Well, he's toast now

[Folly's place]

Best, never assume that your boy is safe, because one of these days he'll find a way to get you, or worse yet, someone else.
Mary

 

[Chickwonderer]

My stupid WL rooster finally bought himself a one-way ticket to freezer camp. I was sitting on the edge of the back porch yesterday afternoon having a little quiet time hand-feeding the chickens some BSFL (their favorite treat). Todd (my rooster) wasn't a problem at all when we first got him about 9 months ago, but he's been getting increasingly combative with me for some time now, for reason(s) unbeknownst to me. He's normally pretty sedate at treat time though, even participating with no aggressive behavior at all, and this time appeared to be no different...until I turned my head for a second to give some larvae to one of the hens who was standing just behind my left shoulder. Apparently he thought that was a great opportunity to launch a sneak attack and he hit my right arm like a ton of bricks, sinking one spur into my forearm and the other directly into my wrist. Were I not bleeding like a stuck pig and my wrist in severe pain I would have killed him on the spot...but I was and it was, so that bought him a little time. I let both punctures bleed for just a little bit to help flush them out, then cleaned them up with peroxide and stopped the bleeding. Then I thought it a good idea to hit a local 24/7 urgent care joint to get a tetanus shot and a scrip for some antibiotics, which I did. As the night wore on my wrist and hand swelled a bit (which the doctor said would likely happen) and the pain became quite intense, making me think that I might have a hairline fracture in one or more of the little bones in/near the wrist. But this morning that pain had largely subsided (though it still aches pretty bad if I put any pressure on my wrist), which I wouldn't expect if anything were actually broken.

Given that I'm right-handed he has a few more days to strut around and crow until my hand and wrist feel good enough to grab his feathered ass and take him out of the gene pool. My fault for putting it off this long hoping he'd eventually learn better.

I have 2 roosters 1 a Buff orpington, and a Barred rock , grew up togeather with 1 hen I got 9 more pullets to go with them. Now the BO wants to bully the BR.so bad he runs and hides. He also pecks my adult daughter, and flufs out his neck. Struts around and crows when we leave . We raised all from babies inside the house until they were old enough no small predators could get. All the rest are friendly and calm. He is only 5 months old.I wonder if he will get better ? But my other poor baby is sad even tho he is way bigger than the BO. Not sure what to do.

 

[Rosebud25]

I have 2 roosters 1 a Buff orpington, and a Barred rock , grew up togeather with 1 hen I got 9 more pullets to go with them. Now the BO wants to bully the BR.so bad he runs and hides. He also pecks my adult daughter, and flufs out his neck. Struts around and crows when we leave . We raised all from babies inside the house until they were old enough no small predators could get. All the rest are friendly and calm. He is only 5 months old.I wonder if he will get better ? But my other poor baby is sad even tho he is way bigger than the BO. Not sure what to do.

The aggressive one needs to go to freezer camp. He WILL get worse!

 

[Luv Ducks]

I have 2 roosters 1 a Buff orpington, and a Barred rock , grew up togeather with 1 hen I got 9 more pullets to go with them. Now the BO wants to bully the BR.so bad he runs and hides. He also pecks my adult daughter, and flufs out his neck. Struts around and crows when we leave . We raised all from babies inside the house until they were old enough no small predators could get. All the rest are friendly and calm. He is only 5 months old.I wonder if he will get better ? But my other poor baby is sad even tho he is way bigger than the BO. Not sure what to do.

If one of my Ducks starts to peck at me, trust me, it will be a one way ticket to my friend that eats ducks. Humans first, animals second in my book. Just my 2 cents worth my friend.

 

[Ila88]

There are gentle ones out there and people are all too willing to give them away. I have an extra right now. Anyone on Vancouver Island want a gentle, quiet, part Silkie rooster?

 

[BarnyardChaos]

...until I turned my head for a second to give some larvae to one of the hens who was standing just behind my left shoulder.

And there is the reason he attacked. I agree, he's freezer meat ASAP, and I hope you heal quickly, but just to understand the behavior: Roosters don't like competition for their hens' attention. They like to be the ones showing their girls where the treats are. If another rooster tries to court one of *his* hens, by giving her treats or showing other courting behavior, they'll attack the interloper. You.
FWIW, and those reading this thread, you should try giving your rooster his treats FIRST, and let him call the hens over to get some. Still, never let your guard down, and don't turn your back on him. One unprovoked attack with injuries on the human who provides his means of living is a certain death sentence in my run.

 

[Folly's place]

There's a learning curve for the humans involved, when it comes to reading rooster behaviors. There's no reason to wait for injuries to throw in the towel on a cockerel or rooster! Once you've had experience with bad boys, removing them sooner makes way more sense.
Mary

 

[Geena]

So whos fault is it? If we take steps to ensure he never gets into his "bird brain" that he is the top squawk, he would never be a problem.

Most often it's nobody's fault. The rooster wants to protect what he believes to be his, we want control over what we believe to be ours and the two opposing points of view do not mesh well.
Bottom line is most people don't want to risk getting hurt by a little feathered shithead with a napoleon complex.
Most often no matter what you do a plucky rooster is going to think he's top squawk because that's the way he is wired, you can't reason with such a rooster.

 

[KCChickenMomma]

I have 2 roosters 1 a Buff orpington, and a Barred rock , grew up togeather with 1 hen I got 9 more pullets to go with them. Now the BO wants to bully the BR.so bad he runs and hides. He also pecks my adult daughter, and flufs out his neck. Struts around and crows when we leave . We raised all from babies inside the house until they were old enough no small predators could get. All the rest are friendly and calm. He is only 5 months old.I wonder if he will get better ? But my other poor baby is sad even tho he is way bigger than the BO. Not sure what to do.

There are things you can do to break that aggressive behavior. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesnt. First thing is to never break eye contact first. That shows him that you are the weaker one and gives him an opening to take you out. Try holding him like a football while your out with your birds. Walk around with him so that the others can see this. I had one that showed a smidgen of aggression one time towards me and I immediately grabbed him. He's 3 years old now and a lover. I had another that would purr whenever I held him. The most amazing roo in the world. Would come running to me every time he saw me. He'd find things to give me, rocks, leaves, acorns and such. Then he hit puberty. He saw me as competition for the ladies. He would sneak up on me from behind and hit my legs. Watching him fly across the yard when I kicked him was sad for me. I tried everything I could but when he drew blood, pecked my face when I was walking by the roost, well, you know, you can only do so much. I still miss that bird. It's been 2 years now and I'm still heartbroken. I believe roosters get a bad rap and we should do everything we can for them. Good luck!

 

[sarahconnor]

That's an understatement. I'd still like to have a rooster, if for no other reason than as protection for the hens (this one was good at that, which is the only reason I kept him around this long). But instead of adopting one someone else was getting rid of I think I'll raise one from a much, much younger bird in the hopes that makes it more likely to be relaxed around me.

Wish you lived close. I have four nice roosters. Don’t have the heart to do them in. They bother the girls a lot of course. But they are all super sweet to me and they are handsome too. Be so happy to give you one.