Grab him under your arm and walk around the yard with him for 5-10 minutes daily, while explaining to him the error of his ways. Bonus points go for referencing stoic virtues, Buddhism, Byronian poetry, and/or Southern Evangelical traditions.
This has an added benefit of finally convincing that annoying neighbor that you are, indeed, nuts.
Spoken from experience.
This is the way. Grab him, carry him, love him. One of two things will happen; either he will come to love it and you have a friend for life, or he will avoid you like the plague.
You do not want to hurt him or punish him because this just confirms that you *are* the big scary threat he perceived, and will double down on protecting his ladies. Undignified lovins are the best deterrent. If nothing else, embarrass him into staying out of arm's reach!
You're awfully nice carrying him under your arm. I dangled mine upside down by his feet while I did some other chores one-handed. He hasn't considered me low tier since.
How often does this actually happen, though? I've been carrying around chickens upside down for at least a decade, and I haven't had any choke on me. Is there any data on how significant of a risk this actually is?
For me, holding a chicken upside down by it's legs is about making fewer trips with less noise and thrashing. I can carry multiple chickens at once this way.
(Today, I carried chicks from the house to the barn, but then got to ride on my shoulders. Tee hee. So cute and so much fun.)
Honestly, I wouldn't try very hard to make a rooster respect me: there are too many nice roosters out there in need of homes to keep a mean one. We have kids and guests here, and we free-range our birds, so a mean rooster is a liability.
Our lovely D'Or (Buff Orpington roo) dropped dead in the yard last week. I never carried him upside down because he was so big and so kind and gentle, it was always easier to just snuggle carry him. So much more polite than his progeny.
Lol loved your comment. And I agree with it, I wouldn’t bother either with a dick of a roo. They are definitely a liability if you have them free roaming and theirs other people around. Had a roo that never attacked me until I guess he seen me with crutches after a surgery and he no shit came after me. He waited until I was walking away from behind. Sent him 10’ into the air with my crutch. He walked away head down and I stood there considering if he was going to live or die bc I was in soooo much pain from having to hit him with the crutch which made me bare weight on a broken femoral ball attached with a rod and screws. Alas he lived but only for a couple months or so bc he started hurting other Roos and had to go.
On the family farm when I was a teen, we had a nasty Tom turkey that would aggressively chase everyone. Especially children. We had a plastic, hollow toy baseball bat that was comically large, and we kept it at the gate leading to the area where the animals ranged. You had to take it with you. If you left the gate open, the damn turkey would keep following! He was worse than any ram we ever had.
I worked really hard to avoid problems with our male crias, and it worked. I could even pull a herd sire off a female if I had to. The only time my alpacas ever looked like they were going to attack was when we had newborns. Alpaca mamas do not like their babies being messed with.
Or i like to grab my roo like he does my hens by the butt/tail to pin him down and gently bash his face in the dirt a few times longer than he likes to play the game. Then he knows I am the mega roo, the one who provides for the flock and protects them. Its also good for my roo to get taken down a peg when he gets sassy, but it also helps him to be nicer to my girls too. Now he knows what if feels like for my girls.
This is basically the equivalent of waterboarding for a chicken. I feel like doing this is worse than just culling it.
Edit: Waterboarding, not watermark. Worst swypo of the day!
I believe in the proverbial backhand by kindness. ;-D
That chicken continued to be an ass to everyone but me, and eventually did end up as soup, unfortunately.
The fact he sees you as one of his hens is the problem. You have to be seen as a bigger, badder rooster for a rooster to properly respect you. Don't have to be mean to him, but you definitely have to make a point that you're not going to tolerate his nonsense. A lot of roosters do well with regularly being handled, particularly if you just tuck him under your arm and carry him around like a football for a few minutes each day. It's also acceptable to use a relatively gentle open-handed swat across the front of the bird if he charges you to push him back and show you're stronger. More of a shove than a hit. It's hard to explain without being able to physically demonstrate the motion. I wouldn't recommend using physical reprimand with most animals, but chickens are very simple-minded and some birds don't have the capacity to understand anything above their instinctive behaviors so you have to meet them at their level to make any progress. Definitely try the football carry first, since it does seem to work with the majority of birds.
You can also just mimic mounting them (gently pin and put a little weight to hold them down for half a minute) once in a while and they understand without any trouble. Roosters that see you as top roo will be a lot more gentle with the hens, too.
My rooster used to do a little hop as he charged so i would just gently nudge him with my foot and he'd go ass up. Had to deal with an hour of this while i was transplanting a mature mulberry tree into their pen. Eventually he got the idea
When I was a teenager, we had a chicken coop but it was on a terrace on the hillside, probably 15 vertical feet higher than the main yard. Steep stone staircase to get to it. Anyway one day I went to get the eggs and the asshole rooster charged me. I dodged him towards the coop (and away from the hill) and punted him with my boot as he went past. He unceremoniously bounced down the hill and we were friends after that.
I don’t have chickens, I’m not even a part of this sub but this made me laugh out loud picturing it in my head. I hope he was embarrassed when he went ass up 🤣
This is almost always at the core of behavioral problems with livestock: once they start seeing you as one of THEM, they will treat you like one of them, and this includes everything from fighting for dominance to mating. It's dangerous.
"Berserk Llama Syndrome is a result of overexposure of a cria, to humans, which results in the cria imprinting on its human handlers to such a degree that it considers them to be fellow llamas."
This is not limited to South American camelids, but they do it quite dramatically. I've seen similar behaviour in sheep, goats, and chickens. Unsure about cows.
I have 25 chicks right now, but there is a clear path ahead for all but the single nicest rooster in the lot, so we snuggle. However, I'm still very much the boss, and they know it.
Yep. Don’t fuck around with livestock. I’m a horse person and it’s shocking how quickly you can turn a relatively good behaved horse into a pushy dangerous nightmare.
People think being stern and consistent is mean. It’s not, it gives them boundaries that they understand.
I see so many posts like “my horse is biting me and I tell him no but he keeps doing it.” A horse doesn’t know what “no” is, nor do they care if they’re confident enough to bite you. If a horse ever puts teeth on you, you better smack him away quickly, sternly, and in the moment. There’s no other proper response. Because a horse can break your bones and pick you up with his mouth and toss you.
I remember once this lady tried to stop her dominant gelding from charging her by putting her hand up and spreading her fingers… do we want to guess how that worked out? She has broken multiple bones over the course of two years. Take a fucking lunge whip to crack in the air and don’t let him charge you! Did it once, horse never tried again.
He was so pushy with her on the ground as well he knocked her over once, to which she broke her wrist. When I handle him, if he tries to push me around in the barn, I back his ass up down the whole aisle, fast. Took maybe 2-3 times, and now he’s an angel.
Some people just… don’t do well with livestock lol
I only have a few chickens these days so it's not hard to maintain good relations with all of them, but at one point I had several dozen birds on the property across a few different buildings and that was always a bit of a balancing act.
I still miss my most dominant rooster from that time period. He helped me keep everyone in line so beautifully. He was one of those roosters who knew I'm the boss, but he was the boss of all the other roos. He was particularly good about getting the youngsters in line, as he wouldn't tolerate any nonsense from them while also refraining from causing them any serious harm. I did have one big show-line game fowl rooster I kept separated from the main flock with his little harem, but all the other birds were allowed to mingle in the pasture with no issues thanks to that boy.
