What did you do with your flock today?

[TropicalBabies]

He is doing it while I’m walking and kind of aggressive. He got in front of me while i was walking and got kicked

Hey good morning @FBMcrazy8 ! I've been missing you! I know you are super busy but it is great to see you.
Duck pen looks fabulous!!! ♡♡♡

K. Cockerel. Right there when he pecks your feet. That is the time to pick him up and just hold him like a football do your chores, talk nicely, enjoy ♡ It is his job to get food for the girls, you are the provider... he is flirting and asking you for food, attention, special treats to show girls how good he is. He has not grown into himself but this is your chance to form that partnership. ***Don't ever kick him or walk through him. That is the worst advice I have ever heard and took myself till I wised up. It will create a combative boy because you have challened him and become the enemy, you are the one being unpredictable in his eyes. Show him respect, not fear.
I ask for Spiders permission with my body when I enter the run or handle his girls. I walk around my flock, wait for them (try anyways) don't punch through them, it just makes you trip and them crazy. I give Spider treats to give to his girls, up his rank, make him a good provider and he loves the attention from me and girls. Talk about appealing to him... a roo surrounded by girls is a happy boy.
Now Beetle is a different boy and we have not spent all of that time together and he has only been out with the girls for the last few months and I am not around much. He did have some hormonal aggression but I just picked him up, gave him treats, treated with care and respect and he is a good boy now. I'm very impressed. He is very charming.
They say that our chickens and roosters should know their place. I think it is us who need to know our place. We can be a part of their world or miss out.

I hope you can turn it around b4 it is too late. Be kind. He is not out to hurt you.

 

[Idaho Chicken Bungalow]

I saw my broody chicken out drinking and feeding, I ran outside as I haven't seen her out and about since the 13th of August. Ther were 13 eggs there. She was not happy about me getting close. I walked with her as she preened, and she looks healthy. This is where she chose to hide her clutch:
Hence the reason I can't get to them. Her first time, it should be any day now. The Cockerel was rehomed on the 14th of August.

 

[TropicalBabies]

I saw my broody chicken out drinking and feeding, I ran outside as I haven't seen her out and about since the 13th of August. Ther were 13 eggs there. She was not happy about me getting close. I walked with her as she preened, and she looks healthy. This is where she chose to hide her clutch:
Hence the reason I can't get to them. Her first time, it should be any day now. The Cockerel was rehomed on the 14th of August.

Chickens

 

[TropicalBabies]

I saw my broody chicken out drinking and feeding, I ran outside as I haven't seen her out and about since the 13th of August. Ther were 13 eggs there. She was not happy about me getting close. I walked with her as she preened, and she looks healthy. This is where she chose to hide her clutch:
Hence the reason I can't get to them. Her first time, it should be any day now. The Cockerel was rehomed on the 14th of August.

Congratulations btw! And welcome to the thread!

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Hey good morning @FBMcrazy8 ! I've been missing you! I know you are super busy but it is great to see you.
Duck pen looks fabulous!!! ♡♡♡

K. Cockerel. Right there when he pecks your feet. That is the time to pick him up and just hold him like a football do your chores, talk nicely, enjoy ♡ It is his job to get food for the girls, you are the provider... he is flirting and asking you for food, attention, special treats to show girls how good he is. He has not grown into himself but this is your chance to form that partnership. ***Don't ever kick him or walk through him. That is the worst advice I have ever heard and took myself till I wised up. It will create a combative boy because you have challened him and become the enemy, you are the one being unpredictable in his eyes. Show him respect, not fear.
I ask for Spiders permission with my body when I enter the run or handle his girls. I walk around my flock, wait for them (try anyways) don't punch through them, it just makes you trip and them crazy. I give Spider treats to give to his girls, up his rank, make him a good provider and he loves the attention from me and girls. Talk about appealing to him... a roo surrounded by girls is a happy boy.
Now Beetle is a different boy and we have not spent all of that time together and he has only been out with the girls for the last few months and I am not around much. He did have some hormonal aggression but I just picked him up, gave him treats, treated with care and respect and he is a good boy now. I'm very impressed. He is very charming.
They say that our chickens and roosters should know their place. I think it is us who need to know our place. We can be a part of their world or miss out.

I hope you can turn it around b4 it is too late. Be kind. He is not out to hurt you.

Thank you! I put it in the other thread where I was advices to walk through them. I really shouldn’t use the word kick. But he was in front and I moved forward as he was pecking my foot that was moving. So I guess a foot nudge…I don’t know. He didn’t like it though. I don’t want to make it worse and I know ever incident like this, can and will make things worse cause he will see an enemy.

I tried picking him up but he runs and does not like it. We tried it a couple days ago and he got my husbands face. And he is 6’3” and he flew up to his face and got him. We think it was him protecting himself more than anything. And my husband doesn’t spend a lot of time with them like I do. I want nothing more than a good boy. Breaks my heart because I don’t want to have to get rid of him. I just know I have a LONG stretch before the girls are even close to where he is in the matting world.

I will try to pick him up though when he pecks at my feet. He hasn’t done that before and I’m not gonna lie that it freaked me out. I have noticed him crowing and then making other noises and start pecking at the ground and the girls would come running. I knew he was alerting them but it makes since for him to be doing that to me.

My other concern is when I’m holding him, he does just fine when I’m not around the girls, but as soon as I am around them he freaks out on me. So I haven’t held him in a few weeks. I didn’t want his dominance to be belittled by me holding him.

