So what happened? Nothing seems to have changed but almost overnight she has started fluffing up her feathers, attacking(not just peckng) and flogging like a roo. Im really confused she used to be the first to hop up in my lap... Now I have to try to stay away from her for my visits to the others in the group. She is a 5 month old bantam blue Cochin.
Has anyone experienced this and is there a way to bring her back?
Thank you!
Caren
Don't let her win!
I would pick her up every time.
I had two Serama roosters who both decided to try that with me at the same time...I picked each up, turned them upside down and tucked them under my arm. After a couple goes, they both stopped.
Although now they do a little mating dance for me.
She may just be maturing, five months is about when most start laying. Hormones? A dominant pullet? Is she getting along with the other hens?
This message was edited Mar 31, 2010 12:47 PM
LOL PMS!! Could be... Could be jealous too. When I pick up another hen she waits till I put her down then pecks at her and gives chase. The poor roo in the group seems baffled... he seems to try to break it up by getting between them. They may be trying to establish a new pecking order as I gave away 2 roos and 2 hens a few weeks ago. Everyone has been peaceful until about 4 days ago. The hens don't seem to fight much unless Im in the pen.
I will try the method recommended and hope for the best!
Thanks!
Caren
Caren! Molamola is right I put on a demonstration of how to deal with aggressive roosters, and it works with hens as well. You can see the demonstration under poultry and dealing with aggressive birds. I don't have the pic's available now but in short here is how it is done.
catch the bird with a net if it's aggressive, tuck it under your arm securing the wings, and the feet, then take your free hand (gloved) and place it on the beak of the bird, gently force it's head down toward the ground, hold it down for thirty seconds. Let it go, if the bird raises it's head place you two fingers on the back of the neck toward the top just below the head and gently force the head back toward the ground, let go and if the bird raises it's head repeat the proccess. After three or four times, the bird will keep its head pointed to the ground. If it stays that way for about ninety seconds, that will be a show that understands your the dominante hen. You will want to repeat this proccess about two weeks later just as a reminder that your the dominate hen. That should end the struggle. Remember that hens and roosters do what they do by nature, and either they dominate you, or you dominate them. This method I have used many times and never has it failed to work for me. Good luck. Hay
OHHH Haystack what wonderful advise... Not that I have any, but if I go, I shall remember this,.
Hope all is well
Very good advice I will try it today.
Funny you say the roo does a mating dance for you Catscan. My little Cochin roo had been doing that to me too. At first I thought he was trying to be aggressive but then he started picking up food and clucking at me :) He's such a sweet boy We have named him Hot Stuff I'll try to get a good pic of him today.
Hay, do you think that will work with a game roo?
Molamola that was screamin funny!
Cajun if you go to cubits, and click on breeds, under breeds you will see the demonstration with a very large roo. That roo had just beat up a man wife and he called me cause he had bought it from me. So I took the bird and his wife and him and did a demonstration of how it works. Then I had his wife take the bird and go through the same proccess and that was about a month ago. She has never had a problem with that roo since. And to answer your question, a big yes it will work with any bird. Let's face it even the pecking order is about dominance, that is just the nature of the bird. So it stands to reason that when you take away their power points, the battle is over. If you watch roos fight the battle only lasts til one goes off or hides it's head, after that there are the gentle reminders that keeps everyone in order but no fights. There is no need to be mean and hurt a bird for just doing what is natural for them. If there is anyone who would like to see what it looks like I will do a demo on here so it is more clear how it works. Hay.
I would like to see the demonstration.. if Karen would be so kind as to show us on you Hay! LOL
GOTCHA
I'm always givin Haystack a bad time.. sorry... stole your line there a bit Molamola.. Karen is Hay's DW..
I should have never opened myself up for this kind of abuse, Head is down, looking at the ground, I give, I give...LOL
Oh yes ZZ's You have my word darling I will get even, OH yes I will. Take that to the bank...LOL Howie
LOL! Id pay to see that er for educational purposes only of corse ;)
Do I feel a pig pile comming on...LOL. shame, shame, kicking a guy when he's down. shame, shame.
I went to Cubits and read it, THANKS, HAY!!! Great information and pics! I'm assuming this works on hen's as well as the roos? I have a very bossy baby girl, almost 3 1/2 weeks old. She'll give my hand a hard peck every time I have to pick her up, which is a couple times a day when I clean their pen.
Any suggestions for the timid chicks? There is one who stresses out easy, her first time outside she never settled, just shivered (it was 78 degrees). They were all freaked out for a couple minutes then got over it and attacked the grass. Not her. She's still not comfortable outside in the pen even though they are only out for a short time. She's like that inside in the pen, doesn't get in the way of anyone, stays to herself. She's a good eater and other than that seems very healthy.
My beloved Bernadette is a roo. So is Loraine. I could cry. Will send pics of them soon, having too much fun playing with them and doing yard work, love it! Thanks again, Hay, great info!
