Why do they hate me?

[SarahF]

So, since my roosters have grown to full size, I have stayed away from the chickens as much as I can. No matter WHAT I do, the roosters try to attack me. I didn't handle them very much when they were babies, as I had my own baby at the same time. So, they are not very familiar with close-up attention from humans. (we have 4 roosters and 18 girls)

Today DH asked me to give them water and collect eggs. I thought, Ok, I'll do my normal throw some scratch in the outside run and close the chicken door so they can't get into the coop routine. Unforuntately, my two Sultan roosters (who think they are 5 times the size) were still in the coop. They do the most attacking, even though they are so small...I'm still nervous around them. They don't give up...they just keep coming after you.

(surrender!)

I proceeded to put the water down and notice that the food was practically empty (DH must not have noticed yesterday that it needed to be filled). So I went back out, closed the door behind me, got the food and heard the blockade infront of the chicken door come crashing down...they had broken through!

How the heck am I going to go in there, give them their food and collect eggs now!?!?! They were hungry and I had the food.

So I went in, chest out to be brave, and tried to watch my back as I filled up the food with another bucket. I was so distracted because one of the girls jumped up on the nest behind me and i had roosters circling me. I dumped 1/4 of the food and got out of there pronto.

DH had to go get eggs later and said "the chickens must have dumped most of their food!" I told him my story, and he laughed.

Why do my roosters hate me so much? Even with them in the freezer, I think I'll have an issue with my women, as they frequently try and scare me out of the coop too.

 

[sewincircle]

I was told to tuck them under your arm and walk around with them to let them know you are not a threat to them. Often times when a roo gets aggressive they are seeing you as a threat. (to them and the girls) Since you can not catch them because of fear, you may need your DH to get them for you. Perhaps they can sense you are afraid of them. I hope it gets better for you.

 

[Crazy_For_Chickens]

Those are some MEAN roos!!!

They probably hate you so much because they think you of a threat and of you trying to take their girls. All that you have to do is show them who is boss. By that I mean you have to get serious. You should go in there with a nice medium sized stick that is not likely to break and if they charge you.... WHACK... hit them on their side. But be careful you don't want to shed any blood. You should keep on doing that until they learn that your the boss. When I did it they never gave me any more trouble. They were actually very nice to me!!!

Don't use this meathod if you fell uncomfortable about it.

Hoped I helped.

CFC

 

[Buster]

I scoop mine up and give the comb a good shake. Then I carry them around for about 10 minutes. If that doesn't work over time, I cull the offender. If they go after my kids, they die that day. There are way too many nice roos to put up with bad apples. I have three Orpington roosters right now that all weigh over ten pounds a piece that have never once given me any cause for concern. I like it like that.

 

[chicklady63]

I've had roosters try this with me & I personally kick or knock the heck out of them. My roosters are bantams so maybe that's why it works, but so far it has. It may take a few times, but they do eventually get the point. I am not into my animals attacking me on any level. Just my opinion.
Good luck with your problem.

 

[cwc362]

I have a little Golden Seabright x mille fleur rooster. His name is little Mike. He is in a cage with his lady . He gets brave and tries to flog my hand every once in a while. I snatch him out when he does it and carry him around while I finish up feeding. Then I pull his neck feathers and bounce his head around a little. This cures him for a couple of weeks but then he tries it again. Luckily , right now his spurs are just nubby and not sharp yet. He's too little to eat, but if he keeps on - he might become fertilizer for a nice tomato plant this summer. LOL Here he is last fall- I've since moved him into a rabbit cage because he was picking on my Full size Cochin Rooster.

 

[Bec]

When my roo tries that with me, I usually grab him up by his feet and cradle him like a baby, play with his wattles and comb, make a big fuss over him, then tuck him under my arm and carry him around. In fact, he helped me decorate for Christmas, so much fun hanging decorations with a big ol roo under your arm!

I keep him for breeding and he stays penned. My cochin rooster has NEVER tried any of that with us...he's a good boy

 

[dancingbear]

OK, there's a difference between why animals react a certain way, and why humans react a certain way.
It's not hate, it's instinct.
Roos protect the flock. If they see something as a threat to the flock, they attack. That's their job.
They're not smart enough to figure out that the big creature must be a friend because it's bringing food and water.

There can also be confusion (on the roo's part) as to what's a flock member and what's not. The roo may see you as a rival roo.

Picking up a roo and carrying him around has been known to work, to stop them attacking. It may be because of more than one thing. Could be they see you didn't hurt them, and therefor are not a threat. Could be they see you had complete power over them, they had no choice but to be carried around, and therefor you must be the dominant roo. Could be both. But if you are afraid of them, it may not work. Animals can sense fear, and it probably intensifies the impression that you're either a rival or a threat.

Hens running up to you are probably looking for handouts. They seem to be a little better at recognizing something that brings food than roos are. Probably because when a roo finds treats they cluck to call hens to come and eat. Hens do this with chicks, but not with each other.

The only time I've ever know hens to attack is when they have eggs or chicks to protect, and they only protect eggs if they are broody. Some hens will peck you if you try to check for eggs while they're in the process of laying an egg, probably just from irritation at being annoyed while they're busy.

There are lots of roos that don't attack people. I've kept dozens and dozens of roos over the years, I've only had one that was human aggressive. We got rid of him.

Being attacked by a roo can be bad, they can cause serious injuries. Your husband shouldn't be laughing at you being the object of rooster attack. Another member recently posted a picture of a gash on her face where a roo got her. It could just as easily have been an eye. If you have children, you might want to seriously consider whether you want to keep any human aggressive roos.

Another factor that probably isn't helping, is that you have too many roos. One roo per dozen hens is about right. One roo for 18 hens is plenty, as well. I'd rather have a few too many hens than even one excess rooster.

When you have too many roos, testosterone production tends to kick into overdrive, they get more aggressive than they would be otherwise, because there's a lot of competition for the hens. This makes aggression toward humans (and whatever else is around) more likely.

If a roo needs to go to freezer camp to solve the problem. I'd rather just butcher the roo, humanely, like I would any other bird, and not go through preliminary steps of beating or kicking the bird around for a few weeks first. Chickens are creatures of strong instinct and very little brain. Punishment just doesn't make sense to me. Though I can definitely see grabbing a roo in the midst of an attack and snapping his neck, I almost did that with the one bad one that I had. I call it the Cold Mountain treatment, if you saw that movie you'll know exactly what I mean. Or whatever else you need to do to defend yourself or your children. I just can't see allowing attacks to continue, and responding by beating or kicking the birds, in hopes they'll somehow "get the message" and stop being a problem.

I hope this is helpful. Good luck, I hope you can resolve this issue with no injuries.

 

[fargosmom]

Really good answer!

 

[PurpleChicken]

Quote:
Couldn't have said it any better.