Ill tempered roosters

BatonRouge Bill · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:59 pm **Posts:** 60

My big red rooster is starting to get a little big for his...feathers. He latched on to my knee and proceded to try to spur my ancles with his little 1/2" nubs. I kicked him against the wire and he came back for more after the third time bouncing off the fence he kept his distance and learned a little fear. I'm not sure what to think. It would be nice for him to keep the opossoms at bay and protect the girls (hens) but I don't want him attacking my daughters.

dufflight · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 2:39 pm

Some if they work out who the boss is then your right. Others will come back for another go. My rooster is in that group.

Himzo · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:13 pm

Hi Bill,

he's behaving this way because he sees you as a competitor, kicking him will encourage the behaviour even more (roosters use their feet to fight with).. use a hose or one of those high pressure water guns on him every time he gets agro, this may break him of the habit before it gets too ingrained.

If you plan to breed from this boy, remember the behaviour could be genetic..

One other thing, you mentioned your daughters, if he should hurt them or anybody else then you will be liable for damages..

If he was mine, he'd be roast dinner..

Himzo.

Jaymie · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:33 pm

another method for altering the behaviour was suggested on another forum. Catch the rooster and carry him about with you for a while, maybe 20 minutes or so? You will really confuse him and he shouldn't come near you for ages.

It worked here with Alex and Monya

Jaymie · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:33 pm

don't hurt him or anything, just carry him about

Faye · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:48 pm

Jaymie wrote:

another method for altering the behaviour was suggested on another forum. Catch the rooster and carry him about with you for a while, maybe 20 minutes or so? You will really confuse him and he shouldn't come near you for ages.

It worked here with Alex and Monya

For the people that are thinking Jaymie carries around forum members. A little bit of intimate knowledge is that they are the names of her roosters. :wink:

Think I'm correct. :dunno:

Jaymie · **Posted:** Mon Feb 22, 2010 6:56 pm

Monya is our Rhode Island Red rooster, he hates Alex with a passion, but is a bit freaked out now, and won't come any where near him

pistolknight · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 9:12 am

another solution would be to chop off his head and follow himzo's instructions, never had much luck with bad tempered roosters

BatonRouge Bill · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:59 pm **Posts:** 60

I kinda like the idea of carrying him around and maybe a little hand feeding. It works with agressive dogs...
Chicken whisperer

earthbound · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 12:14 pm

Now that is an unusual idea......

dufflight · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:02 pm

Mine keeps jumping inside the house when i open the door to feed them. If he's not carefull he'll have to watch cartoons with me before he gets breakfast.

Jaymie · **Posted:** Tue Feb 23, 2010 8:54 pm

we've never had to carry Joel around, or Son of Steve (yet) just Monya

chillidude · **Posted:** Thu Feb 25, 2010 11:43 am

dufflight wrote:

Mine keeps jumping inside the house when i open the door to feed them. If he's not carefull he'll have to watch cartoons with me before he gets breakfast.

Yep - that should weird him out - then he'll be like this :run:

Particularly if you happen to time it right and score a Foghorn Leghorn cartoon....

BatonRouge Bill · **Joined:** Wed Jan 06, 2010 2:59 pm **Posts:** 60

I'm kinda sorry I kicked that rooster...definitely broke his spirit. Avoids me like the plague. The chicken pen has a tin roof but the duck pen doesn't. Last night they all started cutting up for about 30 seconds then all got quiet. I shined a flashlight around figuring an opossum was trying to get a free chicken dinner didn't see any eyes just chickens but didn't hear the duck. So I went back to bed. This evening when I got home from work went and fed the birds and the duck was against the wire fence with no head. I figured an Opossum pulled it off when he stuck his head thru the wire. So I went in the shed and got a good steel leg trap out set it next to the duck and figured what ever did it would be back to finish eating. It got dark and sure enough. Nothing in the trap but a giant owl in the pen eating the duck. One flap and he was on the top of the cage then flew up into a nearby tree. I shined the light on him and it flew off. Owls don't just eat dead things so I figured he must have killed it. I snapped the trap because there is no way I want to try getting one of those things out of a trap. I figured I'd just get rid of the duck because I don't want that thing terrorizing the birds or rabbits. Definitly wasn't an Opossum because the guts were still in it and only the breast meat was missing. Definitely ends any ideas of letting the chickens free to the backyard because we seem to have an abundence of owls around here. About 6 years ago a neighbor lost a little dog right out of the back yard. Only let out a little yelp. Those things have talons like a hawk!
Now I need to figure out what I can use to discourage owls from hanging around.

Granny Smith · **Posted:** Sat Mar 06, 2010 2:29 pm

I don't think it would have been a possum BRB. To my knowledge they are vegetarian.

It's sad/annoying to lose any animal. Our little Border Terrier had to be put down last week after eating 1080 laid down for foxes in the swamp next door.

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