What is "flogging"

[Babe77]

What exactly is flogging? What am I to look for in their actions?

 

[miss_jayne]

when a cockerel or rooster uses his legs (with or without spurs) to hit an opponent (be it chicken, predator or human etc) with his legs.

he may jump up and do this (especially towards the face) or may do it when one turns a back to him. (hence the term 'to be chicken', fighting against one who's back is to the enemy)

he may just walk up and whap another with his leg.

you will know it when you see it. or feel it.

 

[easttxchick]

My rooster flogged me the other day(for the first and hopefully the last) time. He really shocked me because we are big buddies.

Anyway, I was walking away from him and he ran up behind me and threw his legs up and scraped his feet(no spurs yet, thank goodness) down the back of my leg. This happened REALLY fast-no warning or weird behavior prior to.

Now he keeps a MAJOR eye on me in the coop-kind of leery of him at this point-I sure don't turn my back on him!

 

[StaatsFarms]

Here's what I am taking it as:

I posted a question about one of my roosters "attacking" my 2 young boys (5&2) everytime they would go out back...several people mentioned this as "flogging"...The rooster would charge them, come at them sideways, peck and bite them, and try to kick them... If I took this wrong hopefully someone here will fill us both in

ETA: sorry!!! I type slow and these other 2 post weren't in here when I started...

 

[JestersEye]

Our big orp roo has flogged me quite a few times, and he's left some horrendous bruises on my legs. I've been working to correct his aggressive behavior, and it seems to be working. The whole family is always cautious around him, however, since he will react to any perceived threat to his hens. My boys actually carry toy swords whenever they go into the coop or run!

 

[miss_jayne]

Quote:
only the 'kicking' part. biting and pecking is 'biting and pecking'.
charging is 'charging'.

your post is good info, because many people wonder about this.

 

[Babe77]

Thanks for all the replies

Is this something that only a Roo would do? When they do this, is there a prelude to it? Would it have been for something I did wrong?

I do have 1 Roo to 18 girls and while he has never given us an indication of aggression at all, I have been on "guard" lately while in the run.

 

[easttxchick]

Quote:
No warning-it can happen any time. Nothing you did wrong-he is just protecting his ladies. Being on guard is always a good idea with a rooster.

 

[aurora]

this is a serious behavior problem. my mom had a rooster several years ago that flogged her when she turned her back, and he actually broke her leg. after that, he very quickly found a home in the freezer

 

[miss_jayne]

normally a male would display this behavior, but you will see females jump up and flog at each other.

if they are getting close to sexual maturation, the hormones will cause your cockerel to suddenly have the urge to protect the flock, to be king of the hill etc. you may find him charging at you, dropping his wings at you and even flogging at you.

he may even look quite confused after doing something like this, as if to say, "why did i do THAT???" it's just like a teenage boy doing crazy sports like jumping off a roof or skateboarding down a set of stairs. they just don't think.

watch when you turn your back on him. turn backwards and walk away. if he does charge, drop wing, flog etc, charge RIGHT BACK and yell at him. YOU ARE TOP DOG in the flock. not him. just run right back and kind of yell in his face. it doesn't matter WHAT you say, just say something very sternly and get into his face. if you have to, give him the BOOT! a good swift kick to move him away. (it is what another cockerel would do to him.) he will learn to respect your space.