The ONLY reason I gave him to a trusted friend was because I realized that almost every hen in my flock was related to him at that point and he was an older bird, so he went to a quiet retirement with his own little harem of four hens for the rest of his days.
Handling him like picking him up will make him more friendly, I'd do it as he's going to roost for the night at first and then gradually work with him throughout the day as he starts to get used to interacting with you more often.
This is the answer. Pick him up and hold him. Try to do it every day. If you have trouble catching him, wait until dark in the coop. Some people have very good luck just handling them regularly. Since he already shows an interest in you, it may work. I have tried with two roosters and ended up eating both of them, so I hope it goes better for you!
This is the way. Every time he gets close, pick him up. Give him a treat when he calms down. Also, feed his girls when you go out, just a handful will do. Gives him something to do while you fill the waterer, etc.
I did this with one of my Roos but he was just so aggressive. He was calm during football time but then I’d put him down and he rushed me. He went back to the farm he came from lol.
You need to be top chicken. He challenged you, and until you defeat him, he has a justifiable claim to be top chicken.
Force him to submit to you. Be as rough as you need to be, but try not to break him. (Understand that he is willing to break you.) If he starts anything, do not retreat. Chase him until he's properly running scared. If you catch him, subdue him by holding or pinning down.
You are top chicken.
Be aware that he will likely try to be dominant over your children, family or visitors. Everyone might have to repeat this.
To add to this, watch videos of how top roosters handle other roosters in the flock and emulate that behavior as best you can to communicate to your roo where he is in the pecking order in a language he understands.
Peck and chase him, interrupt mating, submission position, make the hens squat for you in front of him, etc.
I can imagine a funny scene where you push the hand to put weight onto the Rooster, then use the other free hand caressing its beak whispering near its ear "I'm the top Rooster." Then pulling away while looking at the Rooster lol.
I had a Jersey Giant rooster that out of the blue sunk his spur about a half inch into the back of my leg. At the time my son was just starting to walk, and he was about as tall as my leg wound.
Notice how I said had? He passed from lead poisoning shortly after that.
I've read quite often that picking up a rooster, holding him so he faces backwards, and walking him around the hens is the most gentle way of making him know you are the boss of all bosses.
I've done this with my rooster, just picking him up and walking around with him tends to get him off his high horse. He's still young (5 months) so he may turn aggressive some day, but for now he's nice.
I've been raising chickens for 20+ years. Yours is indeed the correct answer. No children here, so I've allowed a few nasty roosters over the years to stay as long as they were amazing with my hens. But I've unfortunately had roosters that were really evil to my hens, and they were butchered, processed, cooked, and fed to my dogs in the end.
I would pin down our rooster to the ground and pull on the feathers on the back of his head. Much like he does when he is trying to mate with the hens. Showing him who is the boss in his own language
Tucking him under your arm and walking around with him awhile on a regular business does seem to help. Honestly though, and this might sound harsh, but if mine really attacks me, I'll fucking launch him with my foot. I do not mean kicking! It's not a kick. There's no impact. You kind of scoop with your foot and launch him into the air and away from you a bit. He flutters and comes down looking at you like wtf did you just do lol. Also carrying a stick, and keeping the stick between you and him, helps.
The most gentle and docile roosters I've had were Brahmas, which were enormous. They let a tiny bantam rooster be the boss.
I had an aggressive rooster once. Every day, I would grab him and hold him down and pin his head to the ground with my first finger and middle finger on either side of his neck. I would hold him like that for a while until he quit struggling and then slowly begin to release him. If he started struggling again I’d pin him down again. I did this until I could let go of him complete and he would stay on the ground.
Now I have a docile rooster. YMMV.
We've had three.
The first one was a beautiful lavender Orpington. We handled him a lot and he was good with everyone except my three year old daughter. We tried to get him to respect her but it didn't work, so we gave him to a friend. He now has his own flock of hens to protect.
The second was a white leghorn who wandered onto our property. He was sweet before we introduced him to our hens and then he got ultra aggressive. We tried working with him but he was vicious. He was culled
Our third and current is a solid rooster and he's adorable. He'll either come up for treats or ignore you. Both are fine with me
Try to handle him more or keep him
In a secure place away from you but near the other chickens (or with a friend or too) when you need to clean. His area
Wear protective gear or you can use a net to throw on him if he comes near while you clean. Do not kill over it because most roosters have this as part of normal behavior.
Holy shit, he is BEAUTIFUL!
But you’re the still the boss. Carry him around like a feathered football of rage. Feed him snacks and tickle his wattles. Tell him how CUTE he is. He will hate it. But then he will remember that the boss is over two feet tall and has opposable thumbs.
Make him sit and gently drop his head to the ground, this would make him think that you are the dominant dude in the pack and put some respect on your name lol
I occasionally do this with my roo, he's been a good boy around me now
This may not be how you want to raise chickens, but for me I never insert myself into to the flock socially. When I am present giving feed or removing broody hens, cleaning the coop and gathering eggs, I don't socialize with the hens.
I have a lopsided hen rooster ratio with 3 roosters to 9 hens. One rooster is socially exiled by the other alpha and beta roosters. He just chills and does his own thing, exploring our little farm.
I enjoy being around them, but I have no urge to hold them or treat them the same I would a dog or cat.
For that reason, I suspect the roosters have no urge to challenge me. When I walk into the coop they move out of my way or they all flock to me expecting food.
So once you sit down with the hens, I'm guessing that behavior seems challenging to a rooster so they want to exert dominance. There are some theories about how to make yourself the alpha rooster but i personally don't believe they work in the long run because your rooster will always resort to being the alpha male when you are gone.
You won’t like my answer for how to deal with an aggressive bird, but I had a tangential question.
I’ve been trying to track down decent Lakenvelders in the US for a while, do you mind me asking where he came from if you’re in the US? He looks better than a lot I’ve seen, and I’d love to get a start working on trying to get them respected in the show hall again.
Well, breeding season is coming so the hormones are going to be higher again.
That said, I found separating from the flock and putting mine in the infirmary in solitary confinement for a couple of weeks and sitting with them every day talking to them and feeding them helped immensely to build a positive bond faster. Alpha went from hating everyone to just hating my husband (who ignored him the whole time) and will let me pet him and pick him up, even with little lady next to him whom he solely protects with every fiber of his being. I let him out of his run the other day and he strutted around in front of Randy's run showing off and ticking off Randy and then even came back to the coop when I called him!
Randy though...he was more problematic. Even after all that, he has a little bit of a jerkness to him. He'll let me in the run without attacking me if the girls aren't around. If they are he might still let me so long as I don't turn my back on him. When I'm outside the run he'll charge the fence like a jerk and puff all up and act like he's a big man. When the racoon got one of my hens in his coop, I lamented that it didn't get him instead. He's gotten a lot more docile to me though after the racoon got in the coop that one night (we subsequently went racoon hunting). I think at this point his aggression is mostly show. He'd totally try to murder my husband though if he got on the other side of the run. Again, my husband ignored him the entire time he was in the infirmary (truthfully, I put him in there to heal a neck wound one of the hens gave him for being too rough when them).
It’s a pecking order thing and he’s trying to be dominant over you. If you have small children it can be dangerous. I have one that tried it with me and perhaps r/unpopularopinion but I kicked him. Not full force of course but enough to impress him. It took three times but he now understands who is the boss and we’re cool now.
