What's your limit on rooster aggression?

[PhantomSlayer]

Our geese kept our Roo in place but we moved them to a new pen and lately I've been getting warning shots from Roo. No broken skin. I'm positive it was warning shots twice. But there could have been a 3rd time.

The first time which is the possible 3rd mention I had my back turned and was fixing the coop door. We have an overly friendly girl Rosemary she'll jump on me if I'm down low. I felt what felt like a chicken try to jump on my lower back. So I assumed it was her but she and Roo were both right behind me.

The second time I was trying to get eggs from under our broody inside our coop and Roo took a swipe at my back. I know it was him because he was the only one in the coop when I turned around Not sure if its because Nox was growling or he wanted through because I was blocking the way.

Today I was picking up Nox she was on the outdoor roost and she freaked out and he took a shot at my legs.

Again none of the shots have left marks as they either miss or seem to be blocked by clothing so I've been calling them warning shots. But I am not happy that he's doing this since I'm the sole caretaker of the flock. I get hes trying to protect Nox but I'm not sure where to draw the line. Today I picked his butt up and carried him for a minute. He wasn't happy to be restrained of course lol.

Where should the limit be? Since it's been 3 times probably I'll be restraining him from now on anytime he tries it again but I will admit I'm becoming a little uncomfortable. I've been watching my back more when I go inside so I'm not caught off guard.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I don't keep any males that come at me from behind, kick me (kicking while being picked up is a different story though, that's rather normal) or bite and draw blood/ refuse to let go

 

[The Coop Crew]

I don’t personally have roos but I’ve seen many people on here that say they tolerate zero aggression from them. They say “why have a bad one when there are so many good ones?”
If he’s otherwise a good rooster and is good to the girls then it would be up to you to decide how much is worth it.
Personally I wouldn’t tolerate any aggression. I don’t have a rooster because my youngest daughter is only two and would be at face level if one ever decided to attack.

 

[Mrs. K]

I think most people keep the first rotten rooster too long. And rotten rooster can ruin your enjoyment of having chickens. I enjoy having a flock of birds, a single bird is not going to ruin that.

What I think will happen is that he is an opportunistic. He sneaks around you from the back. If you catch him at, he walks off all innocent. I think eventually his attacks will become more and more violent and he will catch you with something in your arms or bent over.

It is always good to be aware of your rooster, even if he is a good one. But that becomes different when you are just waiting for the next attack.

If you have kids, he should be gone.

Mrs. K

 

[PhantomSlayer]

I think most people keep the first rotten rooster too long. And rotten rooster can ruin your enjoyment of having chickens. I enjoy having a flock of birds, a single bird is not going to ruin that.

What I think will happen is that he is an opportunistic. He sneaks around you from the back. If you catch him at, he walks off all innocent. I think eventually his attacks will become more and more violent and he will catch you with something in your arms or bent over.

It is always good to be aware of your rooster, even if he is a good one. But that becomes different when you are just waiting for the next attack.

If you have kids, he should be gone.

Mrs. K

We've had them over a year. His father was human aggressive sadly. So we knew there would be a higher chance.

As a rooster I feel like hes okay? He shares treats with his girls and today I caught him inside the nesting box with a hen for the first time today. He ran away when a hawk attacked our buff orpingtons tho..

His 8 girls are looking rough on their backs so we knew he is becoming a bit to much for them but I was going to get some chicks for our broody Nox to get some more pullets to hopefully lighten the load in the future but now...

My sister is 10 but she doesn't go over to the bird area. Shes scared of our Gander cause he attacked her last year. So when she goes out the geese get locked up. We've been having to much predator pressure to free range the chickens like we used to.. Fox and red tail hawks.

I think I'll give him a bit more time before deciding. He only started it maybe last month? I do like having the option to hatch chicken eggs so I would prefer to have a rooster but Roo might not be that rooster lol

I don't think he'll last the year though at this rate. Maybe when/if I can get chicks for Nox there could be a cockerel to take his place.

 

[ChicNmom]

I managed to break a rooster from attacking me. He had gotten very protective of a hen he saved from a hawk. He and I had been sparring off and on. Then I bent down to give the hen a treat and he attacked my back. Not a warning.

I put him in a dog crate in the middle of the yard and then would drape myself over it. he would freak out but after a few times got used to it.

It was getting to be dusk and all the girls went in. I walked past the crate and he was making happy sounds like he was getting out. I kept walking and he let out a wail. I guess he thought I was leaving him out all night. LOL

I grabbed him out of the cage and he pinched the back of my hand really hard so I pinched his comb. I put my hand out and he pinched again so I again pinched his comb. The third time I put my hand out he turned his head away. We sat there for a while and then he fell asleep in my lap. He never bothered me again. But I did get rid of him when he started being mean to the girls that weren't his favorites. Before that he was a good protective rooster. Really the best at protecting that I've had.

