Let me start by saying I love all my animals. OK that said I have an issue and am not sure what to do about it.
I had to get two roosters to get the two hens, it was a package deal. I have had them for a few months, and Roo1 has gotten really big. Roo 2 is not so big. Roo1 came at me the other day, he caught the tip of my boot and went flying with some assistance. He did not come after me again. Yesterday Billy and I went in to feed and out of nowhere he came flying at Billy and tried to get him. I was fast enought it get him with my boot tip again. Here is my question. He is pretty, but I am conserned that with him only being 5 months old going after Billy. Those of you that have more experiance with Roo's what would you do?
Thanks in Advance
MJ
Rooster Advise Needed
Not trying to be funny . if you eat meat , they are great for dumplins. Other choices , pen, or give away . sally
They can't be runnin off the help. Although personally, I'd love to have a "guard rooster" here... LOL creating a hostile environment for chore time is not fun.
I wonder what the chances are if they are both the same breed and you remove the first one, sooner or later the other one will discover he is the top dog and do the same thing! (just a guess on my part)
I hope you can resolve this..
is billy a child? u need to show the roo ur top rooster if not it will continue to do it. if it's going after a child it would be culled and eaten here in a heartbeat cuz i got 5 kid's to protect. if they only do it to me and my husband i try to work with them first if not and nothing works then they r sold or eaten.
I'm sorry I spoke too soon ,just going back to the farm where chickens were a staple in the diet . I spoke to my dh and he told me his dad used to have fighting roosters and you can cuy the spurs off no less than 1/4 " from the leg . will not bleed , and just like cutting a fingernail .they used to hold them firm and actually used a hacksaw. that wont keep him from flogging , but will lessen damage . If it's a child over about 8yrs old , he should be able to push it out of the way with his foot . Will not keep it from attacking tho . Some roosters are just mean . If you decide to trim him , please don't let the child abuse him by kicking .Dumplins are better. sally
I have a problem with a roo myself. He is my top dog roo. I love him a lot. He loves people and has a good disposition with the children. My problem is integrating new chickens. They are not old enough to breed with so he hates them and tries to kill them. I only have one area to keep my chickens so I had to pull him out to solitary confinment. (The tractor) I started my flock this summer. I made the mistake of hatching them in three waves. I did not realize the whole pecking order thing. Crash course I guess. My eldest is a rooster (problem child) and a hen. Then I have 3 more hens. (Having gotten rid of 4 roos in that batch) And the I have 5 hens and a roo in the third batch. The last batch was born in August so they are still young. I just added them to the hen house and it was disasterous for the newbies. Duke keeps jumping on the little girls and ripping their feathers out. They were so stressed they would not move in the yard. Hence, solitary confinment. I really want Duke in the mix. His old girls love him. They are all stressed out. My hen wont lay either. Having hind sight I now know not to mix all ages but does anyone have any suggestions about creating a symbiotic home with this motley crew?
This message was edited Nov 15, 2008 7:09 PM I am new and hope to get to know you all. Thank you. And good luck with the territorial roo. I asked my father, who raises chickens for eggs and he said it was the luck of the draw with roosters. They all have their own personality. He prefers to not have roos around. ;D!
This message was edited Nov 15, 2008 7:11 PM
that has been my limited experience as well -it's one way to decide which rooster to keep...
Hi miss Jestr:: A good roo is surely an asset to any flock. But, a bad roo is a liability to a good flock. Generally if they are mean they cannot be trusted, and you are never sure to whom they will be agressive toward. I have always believed a bad or mean roo only gets one chance. I show them what chicken nuggets look like and if they act up again they become one. Good luck. Haystack
Billy is still a little kid, will be 3 in January. Roo number 2 is frendly its just Roo1... I do have another Pen I could move him to,he would still be close to the others, seperated by chicken wire, but if he continues he will be dumplins cause I cant have Billy afraid to do his chores. Roo gets one more chance, then he is out of there.
We once HAD a rooster like that. We also had kids. Not a good mixture. He also was beautiful. We took him to the local auction. Sad but we just had to.
u and billy cannot let him know u r scared of him. he looks at the 2 of u as roosters and a threat to his girls would be my thoughts. billy is considered more dangerous to him cause he is smaller more close to his size so billy is an easy target. if he comes at u stomp make noises on the ground whatever and make him back up and back down. don't let him charge u at all or come forward untill u want him to and don't turn ur back on him. also don't let him breed in ur presance if he is nock him off the hens it also shows u r the dominant one and keeps his aggression down. he thinks he is top rooster and he needs to know u and billy are top not him. i'd not trust him alone with billy either at any time he could turn on little man if he is brave enough to do it once he will again.
also catch him if he goes after u carry him upside under ur arm while u do the chores or hold his feet while he is right side up under ur arm. talk to him hold him pet his head and make him look u in the eyes to show him u r not affraid of him that u r the alpha. i'd keep a broom handy also incase it is needed works better than boots,lol and if he after working with him still doesn't calm down which alot do i would make stew with him there is some roos ya just can't tame and that little boy getting hurt is definately not worth risking just to keep a roo.
hope that helps and mabe will give u some new ideas to try,
silkie
I used to have a floggin rooster. The mail man thought it was funny. He stopped over one day after his route and wanted to take a picture of him because they had a safety talk about dogs and he asked about chickens and they all laughed. Some time later, a girl got the route and if we had a package, we would have to pick it up at the PO. We asked why she did not bring it to the door, and the clerk said the new carrier was afraid of the rooster. We gave him away.
Unless chickens are part of your means of living, I would keep the docile one and get rid of the other one way or another. Mike
That is excellent advice Silkiechick! I never thought of that.. but it's true with all animals! Totally makes sense. You are awesome!
There is a dog that charges at me every so often when I'm at work... I have a big black coat.. one time, I grabbed the sides of it and held it out like wings and yelled as loud as I could.. Of course the dog stood there growling.. I moved away... and I was scared to death.. In hindsight, that was my biggest mistake.
It's the tone of voice. I have backed down a lot of dogs. In my case it is a deep tone and Slow.
I had to go out of town and had a friend, that had given me my first chickens, watch my group along with the other animals on the ranch. I dont know what she did to him but he does not charge anymore. He is not hurt, and I have looked him square in the eye and Billy has walked right up to him, Roo just backs away. So for now he is a keeper. I told her if he charged, then that was it, he was dumplins... She said she didn't have any problems with anyone cept my Thund'r horse.. LOL I swear she can train any animal faster then spit.... She is from Texas and she says she has been dealing with chickens all her life... She wont keep a mean one around. I have to go away on business again tonight for a few days, and she will be watching them again.... Maybe she can work her magic on Thund'r...hummm should ask her..
That is fantastic! I am so glad for you! He has found his order! Can she come over to my house next? JK Have a safe trip! Thanks for the update!!!!