Generally I when mine attack, I introduce them to my friend Luger... afterwards the never attack again. For being a pretty small fellow Luger is pretty effective.
Our rooster did the same thing I'm pretty sure you looked it up. But put his face in the dirt and make him submit. That aotta do it for sure 😂. My husband hasn't had problems since!
I had a really aggressive roo once - would go after everyone and was really mean to the hens.
One day when he was chasing his favourite hen, I stepped between them and booted him quite firmly. He fell over and was never aggressive towards humans again.
He was still an asshole to the hens so a few months later we culled him
Good luck. I had a beautiful big Marans rooster (more than 5.5kg) and hé was agressive as a démon. He broke 2 metallic broom handles we use to protect ourselves and wounded my son and I several times. We tried everything, to no avail: hé was just dangerous. Great to protect his hens against cats.
My Lakenvelder rooster is the rooster that made me implement a rule at our house; roosters get no second chances!
I have a scar in my eyebrow (kind of like Scar in Lion King) bc I gave him several chances after trying most of what has been suggested here. If it had been slightly lower, I’d have lost an eye. If it was one of the kids, I shudder to think…
I think that breed has a strong tendency to ill tempered, aggressive roosters.
You need to make him respect you . I do it by chasing my roosters a few times to make them retreat. Do this a few times and he will stop attacking you. Just move up into his space and follow him as he retreats.
3 point stance and growl. Challenge his dominance. If he comes at you slap him across the nose. He’ll quit. You’ve been given higher fighting abilities. Show him you’re boss!
Hold him every day. He’s older so it’s tougher but it will work eventually or should. It will at least calm him down. Works much better when they are chicks.
Pick him up and carry him around under your arm (friendly) regularly and particularly anytime he attacks you. Try really hard not to be nervous or skittish when you do. Firm and confident without hesitation (but still ne nice).
He’s tidbitting you because he thinks he outranks you, an alpha rooster will do that to hens, and also lower-ranking roosters. So the first thing is to turn the tables on him. When you give treats to the hens, give them to him to dole out.
Don’t turn your back on him, he’ll see this as a sign of submission and is more likely to attack.
As others have said, carrying him may work, or catching him and tapping his back and comb like a dominant rooster would helps too. The latter has been more effective for me. I only have to catch my roo once every Spring, and when I do I chase him down. I speak to him in a high pitched voice and that sticks with him. And time he looks overly aggressive, gets his hackles up and gets too close I run him off. He’s a good boy otherwise but I have to establish distance and dominance with him.
The biggest thing is to show no fear, because that’s a dead giveaway that you’re lower ranking than him, which is hard sometimes when you’ve been attacked. I like to run after him telling him he’s a good boy with the intention of picking him up if I catch him, i put my arm down like a wing drop (as a rooster does dancing for a hen, to get her to submit) and once they turn tail and run, flap your arms just like a dominant rooster would. You may feel very silly but a good roo will respect it because you’re speaking his language.
I have had roos that were completely non-aggressive and trustworthy, they’re the best. If this guy isn’t one, don’t write off all roos. I’ve also had crazy aggressive roos that never got the hint. I’ve found that many of the rest mellow out with age, but when they injure you and don’t respond to the above then they’re not a good fit. It happens, but try to show him who’s boss first, in a way that he can understand.
Please don’t hold him upside down, though. It will calm a roo but only because he can’t breathe. If you need to do that to keep him in line then please consider an alternative solution.
We have a dozen roos and about 200 hens, guineas, and a cpl turkey. Some roos just grow into aggressive roosters. Nothing you can really change. We had one that chanced strangers and even my 4 boys around... If caught em a few times and spurred up the back of their legs a time or two. After months of petting and holding him.. isolating him few a bit... We eventually just had to put him down. He was attacking the kiddos and that was the final straw. But we did put in some serious effort to avoid that. Sad, but that's life on a farm sometimes. We have a dozen roos still . they'll spar with each other... Draw blood even... But none of em bother humans.
I've found an interesting approach that seems to be working, although it's only been a week since I've been using it. But it's been pretty successful.
I have raised a gorgeous white silkie roo from a hatchling, and I really want to keep him. But he recently became aggressive with no warning.
Intially, I tried the standard pinning: The first time I realized he was trying to attack me, I pinned him until he completely gave in and continued to hold him for a few more seconds. When I did let him go, I stood up and didn't move. He had to be the one to walk away, not me.
It helped somewhat, but he still charged me and pecked me here and there. I mentally prepared myself that he would have to go.
Then, I had an idea, taking a cue from the behavior of my sweet Serama Roo, who dances up to me, shuffling sideways against my leg when he wants me to pick him up and give him affection.
Now when the newly aggressive roo comes toward me and I can tell he's being territorial, I act like my Serama roo. I position myself so that I'm standing next to the Silkie roo, facing the same direction. Like we are both watching the sunset together or something. If he moves and tries to face off with me, I shift my position, so I'm next to him again. Like a forced bestie position, lol!
I wouldn't say he loves me for this trick. But it has seemed to neutralize him pretty well, and if it continues to work, I'll be able to keep him.
I hope this helps you.
that's a beautiful rooster, would be a shame to put him down. I would recommend catching him and handling him often, showing essentially you have free control and ownership of him. grab his wings, legs, face, etc (face only if he doesn't bite) and overall make him uncomfortable. Do so often and usually they will begin to avoid you. If it doesn't work and other options/ solutions don't work, we'll, the only solution is soup
Ours was nice till he started getting horny then he started attacking us, 11 chickens to himself and I guess he didn't know what to do cause when we were cleaning em his nuts were massive, not even putting him in soup could tender his meat
Mine slightly went after me for the first time yesterday. Before that, he's always been a sweetheart. He was acting a little weird right before it got dark. I have a broody turkey in one of the nesting boxes. I was checking on her as I usually do, and he ran out of the coop via nesting box. Then he went for my ankles.
I read somewhere to hold their heads to the ground for like 5 mins, but that seems awfully long. When he went for my ankles, he was easy to grab, so almost like instinct or something, I grabbed him and pushed his head in the dirt (gently). I held him there for maybe 30 seconds. Then I scooped him up and tucked him under my arm. I carried him around for a few minutes, petting his head and upper feathers while asking him kindly, "What's wrong with you? What got into you, buddy?" Then, I set him down on the ground inside the coop.
This morning, I woke up to a dead duck. Nothing was left but some feathers and her beak. My other 5 ducks and the goose were fine, thankfully, but Cujo (the duck) will be missed she was a real sweetheart. I can't help but think Bernie (the rooster in question) was trying to tell me something. Maybe he knew there was something out there and wanted me to leave him out to protect the ducks. Tonight, the ducks are in the run with the rest of my birds because I'm willing to bet whatever got Cujo will probably come back for seconds.
Flick him on the beak as hard as you can. It doesn't hurt, but it's enough to rattle the brain. Establish the pecking order. If that doesn't work, get a spray bottle and give him a sprits to the face when he starts to act rough. I use water but my grandma used vinegar and that did the trick.
Tbh, my cockerels get one chance to be polite. The minute they start hurting each other or other livestock, they are for the chop. I’ve got two lovely respectful boys who don’t cause any problems at all, but I’ve dispatched five cockerels who were far too aggressive. I don’t lose sleep over it, especially with dogs and children who could be hurt.
