On 08/29/2011 10:13 AM, farmbeachgal wrote:
> Hi, I'm new to chickens and I have a question about my rooster.
> I've recently moved my chickens into their hen house in the barn. It
> is a nice big area that we can walk into to feed, clean, get eggs,
> etc. I have 13 mixed hens and one rooster, who is a Golden-Laces
> Polish. They were all raised from one-day old chicks (the rooster was
> a sursprise, btw, as I ordered all pullets) and have alwas been very
> tame. They are now about 5 mths old and have begun laying in the last
> week or so.
> Trouble is, the roo is now getting aggressive and will often (but not
> always) attack. It's usually my kids who go in to gather eggs and a
> couple of them have gotten scratched at this point. When I go in and
> he attacks me, I always rush right back at him and yell at him (armed
> with a broom or a rake), and that's what I've told my kids to do. But
> is there a better way? I feel like we're taking our lives in our hands
> just to gather the eggs.
> Thanks for help!
Two words: Chicken Soup!
Seriously, there are ways to convince a rooster that you are the boss.
Dangling him by his feet works, for instance.
On the other hand, most modern roosters that I have come across are
tame. When I was a kid, we had a few that were real pieces of work --
RIR, white rock, and barred rock roosters were often aggressive.
Apparently, though, the birds have been bred to be less aggressive
toward humans (though they still beat the snot out of each other on
occasion.)
If you cull the aggressive birds and let the nice ones breed, you will
have less trouble with nasty birds in the future.
Meanwhile, if you really want to keep him, you can trim his spurs and
take the very tip off of his beak to make it less painful for you and
your kids.
If you live close to Cadillac, Michigan, you can always come and get a
few roosters, None of ours attack, though we do have a couple drama
princes. The ones that descended from the banties that ended up
gravitating to our coop after a local rooster chase tend to be really
dramatic. Pick one up, and he acts like he's being murdered.
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
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