which rooster to keep?

[Ziggy1973]

There is only one way to find out.


The way he has been attacking you, no. He needs to be gone.


Probably not that much. A lot depends on how good of a leader Bert will be.


If you put on a lot of conditions like "needs a good home" or "only to someone who will not eat him and you want visitation rights" it can be challenging. If you don't put conditions it may not be that hard.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Ziggy1973]

I prefer to kill my own roosters because I know I do a good, humane job, and use the meat. I also feel it's my responsibility because they're my birds. (The Ned Stark philosophy: he who passes the sentence must swing the sword.)

There's no way anyone should keep a bird like that. Keeping him isolated is cruel to him, and keeping him with the others is cruel to them, and you. He won't get along better with another flock. He just needs to be dealt with properly, and it's okay if you need to ask for help with that. It's okay if you struggle with the decision, too. It's a bummer when a nice rooster decides to turn on you.

I know my limitations so I won't be able to kill him. My husband would probably do it for me if I can't find someone to take him. Thanks for responding and acknowledging the difficulty I'm having with this decision.

 

[Ziggy1973]

Honestly, he needs to go. You could post an ad and fully disclose that he's aggressive (to do otherwise would be irresponsible. He could attack a child). Most likely you don't want to know what the new owner does with him. As far as the other one, he could be fine or he could step up and be another problem. There's no way to know until you try. I've had the calm roo become a royal pain once the dominant one was removed for aggression problems. It happens, but there are good roos out there. You can't predict how he will act until you give him a shot. Really, unless you're planning on hatching their eggs you don't need either one and if you're opposed to dispatching an aggressive rooster an all hen flock may be your best bet, but that's for you to decide. My vote would be to ditch the alpha and give the buckeye his chance to prove himself. It may work out just fine.

Thanks for your response. I was pretty sure I knew the answer when I posted but it helps to get some reassurance and validation.

 

[Brooks_]

I'm having kinda an opposite problem. The low roo goes after my wife's boots (chicken prints) causing a trip and fall hazard that we can't accept. He gets very riled up about them. at least I think it's the boots. We'll try plain boots first, but he may have to go.

 

[Winter Creek Coop]

I would have already butchered Tibbs. Life is too short for crappy mean roosters.

 

[Hermits Garden]

I'm having kinda an opposite problem. The low roo goes after my wife's boots (chicken prints) causing a trip and fall hazard that we can't accept. He gets very riled up about them. at least I think it's the boots. We'll try plain boots first, but he may have to go.

I'm curious to know how this turns out--I have chicken boots (hubs got them for me) but no chickens yet.

 

[Lauravonsmurf]

I would cull Mr. Tibbs. One thing to remember is a surprising amount of behavior in roosters is genetic... for example a bird that jumps up and spins around when startled versus one that ducks down low and darts are displaying genetic behaviors that can be purposely bred for... the implication is an overly aggressive rooster can pass that trait to all the chicks he is the father of including hens.

In fact a rooster can kill an adult human if their spur hits an artery in a leg... it has happened.

 

[Ziggy1973]

I want to thank everyone for their input. After a lot of indecision and feeling bad for Mr. Tibbs for even thinking about getting rid of him, all it took was being attacked (again) from behind last night for me to stop feeling sorry for him and accepting the fact that he needs to be culled. I wouldn't be doing my flock (or myself) any favors by keeping him around any longer. An old friend is coming today to take care of things for me and he gets a free stewing bird out of the deal. I'm looking forward to more calm and enjoyable interactions with my flock.

 

[Rebbiereb]

I've looked through past posts and haven't found exactly the advice I'm looking for. This is a kind of lengthy post so please bear with me. I purchased 15 day old chicks eleven months ago, 14 female, one male. As they grew it became obvious that I had two cockerels. Mr. Tibbs is a Brahma and is the alpha. He's very protective, very assertive toward me and a bit rough with the girls. Bert is a Buckeye and is good with the girls and is friendly to me. About a month ago, Tibbs started becoming aggressive toward me. He would bite my calves. Then about two weeks ago he flat out attacked me, kicking me and flogging me with his wings. My calves were very bruised! He has since tried to attack me on a couple of occasions but I kept him away with my foot. I had also never seen any fighting between the cockerels but two days ago Tibbs went after Bert. It's also very obvious that the girls are being over mated, lots of feather loss on their backs and heads/necks. There are four or five that appear to be the favorites. I know that I need to get rid of one of the boys but am having a hard time deciding. I guess it should seem apparent that Tibbs needs to go but what I'm wondering is this: will Bert become an aggressive jerk if he were to become the alpha or will he still remain more easy going? Or do I keep the more dominant boy? How disruptive will it be to the flock as a whole to change the leader? Also, I love my birds and didn't get them to eat, just a hobby flock for eggs and my enjoyment so don't suggest I put him in freezer jail, lol! I would prefer to rehome whichever one I decide to get rid of but isn't it hard to rehome an aggressive cockerel? I'm a very tenderhearted person and am struggling with this. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

This is why I fear getting a rooster. I don't want my girls beat up. Is there a better breed of rooster? I hear you want one who does the "rooster dance" that invites the hens to mate. But how do you make sure he does that? I would like more info on this also. There may be a rooster needed in our future.

 

[Rebbiereb]

I want to thank everyone for their input. After a lot of indecision and feeling bad for Mr. Tibbs for even thinking about getting rid of him, all it took was being attacked (again) from behind last night for me to stop feeling sorry for him and accepting the fact that he needs to be culled. I wouldn't be doing my flock (or myself) any favors by keeping him around any longer. An old friend is coming today to take care of things for me and he gets a free stewing bird out of the deal. I'm looking forward to more calm and enjoyable interactions with my flock.

Yeah. I would think he would be bound for the soup pot.