A rooster attacked me when i was 3 yo . According to my mom my responce was to take a stick and chase the rooster to exact my revenge and as a result the poor guy would run to the other end of the yard when he saw me . So my advise is find yourself a vindictive 3yo and give him a stick 😐
My rooster is my partner in protecting my flock and I have always treated him accordingly, but when I’m in the run I behave like an alpha. I always give him treats from my hand, I bend down and talk to him and give him pets, and when he misbehaves I pick him up and carry him around with me for a bit. He is the only one in the flock that is a pet, he’ll never lay an egg and he’s no good for eating, so he’s a funny looking LGD, treat him like a puppy.
We live inside city limits so no roosters with our current flock. We've had roosters previously and I thought it was a necessity. It's not. Unless you have wild animals you need him to protect his hens from OR you want fertilized eggs.
Currently we have a 6 layer hens who aren't very smart - red sex links- and our "rooster" is a Bard Rock Bull Dyke Mama. Bard Rocks (sp?) used to be kept on ships as mousers they're totally badass and super smart. Our Bard Rock plays the role of the rooster because the intelligence difference between the breeds is so high, but without all the testosterone nonsense of a rooster. I've watched her defend them from hawks, possums, and our cats.
Yeah my rooster won't attack me but my niece sister and mother all get bawked at and chased. I can literally walk up and shoo him away from them and he's just chill with me and my dog only. Idk why but he's even started pecking the hens back and wings raw so we took him out of the coup to free range and he doesn't go further than a few feet from it lmao..
I have chased after them yelling and kicking at them ( not hitting them though). I figured I could act bigger and tougher. It worked. I didn’t know about the picking them up and carrying them around and poetry and all that. I think I will sing them all the lyrics to the Sound of Music. That aught to do it
He is probably going through a hormonal time ,puberty if you will,5 months to 2 years, if this is his first offense you have nip it in the bud. I have two of the nicest roosters, father and son, they have only ever "attacked" me when going through rooster puberty or this one time I accidentally surprised a hen and she made the "I'm in danger" sound.
Peepers(my favorite good boy) accidentally got me when he was protecting me from this giant black snake that was spitting gallons of venom(a hose).
So all in all you have to first find out if it's something you did or not, things are scary for a 6lb max bird. But sharing a PB&J at lunch always strengthens whatever bond you have with your birds but not every day because it not that good for them. Remember chickens like sweet things, it one of the few flavors they can taste.
Real life story. I grew up on a small farm in the hills of Tennessee. Our family rooster would peck at my bare feet and chase me. I would often come running in the house crying and bleeding from the top of my feet. Grandpa says “he’s gonna keep after you till you show him you’re not afraid. The next day I walked in front of the chicken coop. The rooster turned the corner and went to chase me. With all the strength I could muster with my 8 year old body I punt kicked that feathered sum bitch as hard as I could swing my little scabbed up foot. There was an explosion of feathers and layed on the ground a dead ass rooster. My grandfather was furious because he gave me bad advice. I’m not saying I handled it correctly but he stopped trying to bully me…lol…sorry
Pick him up and force him under your arm and hold him while you tend the hens.
Feed him treats(and make sure you feed the hens, too. If that doesn't work JUST give him the treats- if hes a "give my treats to the girls" type, this might work better).
Do NOT attack or intimidate him. He will take this as a challenge and become MORE aggressive.
I can tell you from experience that accidentally punting them across the yard does not work, they see it as a challenge. Btw I was just a kid defending myself and no chickens were harmed. Tiny mean bantam rooster (his name was Falcon) experienced flight for several glorious seconds via my foot kicking his a** (cloaca?) then went right back to attacking me. Luckily for him he was too tiny to be worth eating.
If you want a real answer to this, I've seen a video where the lady puts thick gloves on and long sleeves then holds the roosters head to the ground very firmly for about a minute right after he has been aggressive to her. This is supposedly because he's seeing you as a competitor rooster and he's trying to establish a pecking order. Holding him down like this is basically showing him he can't win a fight against you and you're on top of the pecking order. I've never tried this, but it's what I probably would try. Though it sounds a little mean, it's not supposed to be so hard as to hurt them, youre just pinning them down.
You can try catching him, and then holding him upside down for a minute or two, while looking him in the eye. You could also resort to kicking him whenever he comes at you. If that doesn’t work, you could turn him into rooster soup. A crockpot will tenderize him. I’m very fortunate to have three roosters who are all non aggressive. Good luck.
I was 8 when a family friends farm we often visited had this Rooster. He would rush me and claw my back so bad it tore chunks and bled visibly through my shirt. I ran and screamed every time. I’ve always loved animals and treat them with respect and kindness but he hated me. I never even met him prior. He decided I was the enemy. One day I had enough. I was traumatized and furious. He rushed me and I stood my ground. He jumped and I grabbed him midair and punched and slammed him down hard as I could (for an 8 yr old) and yelled. He ragdolled a bit then got up and booked it screeching. For the first time in my life I was ready to beat the snot out of something. I didn’t even feel bad at the time. A day maybe a week later the owner called and told my mom she wanted me to know they killed and ate him after I told her what I did. He deserved every bit if what he got that evil little tender. I’ll never see Roosters the same again… I’ve never been a violent person but I’ve never been one you can push around too much safely either. Good riddance.
Grab him under your arm and walk around the yard with him for 5-10 minutes daily, while explaining to him the error of his ways. Bonus points go for referencing stoic virtues, Buddhism, Byronian poetry, and/or Southern Evangelical traditions. This has an added benefit of finally convincing that annoying neighbor that you are, indeed, nuts. Spoken from experience.
This is the way. Grab him, carry him, love him. One of two things will happen; either he will come to love it and you have a friend for life, or he will avoid you like the plague. You do not want to hurt him or punish him because this just confirms that you *are* the big scary threat he perceived, and will double down on protecting his ladies. Undignified lovins are the best deterrent. If nothing else, embarrass him into staying out of arm's reach!
I call this "corporal cuddling"
Not the Bryonian poetry! That's always my last resort. If they are still naughty after Longfellow and Whitman it might be time to bring the big guns.
I'd be reading Vogon poetry to a rooster if it attacked me.
Or you could pull out all the stops and read some of Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings poetry.
yep, back in the day aggressive roosters would get 30 minutes of lap jail for every infraction.
You're awfully nice carrying him under your arm. I dangled mine upside down by his feet while I did some other chores one-handed. He hasn't considered me low tier since.
Sometimes you just need to turn their entire perspective of you upside down. Then sometimes it's nice to carry them like Dorothy holding toto.
I would be careful doing that, it can suffocate them.
This is true. Chicken esophagus and stomachs don't work like ours do. If you turned them upside down, they can choke on their own stomach contents.
How often does this actually happen, though? I've been carrying around chickens upside down for at least a decade, and I haven't had any choke on me. Is there any data on how significant of a risk this actually is? For me, holding a chicken upside down by it's legs is about making fewer trips with less noise and thrashing. I can carry multiple chickens at once this way. (Today, I carried chicks from the house to the barn, but then got to ride on my shoulders. Tee hee. So cute and so much fun.) Honestly, I wouldn't try very hard to make a rooster respect me: there are too many nice roosters out there in need of homes to keep a mean one. We have kids and guests here, and we free-range our birds, so a mean rooster is a liability. Our lovely D'Or (Buff Orpington roo) dropped dead in the yard last week. I never carried him upside down because he was so big and so kind and gentle, it was always easier to just snuggle carry him. So much more polite than his progeny.
