I have learned from this site that we have to teach our roos to have a healthy respect for us but it is so hard to do. Today though my roo was chasing the babies and pecking them from across the yard while I was outside. I ran after him (he started away from them as soon as he saw me coming) and caught him then held him upside down by his legs. He fought for awhile (not pecking, just flapping his wings and trying to straighten up) but finally submitted. Afterwards he was very meek. Was I too hard on him for his behavior or is that what I should have done? Advice would be nice because I want to take good care of my chickens and do it correctly. If that is what I need to do to be "in charge" then I will but if it is too harsh I won't do it again. Thanks! Note: I edited this post from before bc my other question truly belonged in a different section.
Hello Dear Friend. I believe that hanging your Roo upside down is kinda like hanging your baby upside down. It's cruel and is NOT how you teach a Roo to behave. I don't know where you're getting your info but, It's not good Husbandry !!! I don't mean to sound harsh but I have a Rooster also for three yrs. now and he was brought home with 17 hens. They grew up together and He's only trying to keep the chain in order. His order !! Roosters need to show dominance with the flock if their the only Rooster in the pack. It's the only way. If your roo is Too agressive with the hen's, do like I do and seperate him. If he has a place to be by himself, put him in a seperate run. You can keep a hen or two with him during this seperation so He isn't alone all the time. Find a couple hen's that He dosn't pick on so much and put them with him for a few day's. He will alway's pick on the smallest hen's first. OR you can keep him seperate all alone wich is sad too ! There's no easy answer to your problem and I have the same problem with my Rooster. Never do what you did to him. He will eventually start attacking you and will NEVER trust you. Let him be a Rooster or get rid of him. If He's not causing "Bareback" on the Hen's and there's no Blood and wounds, let him be. The proper way to handle a Roo is to corner him and pick him up and hold him then talk to him. When he starts trusting you, he will know your commands. When you see him attacking, yell at him to stop. I hope this helps. Good Luck.
No, you did just what you needed to do. Here's the "guru" of rooster behavior - rooster red. A great page for modifying rooster behavior. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2588-Roo_behavior
Quote:O_O anyways, sounds like you did ok to me, our roo's never really bother the younger birds, the hens do more of that LOL
We have taught all of our chickens with a small stick. I dont mean whacking them with it but we have used it more as a herding tool. I can lay it down across my chair and the big ones know it is off limits to cross so that the small ones can have a safe zone. If the small ones go to far from the safe zone then they are on their own it doesnt take long for them to learn. I think it lets them gain trust also knowing that you protect them and when they get bigger they know the stick means time to go to their coops. It is what we used since all of ours were small but it works.
Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do. My rooster shows dominance towards everyone except me because hes learned that if he decides to attack me, hes gunna get a little kick. Just enough get him away from me. It doesnt hurt but it shows that im bigger than him. I think what you did might have been a good step in making your rooster a little more respectful.
I don't think that you did something wrong. I would only suggest that you make sure that what you are seeing is actually a danger to the flock and not just normal behavior. I read over that Rooster page and it is very helpful...and true. Roos have a job to do. They don't do it all lovey and cuddley like Mamma does. Make sure that he's actually being agressive in a way that warrents you stepping in and you aren't over stepping any bounds.