Hi Dorothy, With chickens it's a territorial thing. The rooster has a job to do. He finds goodies for his hens, he keeps watch and warns them of danger. This can be anything from a stay cat to a helicopter. If he thinks that the best defense is a good offence he will attack. Let's face it this is a chicken, they don't think that much. Other than being a nuisance a young rooster isn't much of a problem. The trouble is they grow up and grow spurs. Lethal weapons they put to good use.
In most breeds today aggression has been tamed down by careful breeding and mean roosters ending up in the pot. However there are some exceptions and the occasional throw-back. The infamous RIR is a good example. A true devil bird, not so distantly related to the dinosaur, the kind that had teeth. As many a kid has learned, it rules the barn yard. In my opinion exposing any child not old enough to handle a gun to an RIR rooster is `child endangerment'. A chicken's feet are not kept in the cleanest places and getting hit with 3 inch spurs usually results in a medical emergency. If you have one of these post the phone number of the nearest hospital on the refrigerator.
Just sayin'
Ol' George
Oh Yeah, they go for the face.
--- In CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com, "Dorothy L" <odellover@...> wrote:
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> My 8 year old has really let the rooster have it with a broom, yet he takes it as a challenge and really goes after her now. I'll try tying his legs together when the kids are out. Hopefully that will get his attention. I do think there's something about a rooster laying claim to being the top roo that makes them more aggressive.
>
> --- In CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com, "MarkM" <markamonty@> wrote:
> >
> > The problem is that you are teaching the roo that if it's smaller than an adult, he's the boss and can do what he wants. You need to ask one of your toughest grandkids to do you a favor and teach this rooster his place before he gets worse. . . .
>
CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
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