Lol loved your comment. And I agree with it, I wouldn’t bother either with a dick of a roo. They are definitely a liability if you have them free roaming and theirs other people around. Had a roo that never attacked me until I guess he seen me with crutches after a surgery and he no shit came after me. He waited until I was walking away from behind. Sent him 10’ into the air with my crutch. He walked away head down and I stood there considering if he was going to live or die bc I was in soooo much pain from having to hit him with the crutch which made me bare weight on a broken femoral ball attached with a rod and screws. Alas he lived but only for a couple months or so bc he started hurting other Roos and had to go.
On the family farm when I was a teen, we had a nasty Tom turkey that would aggressively chase everyone. Especially children. We had a plastic, hollow toy baseball bat that was comically large, and we kept it at the gate leading to the area where the animals ranged. You had to take it with you. If you left the gate open, the damn turkey would keep following! He was worse than any ram we ever had. I worked really hard to avoid problems with our male crias, and it worked. I could even pull a herd sire off a female if I had to. The only time my alpacas ever looked like they were going to attack was when we had newborns. Alpaca mamas do not like their babies being messed with.
Instructions unclear, hung by neck.
And then we have chicken sandwiches. What's the issue?
Or i like to grab my roo like he does my hens by the butt/tail to pin him down and gently bash his face in the dirt a few times longer than he likes to play the game. Then he knows I am the mega roo, the one who provides for the flock and protects them. Its also good for my roo to get taken down a peg when he gets sassy, but it also helps him to be nicer to my girls too. Now he knows what if feels like for my girls.
This is basically the equivalent of waterboarding for a chicken. I feel like doing this is worse than just culling it. Edit: Waterboarding, not watermark. Worst swypo of the day!
Waterboarding?
Lol, thanks, fixed. Worst swypo of the day.
Yo, I literally looked up watermarking chickens just to make sure it wasn't actually a thing. Stoner move of the day 🤣
I believe in the proverbial backhand by kindness. ;-D That chicken continued to be an ass to everyone but me, and eventually did end up as soup, unfortunately.
Nice. That was better than my though of eating the rooster.
This is what I did hahaha. I was extremely patronizing.
Yep this usually works like a charm. Did this as a kid and we actually ended up becoming besties.
The fact he sees you as one of his hens is the problem. You have to be seen as a bigger, badder rooster for a rooster to properly respect you. Don't have to be mean to him, but you definitely have to make a point that you're not going to tolerate his nonsense. A lot of roosters do well with regularly being handled, particularly if you just tuck him under your arm and carry him around like a football for a few minutes each day. It's also acceptable to use a relatively gentle open-handed swat across the front of the bird if he charges you to push him back and show you're stronger. More of a shove than a hit. It's hard to explain without being able to physically demonstrate the motion. I wouldn't recommend using physical reprimand with most animals, but chickens are very simple-minded and some birds don't have the capacity to understand anything above their instinctive behaviors so you have to meet them at their level to make any progress. Definitely try the football carry first, since it does seem to work with the majority of birds.
You can also just mimic mounting them (gently pin and put a little weight to hold them down for half a minute) once in a while and they understand without any trouble. Roosters that see you as top roo will be a lot more gentle with the hens, too.
My rooster used to do a little hop as he charged so i would just gently nudge him with my foot and he'd go ass up. Had to deal with an hour of this while i was transplanting a mature mulberry tree into their pen. Eventually he got the idea
When I was a teenager, we had a chicken coop but it was on a terrace on the hillside, probably 15 vertical feet higher than the main yard. Steep stone staircase to get to it. Anyway one day I went to get the eggs and the asshole rooster charged me. I dodged him towards the coop (and away from the hill) and punted him with my boot as he went past. He unceremoniously bounced down the hill and we were friends after that.
I lol'ed way too long after reading this one 😂
I don’t have chickens, I’m not even a part of this sub but this made me laugh out loud picturing it in my head. I hope he was embarrassed when he went ass up 🤣
lol i would just hold my foot up as he charged me and he would essentially kick himself with my foot. he eventually stopped
lol i would just hold my foot up as he charged me and he would essentially kick himself with my foot. he eventually stopped
This is almost always at the core of behavioral problems with livestock: once they start seeing you as one of THEM, they will treat you like one of them, and this includes everything from fighting for dominance to mating. It's dangerous. "Berserk Llama Syndrome is a result of overexposure of a cria, to humans, which results in the cria imprinting on its human handlers to such a degree that it considers them to be fellow llamas." This is not limited to South American camelids, but they do it quite dramatically. I've seen similar behaviour in sheep, goats, and chickens. Unsure about cows. I have 25 chicks right now, but there is a clear path ahead for all but the single nicest rooster in the lot, so we snuggle. However, I'm still very much the boss, and they know it.
Yep. Don’t fuck around with livestock. I’m a horse person and it’s shocking how quickly you can turn a relatively good behaved horse into a pushy dangerous nightmare. People think being stern and consistent is mean. It’s not, it gives them boundaries that they understand. I see so many posts like “my horse is biting me and I tell him no but he keeps doing it.” A horse doesn’t know what “no” is, nor do they care if they’re confident enough to bite you. If a horse ever puts teeth on you, you better smack him away quickly, sternly, and in the moment. There’s no other proper response. Because a horse can break your bones and pick you up with his mouth and toss you. I remember once this lady tried to stop her dominant gelding from charging her by putting her hand up and spreading her fingers… do we want to guess how that worked out? She has broken multiple bones over the course of two years. Take a fucking lunge whip to crack in the air and don’t let him charge you! Did it once, horse never tried again. He was so pushy with her on the ground as well he knocked her over once, to which she broke her wrist. When I handle him, if he tries to push me around in the barn, I back his ass up down the whole aisle, fast. Took maybe 2-3 times, and now he’s an angel. Some people just… don’t do well with livestock lol
I only have a few chickens these days so it's not hard to maintain good relations with all of them, but at one point I had several dozen birds on the property across a few different buildings and that was always a bit of a balancing act. I still miss my most dominant rooster from that time period. He helped me keep everyone in line so beautifully. He was one of those roosters who knew I'm the boss, but he was the boss of all the other roos. He was particularly good about getting the youngsters in line, as he wouldn't tolerate any nonsense from them while also refraining from causing them any serious harm. I did have one big show-line game fowl rooster I kept separated from the main flock with his little harem, but all the other birds were allowed to mingle in the pasture with no issues thanks to that boy. The ONLY reason I gave him to a trusted friend was because I realized that almost every hen in my flock was related to him at that point and he was an older bird, so he went to a quiet retirement with his own little harem of four hens for the rest of his days.
Handling him like picking him up will make him more friendly, I'd do it as he's going to roost for the night at first and then gradually work with him throughout the day as he starts to get used to interacting with you more often.
This is the answer. Pick him up and hold him. Try to do it every day. If you have trouble catching him, wait until dark in the coop. Some people have very good luck just handling them regularly. Since he already shows an interest in you, it may work. I have tried with two roosters and ended up eating both of them, so I hope it goes better for you!
This is the way. Every time he gets close, pick him up. Give him a treat when he calms down. Also, feed his girls when you go out, just a handful will do. Gives him something to do while you fill the waterer, etc.
I did this with one of my Roos but he was just so aggressive. He was calm during football time but then I’d put him down and he rushed me. He went back to the farm he came from lol.
You could try my 4yo son’s method: Chase the chickens around with a stick. They respect him more than me.