Hay, have you actually tried this on a game roo? They don't have pecking orders with the roos and they don't "give in" and "let live". They fight until one of them dies so would he "give in" to me?
Please, I beg to disagree that game roos that run wild very much do have a pecking order. I watch my 'bunch' all the time as they come and go from the driveway where I throw corn for them. I have no idea how they'd do penned up!
Here's one photo, two hens stay with Mr Big Guy, in black, sort of in the middle of the photo, and all the rest are 'lesser' roos, very hungry. I'd just put out corn in the morning. The big guy doesn't much chase the other roos, actually, tho' here he was defending his hen's food.
Once in a while there will be an argument, and a big noisy chase for a minute or two. Mostly, the young roos hang around together.
edit, I thought a boy walking alongside the road was carrying a football, but when I looked, it was a rooster.
This message was edited Apr 2, 2010 7:06 PM
I wondered about game roos and the pecking order too, CajuninKy. I mean they are famous for not giving in to another roo...so would they give in to a human? But I have also heard that game roos tend to be fairly docile with people...
I was reading a cock fighting site, trying to find out what "henny" meant when applied to fighting breeds and learned it was when fighting birds never develops secondary male plumage...so they look like hens to the other fighting roos. This apparently gives the "henny" cock a huge advantage since the other roo isn't ready to fight it. There was a lot of debate over whether this was ethical or not.
Ethical...right....
This message was edited Apr 2, 2010 9:57 PM
If left loose they have plenty enough room for a "coward" cock to escape but the domestic cocks have been bred for agression and gameness. The ones I have just don't quit. The way you catch a loose game cock is to put another one on the ground with a tie chord ( a string on the leg ) on his leg. they will go for each other like rabid dogs. Then you just reach down and pick the loose one up. Neither of them will know you are even there.
Honestly Cajun I have never tried this on a game cock, ie (the type you have) I don't know where any are. But I have tried it on my modern game hens, I have done it on some very large roos, some friendly and some not. The reaction has always been the same. I just last week picked up a new golden cuckoo rooster. He was friendly enough and almost exactly the same size and weight of my standard cuckoo rooster. I told my wife to watch and see how they reacted to each other. Within thirty seconds the hackles were full blown and the fight began, they really went at it and they are both right at fifteen lbs each. They did not even flinch when I walked in between them, with hackles up, I picked the new one up and started the domination proccess, after about five minutes with him I placed him in the coop alone and shut the coop. Using a net I caught the other and put him through the same proccess. Same results. I then put him back down, went over to the coop and let the other rooster out. I stayed in the pen to see what they would do. They looked at one another for maybe five-ten seconds. Both rooster turned and walked away. That evening when I went in to close up the coop they were roosting right next to each other. That is the truth and that is the first time I ever tried that, so I am still learning and trying things that are different. I was amazed they have not crossed swords since and they live with five hens. So far it has been totally successful and I myself am shocked. I would love to find gamecocks and try it out. Hay.
Haystack, we should be calling you the Chicken whisperer...LOL ..
That is amazing. The next time I have to catch one of my game roos I'll try it.
Here is Hot Stuff waiting for the big chickens to get out of the way
Here he is with the nice hen Honey... My mean hen Annie (that isnt anymore) didn't want to have a pic taken. Would these guys be considered more of a splash than a blue? They are more black than Annie.
How funny, I didn't even notice Annie was on the other side of the fence till I posted the pic.
This message was edited Apr 3, 2010 9:19 AM
Caren, a splash will be white with a "splash" of color. Like freckles or a dalmatian. Yours are blue and very beautiful for sure.
When I first started reading this, I thought the hen might be going "broody". But she might be to young for that. You have a great plan for "taming" them! Also, my ex raised gabecocks for many years, and would "condition" them for the pit. He had those birds eating out of his hand, and they'd "talk" to him, just like they sweet talk the hens! It was an amazing thing to watch! Those birds loved him! Yet put them down with another gamecock, and the fight was on! They don't have to be trained to fight, it's in their blood, back for generations, to the beginning of the species. Eben a halfbreed has that tendency to want to do battle!
I tried your method Hay with 2 of the more bossy girls. They seemed to be in ZEN land afterwards LOL It works, it really really works!
Oh Annie, you had me cracking up, I'm so glad you tried it, I'm even happier that you were successful with the method. Much of what I have learned I learned from the poultry themselves...It's a work in progress...so much to learn. Hay
Hay, I still(!) don't have a coop, and Gorgeous George is so shy, he was almost tolerant of me for a while. But anyway, do you thimmk your method would work for a roo born in the wild, about a year old now?
I know, "Try it, you might like it" lol
Could this treatment make G. George tolerate confinement better? Melissa
Heavin here is my new spash pullet with some blues in the back ground but the way they are standing they look black.
ty i thought so too i picked her up at the comunity sale today.
I seriously swear, it worked! Both girls just stood there afterwards looking sooooo calm, not even moving, really amazing. I even said out loud "Hey, HAY, it works" haha I wonder if this would work on kids????
