened by your rooster he is being aggressive, I was going to give this pullet away but I don't think it would be fair to give her to someone else with her personality defect she has until she finishes her molt and if her behavior doesn't change I don't care how small she is she is going in a pot, if she were a roo she would be gone already.

 

[Pinky]

I had two roos I mentioned in another thread, a buff orp and a RIR, who would repeatedly mount my hens aggresively, especially when people came around. One day they thought they could do this in front of me, almost made me trip on top of them. I grabbed the rooster closest to me and held him to the ground. I didn't hurt him when I did this but I did have to force him (the buff roo) down to the ground. I held him down with just enough force to make him stay down. I held him down in the same way a hen sits for the roos. I didn't have to hold him down for long and it worked on the buff but it didn't work as well on the RIR. He continued to be agressive so he had to go. Neither one came at me again, but no one else could go in the coop and the hens looked terrible but now the buff is separated and well behaved and the hens are no longer afraid to come off their roosts.

 

[rockinpaints]

I don't like aggressive roosters either but they do take care of the hens. I have a bunch of roos too and if I catch one that even has the faintest idea of running towards me I chase him, if I can catch him (not often) I will pick him up and hold him or carry him around with me for awhile. So generally they kinda walk away when I am approaching them. I wouldn't worry about his head, it is a long way from his heart.....