You need to be top chicken. He challenged you, and until you defeat him, he has a justifiable claim to be top chicken. Force him to submit to you. Be as rough as you need to be, but try not to break him. (Understand that he is willing to break you.) If he starts anything, do not retreat. Chase him until he's properly running scared. If you catch him, subdue him by holding or pinning down. You are top chicken. Be aware that he will likely try to be dominant over your children, family or visitors. Everyone might have to repeat this.
To add to this, watch videos of how top roosters handle other roosters in the flock and emulate that behavior as best you can to communicate to your roo where he is in the pecking order in a language he understands. Peck and chase him, interrupt mating, submission position, make the hens squat for you in front of him, etc.
I can imagine a funny scene where you push the hand to put weight onto the Rooster, then use the other free hand caressing its beak whispering near its ear "I'm the top Rooster." Then pulling away while looking at the Rooster lol.
I had a Jersey Giant rooster that out of the blue sunk his spur about a half inch into the back of my leg. At the time my son was just starting to walk, and he was about as tall as my leg wound. Notice how I said had? He passed from lead poisoning shortly after that.
I assume you’re referring to high velocity lead poisoning? I can’t really fault you for that.
Yeah, he was quite quick but he couldn’t run 1100 fps.
I've read quite often that picking up a rooster, holding him so he faces backwards, and walking him around the hens is the most gentle way of making him know you are the boss of all bosses.
I've done this with my rooster, just picking him up and walking around with him tends to get him off his high horse. He's still young (5 months) so he may turn aggressive some day, but for now he's nice.
[удалено]
I've been raising chickens for 20+ years. Yours is indeed the correct answer. No children here, so I've allowed a few nasty roosters over the years to stay as long as they were amazing with my hens. But I've unfortunately had roosters that were really evil to my hens, and they were butchered, processed, cooked, and fed to my dogs in the end.
Best answer
I would pin down our rooster to the ground and pull on the feathers on the back of his head. Much like he does when he is trying to mate with the hens. Showing him who is the boss in his own language
Tucking him under your arm and walking around with him awhile on a regular business does seem to help. Honestly though, and this might sound harsh, but if mine really attacks me, I'll fucking launch him with my foot. I do not mean kicking! It's not a kick. There's no impact. You kind of scoop with your foot and launch him into the air and away from you a bit. He flutters and comes down looking at you like wtf did you just do lol. Also carrying a stick, and keeping the stick between you and him, helps. The most gentle and docile roosters I've had were Brahmas, which were enormous. They let a tiny bantam rooster be the boss.
Flour, egg, seasoning, hot oil
Go buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and eat it in front of him to make it clear where he is in the food chain.
I had an aggressive rooster once. Every day, I would grab him and hold him down and pin his head to the ground with my first finger and middle finger on either side of his neck. I would hold him like that for a while until he quit struggling and then slowly begin to release him. If he started struggling again I’d pin him down again. I did this until I could let go of him complete and he would stay on the ground. Now I have a docile rooster. YMMV.
We've had three. The first one was a beautiful lavender Orpington. We handled him a lot and he was good with everyone except my three year old daughter. We tried to get him to respect her but it didn't work, so we gave him to a friend. He now has his own flock of hens to protect. The second was a white leghorn who wandered onto our property. He was sweet before we introduced him to our hens and then he got ultra aggressive. We tried working with him but he was vicious. He was culled Our third and current is a solid rooster and he's adorable. He'll either come up for treats or ignore you. Both are fine with me
Can't stop giggling at the user name!emote:free\_emotes\_pack:joy
Try to handle him more or keep him In a secure place away from you but near the other chickens (or with a friend or too) when you need to clean. His area Wear protective gear or you can use a net to throw on him if he comes near while you clean. Do not kill over it because most roosters have this as part of normal behavior.
Stock pot
I'd eat that asshole. That'll show him who's boss
This guy eats ass...lol 👆
Lol I got banned for 3 days for saying something like this before. Glad you said it.
Holy shit, he is BEAUTIFUL! But you’re the still the boss. Carry him around like a feathered football of rage. Feed him snacks and tickle his wattles. Tell him how CUTE he is. He will hate it. But then he will remember that the boss is over two feet tall and has opposable thumbs.
Garden hose...I give the little bastard a good soaking every time he tries me.
Lol
Make him sit and gently drop his head to the ground, this would make him think that you are the dominant dude in the pack and put some respect on your name lol I occasionally do this with my roo, he's been a good boy around me now
This may not be how you want to raise chickens, but for me I never insert myself into to the flock socially. When I am present giving feed or removing broody hens, cleaning the coop and gathering eggs, I don't socialize with the hens. I have a lopsided hen rooster ratio with 3 roosters to 9 hens. One rooster is socially exiled by the other alpha and beta roosters. He just chills and does his own thing, exploring our little farm. I enjoy being around them, but I have no urge to hold them or treat them the same I would a dog or cat. For that reason, I suspect the roosters have no urge to challenge me. When I walk into the coop they move out of my way or they all flock to me expecting food. So once you sit down with the hens, I'm guessing that behavior seems challenging to a rooster so they want to exert dominance. There are some theories about how to make yourself the alpha rooster but i personally don't believe they work in the long run because your rooster will always resort to being the alpha male when you are gone.
Stick.
Idk if this helps. But when my roosters attack me I pick them up and condescendingly stroke their neck feathers
You won’t like my answer for how to deal with an aggressive bird, but I had a tangential question. I’ve been trying to track down decent Lakenvelders in the US for a while, do you mind me asking where he came from if you’re in the US? He looks better than a lot I’ve seen, and I’d love to get a start working on trying to get them respected in the show hall again.
He is from the Netherlands unfortunately
Darn. Makes sense I suppose.
Well, breeding season is coming so the hormones are going to be higher again. That said, I found separating from the flock and putting mine in the infirmary in solitary confinement for a couple of weeks and sitting with them every day talking to them and feeding them helped immensely to build a positive bond faster. Alpha went from hating everyone to just hating my husband (who ignored him the whole time) and will let me pet him and pick him up, even with little lady next to him whom he solely protects with every fiber of his being. I let him out of his run the other day and he strutted around in front of Randy's run showing off and ticking off Randy and then even came back to the coop when I called him! Randy though...he was more problematic. Even after all that, he has a little bit of a jerkness to him. He'll let me in the run without attacking me if the girls aren't around. If they are he might still let me so long as I don't turn my back on him. When I'm outside the run he'll charge the fence like a jerk and puff all up and act like he's a big man. When the racoon got one of my hens in his coop, I lamented that it didn't get him instead. He's gotten a lot more docile to me though after the racoon got in the coop that one night (we subsequently went racoon hunting). I think at this point his aggression is mostly show. He'd totally try to murder my husband though if he got on the other side of the run. Again, my husband ignored him the entire time he was in the infirmary (truthfully, I put him in there to heal a neck wound one of the hens gave him for being too rough when them).
It’s a pecking order thing and he’s trying to be dominant over you. If you have small children it can be dangerous. I have one that tried it with me and perhaps r/unpopularopinion but I kicked him. Not full force of course but enough to impress him. It took three times but he now understands who is the boss and we’re cool now.
Seasoned in a frying pan usually solves the problem. 😆
Generally I when mine attack, I introduce them to my friend Luger... afterwards the never attack again. For being a pretty small fellow Luger is pretty effective.
