Why did my always calm RIR rooster just attack me?

[lildinkem]

Try to catch him and give him a good controled tight squeezing. You won't hurt him. Wear long sleeves and gloves IF you think you need them. And do it right infront of the girls. And I tell ya, Carlos will PRETEND to act tuff infront of me. BUT does no more. It will slow your boy down and make him think.

 

[hippichick]

Had a bantam Cochin roo (yes a bantam Cochin) that would do the same thing, every time I opened the door to his pen. I tried carrying him around (he bit me, hard), holding him off with my foot, none of these worked. He caught me on a really bad day, and I gave him a good swift kick that sent him flying into the wall. He's never done it again-and yes, he's still alive. I guess we gotta show them who's boss.

 

[Sunny Side Up]

It's always wise to closely monitor your young children around chickens, and now especially so with a rooster that has shown aggression. It's difficult to determine what exactly provokes a bird to attack, sometimes their behavior is unpredictable and inexplainable. And small children can easily frighten or disturb birds with their random or enthusiastic movements.

I know that a lot of folks have had success in changing an aggressive rooster's behavior, but I believe these methods will not always work with every rooster. Go ahead & give them a try if you want, but proceed with care. It would be easy to cross the line from authoritative assertion to animal cruelty & abuse. Especially if the person is angry or frightened while attempting to employ these methods. Keep in mind the chicken's anatomical makeup, their hollow bones and collapsible skeletons, a hard kick or tight squeeze could leave lasting injuries.

I myself won't put up with any aggression from the roosters I keep. There is such a surplus of roosters that only the best deserve to be kept as breeders, pets, or flock husbands. All the rest serve a fine purpose on some plate. I've found that a long relaxing soak in simmering broth makes even the meanest rooster more pleasant to be with.

 

[Mikeeeeeeeeee]

Once I had a BO roo who was magnificent. His name was Herb. ..................................

Later I changed his name to Drop Kick.

A few days later I started calling him Herb again. Fine rooster.

 

[rancher hicks]

Is this a riddle, do I get a prize? just kidding. Seriously I've read that RIR rooster can be aggressive. Unless your using him for breeding and I wouldn't, I would switch to another breed and only keep RIR hens.

 

[dbcooper02]

I think you answered the why in post #4. I had a Buff Orp roo do the same thing to me. I had always worn muck boots and he was a perfect gentleman. One day in the spring I went out wearing tennis shoes and he nailed me. I went back in the house and put a pair of pliers in my back pocket. When he came back at me I snatched him up and twisted the outer spur shells off with the pliers. That put an end to that behavior.
db

 

[Knight Hawk Ranch]

RIR are just like any of breed of Roo. If you let them, they will become the dominant member of the farm.
My RIR roo, Reggie has only tried me 2 x. He did not care for the football treatment. He has actually been the easy roo I have had to deal with. The other roos I had got the Broom treatment on a regular basis before they finally were convinced.

At some point, they are no longer a pet but a flock protector/husband. You have to remember that number one rule with any roo. They are highly instinctual and that is their pupose in life, protect the flock and breed.

 

[Bunnylady]

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I had an Americauna roo that was never dumb enough to try anything on me, but I could tell by the way he looked at my (then) 4-year-old son that he was thinking otherwise with the child. I tried not to let the two of them out of my sight in the barnyard, but one day, the chicken and the child were on the other side of the barn for just a few seconds. I heard a scream, and my son came running to me, crying. He couldn't tell me what had happened, but he had scratches from his shoulders to his waist, under his shirt. That roo never free-ranged again.

When I was pregnant with my second child, I had a bantam Cochin roo that came at me every once in a while. Most of the time he was fine, and I was puzzled. Why some times, and not others? Finally, I figured it out. It was the red courderoy jumper that I sometimes wore. I guess the sight of all that red was more than his little chicken brain could stand! After a few "unscheduled flights" (courtesy of my boots,) he learned not to come at me from the front, but he would still try to sneak up behind me. Out of the corner of my eye, I'd see him trying to circle around behind me. I'd turn and face him, and say, "Just what do you think you're doing?" He'd immediately change direction, like, "Who me? I'm not doing anything!" Yeah, right!

 

[mandelyn]

Were you wearing red by chance? When I was a kid, the RIR brothers would only attack when I put on my red Osh-Kosh overalls. I thought I was going to die at 7 years old because of it.

 

[Stephanie-n-Hayden]

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