I really appreciate the advice. I will try it for sure. Because the advice I have been given before isn’t working obviously. But like I said, it is just in the mornings I worry. I hate opening the door because he comes flying out of there like his tail is on fire and he is ready to be feisty. That is the best word I got but he is grabbing the girls neck feathers as they are coming out and chasing them. If one gets too close he scratches his feet and wants to dart at them.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

Yeah I normally do that but I'm not supposed to be bending over still which makes it hard. And of course not wearing proper "attire" which makes me hesitant to just walk right on through him. So as slow as I am even on a great day, he has plenty of time to get all his hackles raised up and jump at me 2 or 3 times.

I'm praying that calms Joey down....2 of them are sooooo close! They are at 20 weeks right now! Can't come soon enough for old horndog...I mean Joey! DH has even given him the nickname Joey Buttafuoco...yall remember him?

oh that is funny! Heres to the girls and their maturity! (HURRY UP ALREADY!) I have like 6 more weeks before they are even 20 weeks he is just so advanced.

They are first chickens and he had to be maturing faster than the others. Just my luck.

You will have to keep us posted on Joey. Especially if when the girls are ready and it helps! I sure hope it works!

 

[TropicalBabies]

Thank you! I put it in the other thread where I was advices to walk through them. I really shouldn’t use the word kick. But he was in front and I moved forward as he was pecking my foot that was moving. So I guess a foot nudge…I don’t know. He didn’t like it though. I don’t want to make it worse and I know ever incident like this, can and will make things worse cause he will see an enemy.

I tried picking him up but he runs and does not like it. We tried it a couple days ago and he got my husbands face. And he is 6’3” and he flew up to his face and got him. We think it was him protecting himself more than anything. And my husband doesn’t spend a lot of time with them like I do. I want nothing more than a good boy. Breaks my heart because I don’t want to have to get rid of him. I just know I have a LONG stretch before the girls are even close to where he is in the matting world.

I will try to pick him up though when he pecks at my feet. He hasn’t done that before and I’m not gonna lie that it freaked me out. I have noticed him crowing and then making other noises and start pecking at the ground and the girls would come running. I knew he was alerting them but it makes since for him to be doing that to me.

My other concern is when I’m holding him, he does just fine when I’m not around the girls, but as soon as I am around them he freaks out on me. So I haven’t held him in a few weeks. I didn’t want his dominance to be belittled by me holding him.

I really appreciate the advice. I will try it for sure. Because the advice I have been given before isn’t working obviously. But like I said, it is just in the mornings I worry. I hate opening the door because he comes flying out of there like his tail is on fire and he is ready to be feisty. That is the best word I got but he is grabbing the girls neck feathers as they are coming out and chasing them. If one gets too close he attaches his feet and wants to dart at them.

If you are worried about the girls- and I would, chicken mating is horrible at its best- separate him, spend the time between you two. It is easy to intro a single boy into a flock of girls. He may need a month or so away to let the girls catch up.
I think your instincts are spot on. I think it is the difference in back yard flocks and livestock maybe. People who don't mind eating their failures have a different opinion than I do.
If your boy asks to be let down, let him down (after your calm time). I make sure the feet touch the ground and then release. No drama, just calm respect.

 

[FBMcrazy8]

If you are worried about the girls- and I would, chicken mating is horrible at its best- separate him, spend the time between you two. It is easy to intro a single boy into a flock of girls. He may need a month or so away to let the girls catch up.
I think your instincts are spot on. I think it is the difference in back yard flocks and livestock maybe. People who don't mind eating their failures have a different opinion than I do.
If your boy asks to be let down, let him down (after your calm time). I make sure the feet touch the ground and then release. No drama, just calm respect.

I will see what I can do about separating him. Even if I have to section off a spot in the run for just him. I just think it would be bad for him to be so close to the girls anyway. I will have to come up with something. I have a dog kennel I could put him in for now but it’s not very big. It probably big enough for him alone, but I would feel bad for him. It would only be until I got something figured out though.

And I think your right. I believe this person does eat their cockerels. Maybe I wasn’t clear when I made the original post but eating my chickens isn’t something I would do. I would have to send them off to some place else and not know ANYTHING about it. But I want them to have a beautiful peaceful life but allow me to care for them.

You have given me a new perspective though on his behavior. And it makes absolute since. I think he is really sweet, deep down but in there somewhere. He crows EVERYTIME he sees me and i absolutely love that. Just every morning I expect him to fly out that coop at me, with his feet up and get me. I will have to try to record it tomorrow morning.

But it isn’t like he is in there forever. Normally they are out of the coop by 6am but since the sun isn’t coming up as early it’s now closer to 6:30 am. And they put themselves away. It was 8:30 then 8 and now more at 7:45 pm. So they are really out all day in their run. I have considered free ranging, at least a little at a time but I’m not convinced yet. There isn’t a lot of coverage for them and I would be devastated if something happened to them. They might do ok with me out there with them but I think because of the recent incident, I don’t want to see all of it again. But im wondering if that would help him too…idk. He is a hard little bugger to catch. But I will for sure try. I don’t want to give up on him.

 

[TropicalBabies]

There is an old book out, the Horse Whisperer by Montey Williams... I think lemme check.

Ok. Close lol
This book is a good read with some wonderful life lessons. Human and fuzzy human. Chickens are essentially small horses IMO. They react the same to pressure and you get the same results more or less. It is just a dance of pressure and release. This book is about $5 if anyone has time to read. Again, it is a nice read. ♡

 

[crazychickenman007]

I hung out in the run and gave out treats to our flock! My favorite girl Bessie loves to sit on my shoulder while a few others took a dust bath