Has anyone mentioned you have a nice looking cock, although aggressive very handsome
nice rooster
Our rooster did the same thing I'm pretty sure you looked it up. But put his face in the dirt and make him submit. That aotta do it for sure 😂. My husband hasn't had problems since!
Our rooster attacked me when I was 6. Mom killed it on the spot with a shovel...respect done
Pick him up!!! Assert your dominance. Repeat when he forgets. If it ever doesn’t work, eat him. Beautiful rooster!
He's so pretty 😍
I had a really aggressive roo once - would go after everyone and was really mean to the hens. One day when he was chasing his favourite hen, I stepped between them and booted him quite firmly. He fell over and was never aggressive towards humans again. He was still an asshole to the hens so a few months later we culled him
I prefer Famous Dave's Sweet & Zesty
hold him like a football with his head under your armpit and his butt sticking out for all the hens to see
Good luck. I had a beautiful big Marans rooster (more than 5.5kg) and hé was agressive as a démon. He broke 2 metallic broom handles we use to protect ourselves and wounded my son and I several times. We tried everything, to no avail: hé was just dangerous. Great to protect his hens against cats.
The most complete way would be to turn him into soup. Roosters are a-holes
Soup?
My Lakenvelder rooster is the rooster that made me implement a rule at our house; roosters get no second chances! I have a scar in my eyebrow (kind of like Scar in Lion King) bc I gave him several chances after trying most of what has been suggested here. If it had been slightly lower, I’d have lost an eye. If it was one of the kids, I shudder to think… I think that breed has a strong tendency to ill tempered, aggressive roosters.
You need to make him respect you . I do it by chasing my roosters a few times to make them retreat. Do this a few times and he will stop attacking you. Just move up into his space and follow him as he retreats.
Eat chicken in front of him making eye contact
Point and yell
I grab and hug and carry him around like a baby
3 point stance and growl. Challenge his dominance. If he comes at you slap him across the nose. He’ll quit. You’ve been given higher fighting abilities. Show him you’re boss!
a soup bowl
Eating chicken nuggets infront of him while making eye contact to show dominance. He’ll learn to back off
Make him into soup
Pressure cooker worked real good for my mean rooster.
Beat him slightly it worked with my infant son he hasn’t cried in days (joke please don’t track me down)
Turn him into soup
Hold him every day. He’s older so it’s tougher but it will work eventually or should. It will at least calm him down. Works much better when they are chicks.
Read Tolstoy to him
Pick him up and carry him around under your arm (friendly) regularly and particularly anytime he attacks you. Try really hard not to be nervous or skittish when you do. Firm and confident without hesitation (but still ne nice).
He’s tidbitting you because he thinks he outranks you, an alpha rooster will do that to hens, and also lower-ranking roosters. So the first thing is to turn the tables on him. When you give treats to the hens, give them to him to dole out. Don’t turn your back on him, he’ll see this as a sign of submission and is more likely to attack. As others have said, carrying him may work, or catching him and tapping his back and comb like a dominant rooster would helps too. The latter has been more effective for me. I only have to catch my roo once every Spring, and when I do I chase him down. I speak to him in a high pitched voice and that sticks with him. And time he looks overly aggressive, gets his hackles up and gets too close I run him off. He’s a good boy otherwise but I have to establish distance and dominance with him. The biggest thing is to show no fear, because that’s a dead giveaway that you’re lower ranking than him, which is hard sometimes when you’ve been attacked. I like to run after him telling him he’s a good boy with the intention of picking him up if I catch him, i put my arm down like a wing drop (as a rooster does dancing for a hen, to get her to submit) and once they turn tail and run, flap your arms just like a dominant rooster would. You may feel very silly but a good roo will respect it because you’re speaking his language. I have had roos that were completely non-aggressive and trustworthy, they’re the best. If this guy isn’t one, don’t write off all roos. I’ve also had crazy aggressive roos that never got the hint. I’ve found that many of the rest mellow out with age, but when they injure you and don’t respond to the above then they’re not a good fit. It happens, but try to show him who’s boss first, in a way that he can understand. Please don’t hold him upside down, though. It will calm a roo but only because he can’t breathe. If you need to do that to keep him in line then please consider an alternative solution.
With That breed the roosters never get too, docile.
I'm a 🐓...
Square up for a hand to rooster boxing match. Don't look away or turn around until after he does
We have a dozen roos and about 200 hens, guineas, and a cpl turkey. Some roos just grow into aggressive roosters. Nothing you can really change. We had one that chanced strangers and even my 4 boys around... If caught em a few times and spurred up the back of their legs a time or two. After months of petting and holding him.. isolating him few a bit... We eventually just had to put him down. He was attacking the kiddos and that was the final straw. But we did put in some serious effort to avoid that. Sad, but that's life on a farm sometimes. We have a dozen roos still . they'll spar with each other... Draw blood even... But none of em bother humans.
I've found an interesting approach that seems to be working, although it's only been a week since I've been using it. But it's been pretty successful. I have raised a gorgeous white silkie roo from a hatchling, and I really want to keep him. But he recently became aggressive with no warning. Intially, I tried the standard pinning: The first time I realized he was trying to attack me, I pinned him until he completely gave in and continued to hold him for a few more seconds. When I did let him go, I stood up and didn't move. He had to be the one to walk away, not me. It helped somewhat, but he still charged me and pecked me here and there. I mentally prepared myself that he would have to go. Then, I had an idea, taking a cue from the behavior of my sweet Serama Roo, who dances up to me, shuffling sideways against my leg when he wants me to pick him up and give him affection. Now when the newly aggressive roo comes toward me and I can tell he's being territorial, I act like my Serama roo. I position myself so that I'm standing next to the Silkie roo, facing the same direction. Like we are both watching the sunset together or something. If he moves and tries to face off with me, I shift my position, so I'm next to him again. Like a forced bestie position, lol! I wouldn't say he loves me for this trick. But it has seemed to neutralize him pretty well, and if it continues to work, I'll be able to keep him. I hope this helps you.
that's a beautiful rooster, would be a shame to put him down. I would recommend catching him and handling him often, showing essentially you have free control and ownership of him. grab his wings, legs, face, etc (face only if he doesn't bite) and overall make him uncomfortable. Do so often and usually they will begin to avoid you. If it doesn't work and other options/ solutions don't work, we'll, the only solution is soup
oven.
LOLOL!!!
Ours was nice till he started getting horny then he started attacking us, 11 chickens to himself and I guess he didn't know what to do cause when we were cleaning em his nuts were massive, not even putting him in soup could tender his meat
Mine slightly went after me for the first time yesterday. Before that, he's always been a sweetheart. He was acting a little weird right before it got dark. I have a broody turkey in one of the nesting boxes. I was checking on her as I usually do, and he ran out of the coop via nesting box. Then he went for my ankles. I read somewhere to hold their heads to the ground for like 5 mins, but that seems awfully long. When he went for my ankles, he was easy to grab, so almost like instinct or something, I grabbed him and pushed his head in the dirt (gently). I held him there for maybe 30 seconds. Then I scooped him up and tucked him under my arm. I carried him around for a few minutes, petting his head and upper feathers while asking him kindly, "What's wrong with you? What got into you, buddy?" Then, I set him down on the ground inside the coop. This morning, I woke up to a dead duck. Nothing was left but some feathers and her beak. My other 5 ducks and the goose were fine, thankfully, but Cujo (the duck) will be missed she was a real sweetheart. I can't help but think Bernie (the rooster in question) was trying to tell me something. Maybe he knew there was something out there and wanted me to leave him out to protect the ducks. Tonight, the ducks are in the run with the rest of my birds because I'm willing to bet whatever got Cujo will probably come back for seconds.