You know the genetics of your rooster so he may just has a genetic nasty streak. Mine developed his over time and was also over mating the hens. I sent him to a farm with 30 hens to keep him busy.

I wouldn't tolerate a rooster hurting hens. All of my other roosters have been fine with people.

 

[FrostRanger]

I have zero tolerance for rooster nonsense. I'd cull that bird especially since his father was human aggressive too. Chances are very high this will only get worse and it'll be an ongoing issue with future generations if you let him breed. The sooner you get that nonsense out of your line, the sooner you can enjoy your flock in peace

 

[PhantomSlayer]

I have zero tolerance for rooster nonsense. I'd cull that bird especially since his father was human aggressive too. Chances are very high this will only get worse and it'll be an ongoing issue with future generations if you let him breed. The sooner you get that nonsense out of your line, the sooner you can enjoy your flock in peace

His and his partnering hen Goldie will not be passing on their genetics. Both came from my sister in laws flock and Goldie is a nightmare. She freaks out if anyone is within 5 feet of her. Thankfully shes our only non brown/cream layer so her eggs can be avoided.

Nox has been the only girl to go broody and this is her second time. The first time she hatched out 2 goose eggs. I considered letting her hatch their own eggs this time but right after she became broody within that first week of making sure she was broody the second shot and first official shot happened and I decided its best to just get more pullets this time to help ease the rooster pressure on the flock later on and to avoid Roo passing his genetics on. Shes been broody for 2 and a half weeks but last week our local farm store didn't get a shipment of chicks so hopefully this week she can have chicks.

I am making a broody box inside the coop. Just some scrap wood and wire mesh gonna enclose it with a door and a lock to keep the other hens from kicking her out of the boxes. Shes been kicked out by other hens for the past 3 days. The lock will be here tomorrow. And my moms friend works at the farm store and said she would let us know when their shipment comes in.

Edit: I have a friend who might be able to take and cull him.

 

[Mrs. K]

Right now, I am in a similar situations. I have Long Johns. He is an ok rooster. But not a great rooster. However, I have been letting them free range (whispering) and no day time losses and that might be due to Long Johns, still, he just is not a great rooster. He has taken to running off a BA hen. I have been leaving her out of the coop/run, she can roost up in the out buildings, and has done so just fine. She is on my cull list for the fall.

But I have put LongJohns on that list too. I hatched out 3 cockerels! 100%, but they were hatched out under Gramma Feathers who raised a couple of years ago, the best rooster I ever had. She is a bit strange in the fact that she keeps her chicks next to her, long after most hens have forgotten them, as in close to 3 months. She gets them to roost with the flock by 3-4 weeks, and they are 7 weeks old, and sit right beside her on the roost.

So I will watch those three for a while and see. I am a firm believer that the healthiest flocks are flocks that are not static. Flocks where birds are added and removed yearly. I love hatching chicks and getting chicks - so something has to go.

My point is (getting there eventually) A so so rooster keeps you from having a great rooster, as most of us can only have one or two. Don't keep a so so rooster forever, but you sure can keep him, like me, for a while!

Mrs K

 

[PhantomSlayer]

Right now, I am in a similar situations. I have Long Johns. He is an ok rooster. But not a great rooster. However, I have been letting them free range (whispering) and no day time losses and that might be due to Long Johns, still, he just is not a great rooster. He has taken to running off a BA hen. I have been leaving her out of the coop/run, she can roost up in the out buildings, and has done so just fine. She is on my cull list for the fall.

But I have put LongJohns on that list too. I hatched out 3 cockerels! 100%, but they were hatched out under Gramma Feathers who raised a couple of years ago, the best rooster I ever had. She is a bit strange in the fact that she keeps her chicks next to her, long after most hens have forgotten them, as in close to 3 months. She gets them to roost with the flock by 3-4 weeks, and they are 7 weeks old, and sit right beside her on the roost.

So I will watch those three for a while and see. I am a firm believer that the healthiest flocks are flocks that are not static. Flocks where birds are added and removed yearly. I love hatching chicks and getting chicks - so something has to go.

My point is (getting there eventually) A so so rooster keeps you from having a great rooster, as most of us can only have one or two. Don't keep a so so rooster forever, but you sure can keep him, like me, for a while!

Mrs K

My dad told me to toss Roo in our goose pen for a few days, Our Gander would destroy him lol.

My mom is to soft hearted. She'd rather a human take his life than me toss him out. She claims she hates animals but how shes reacted when we lost the first 3 hens to foxes and red tail hawks I doubt she hates them. All free range daytime attacks. Which is why she won't let me free range.

If it were up to me I'd free range and just counter the losses by hatching out chicks to have fresh layers. We have everything for it. Whether we do it through broody hen or incubator.. I would love to hatch out eggs and sell chicks/pullets. But my mom doesn't want me to since she pays for chicken feed.

I'll try hold off giving up on Roo until we have a cockerel to take his place.