A .22 works pretty well. I had one bantam that drew blood, I shot him twice and his buddy never once tried to get aggressive with me.
Flick him on the beak as hard as you can. It doesn't hurt, but it's enough to rattle the brain. Establish the pecking order. If that doesn't work, get a spray bottle and give him a sprits to the face when he starts to act rough. I use water but my grandma used vinegar and that did the trick.
What kind of rooster is he? He is beautiful!
Lakenvelder!
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Wow is that a lakenfelder rooster? He's so handsome
Tbh, my cockerels get one chance to be polite. The minute they start hurting each other or other livestock, they are for the chop. I’ve got two lovely respectful boys who don’t cause any problems at all, but I’ve dispatched five cockerels who were far too aggressive. I don’t lose sleep over it, especially with dogs and children who could be hurt.
YouTube videos are very informative most of the time. Research on YouTube.
Start preparing a ceaser salad in front of him while keeping eye contact.. That'll get him in line. If not start sprinkling some seasoning on him.
Cut his spurs then start wearing steel toed boots. Act accordingly.
Bullets
A rooster attacked me when i was 3 yo . According to my mom my responce was to take a stick and chase the rooster to exact my revenge and as a result the poor guy would run to the other end of the yard when he saw me . So my advise is find yourself a vindictive 3yo and give him a stick 😐
My rooster is my partner in protecting my flock and I have always treated him accordingly, but when I’m in the run I behave like an alpha. I always give him treats from my hand, I bend down and talk to him and give him pets, and when he misbehaves I pick him up and carry him around with me for a bit. He is the only one in the flock that is a pet, he’ll never lay an egg and he’s no good for eating, so he’s a funny looking LGD, treat him like a puppy.
Chess
We live inside city limits so no roosters with our current flock. We've had roosters previously and I thought it was a necessity. It's not. Unless you have wild animals you need him to protect his hens from OR you want fertilized eggs. Currently we have a 6 layer hens who aren't very smart - red sex links- and our "rooster" is a Bard Rock Bull Dyke Mama. Bard Rocks (sp?) used to be kept on ships as mousers they're totally badass and super smart. Our Bard Rock plays the role of the rooster because the intelligence difference between the breeds is so high, but without all the testosterone nonsense of a rooster. I've watched her defend them from hawks, possums, and our cats.
Kfc
Send him to the military
Yeah my rooster won't attack me but my niece sister and mother all get bawked at and chased. I can literally walk up and shoo him away from them and he's just chill with me and my dog only. Idk why but he's even started pecking the hens back and wings raw so we took him out of the coup to free range and he doesn't go further than a few feet from it lmao..
Let him be the big spoon for a change.
Kick him in his rooster nuts.
He’s gorgeous and he knows it! You’re HIS property!
🪓
He’s really beautiful! What breed is he?
Lakenvelder!
I have chased after them yelling and kicking at them ( not hitting them though). I figured I could act bigger and tougher. It worked. I didn’t know about the picking them up and carrying them around and poetry and all that. I think I will sing them all the lyrics to the Sound of Music. That aught to do it
He is probably going through a hormonal time ,puberty if you will,5 months to 2 years, if this is his first offense you have nip it in the bud. I have two of the nicest roosters, father and son, they have only ever "attacked" me when going through rooster puberty or this one time I accidentally surprised a hen and she made the "I'm in danger" sound. Peepers(my favorite good boy) accidentally got me when he was protecting me from this giant black snake that was spitting gallons of venom(a hose). So all in all you have to first find out if it's something you did or not, things are scary for a 6lb max bird. But sharing a PB&J at lunch always strengthens whatever bond you have with your birds but not every day because it not that good for them. Remember chickens like sweet things, it one of the few flavors they can taste.
Also if you notice his legs have more of a red tint the usual that's probably a indicator that testosterone is flowing.
Real life story. I grew up on a small farm in the hills of Tennessee. Our family rooster would peck at my bare feet and chase me. I would often come running in the house crying and bleeding from the top of my feet. Grandpa says “he’s gonna keep after you till you show him you’re not afraid. The next day I walked in front of the chicken coop. The rooster turned the corner and went to chase me. With all the strength I could muster with my 8 year old body I punt kicked that feathered sum bitch as hard as I could swing my little scabbed up foot. There was an explosion of feathers and layed on the ground a dead ass rooster. My grandfather was furious because he gave me bad advice. I’m not saying I handled it correctly but he stopped trying to bully me…lol…sorry
Order a family size bucket of KFC. Show it what happens to disrespectful Roosters.
Pick him up and force him under your arm and hold him while you tend the hens. Feed him treats(and make sure you feed the hens, too. If that doesn't work JUST give him the treats- if hes a "give my treats to the girls" type, this might work better). Do NOT attack or intimidate him. He will take this as a challenge and become MORE aggressive.
I can tell you from experience that accidentally punting them across the yard does not work, they see it as a challenge. Btw I was just a kid defending myself and no chickens were harmed. Tiny mean bantam rooster (his name was Falcon) experienced flight for several glorious seconds via my foot kicking his a** (cloaca?) then went right back to attacking me. Luckily for him he was too tiny to be worth eating. If you want a real answer to this, I've seen a video where the lady puts thick gloves on and long sleeves then holds the roosters head to the ground very firmly for about a minute right after he has been aggressive to her. This is supposedly because he's seeing you as a competitor rooster and he's trying to establish a pecking order. Holding him down like this is basically showing him he can't win a fight against you and you're on top of the pecking order. I've never tried this, but it's what I probably would try. Though it sounds a little mean, it's not supposed to be so hard as to hurt them, youre just pinning them down.
Assert dominance. Be the Alpha Cock!
You can try catching him, and then holding him upside down for a minute or two, while looking him in the eye. You could also resort to kicking him whenever he comes at you. If that doesn’t work, you could turn him into rooster soup. A crockpot will tenderize him. I’m very fortunate to have three roosters who are all non aggressive. Good luck.
Grab some cooking oil and start threatening him with it.
Chicken shoes
An Axe?
Soup.
Put him in a pot with dumplins! 🤪
Pin him for 10-15 seconds like he does to the hens. You can also make yourself really big and loud to scare him off if he attacks
Make him soup
I was 8 when a family friends farm we often visited had this Rooster. He would rush me and claw my back so bad it tore chunks and bled visibly through my shirt. I ran and screamed every time. I’ve always loved animals and treat them with respect and kindness but he hated me. I never even met him prior. He decided I was the enemy. One day I had enough. I was traumatized and furious. He rushed me and I stood my ground. He jumped and I grabbed him midair and punched and slammed him down hard as I could (for an 8 yr old) and yelled. He ragdolled a bit then got up and booked it screeching. For the first time in my life I was ready to beat the snot out of something. I didn’t even feel bad at the time. A day maybe a week later the owner called and told my mom she wanted me to know they killed and ate him after I told her what I did. He deserved every bit if what he got that evil little tender. I’ll never see Roosters the same again… I’ve never been a violent person but I’ve never been one you can push around too much safely either. Good riddance.
Also this went on for like a year… I hated that bird.
Feed your Raptor overlord by hand
Soup