Rooster behavior modification

[baymule]

I like this post! While I had chickens for years, it was in town, so no rooster. I was happy to not have a rooster until last year when one of my EE chicks turned out to be a rooster. I left the EE hens with him, got an incubator and now have two batches of "teenaged" chicks growing off. But I HATE that rooster and he HATES me! I will put him in the stew pot and try this on the next rooster that I decide to keep. My EE roo is mean, has got me several times and I go in with a 4' tree branch to whallop him with. He fears that club and I make him MOVE!

 

[Beekissed]

I like this post! While I had chickens for years, it was in town, so no rooster. I was happy to not have a rooster until last year when one of my EE chicks turned out to be a rooster. I left the EE hens with him, got an incubator and now have two batches of "teenaged" chicks growing off. But I HATE that rooster and he HATES me! I will put him in the stew pot and try this on the next rooster that I decide to keep. My EE roo is mean, has got me several times and I go in with a 4' tree branch to whallop him with. He fears that club and I make him MOVE!

I'd practice on this one for a bit before you get a new one, Bay. Sounds like he doesn't fear that club much if he's still attacking you, so maybe go on the offensive for awhile and set aside training sessions when neither of you are fresh from the battle?

Could also be the breed....some breeds are just smarter than others, less volatile and easier to train maybe.

If you've got young males in this batch of chicks, it's never too soon to start training them too. Don't want to leave it too late and end up in the same situation.

 

[frustratedearthmother]

I probably have a dozen roosters out there....and there's not a bad one in the bunch. In fact, I haven't had a bad rooster for a dozen years or so... Maybe it's just the breeds, or maybe I just raise 'em right, lol. Or maybe they keep each other in line...who knows?

I may change my name to the Rooster Whiperer!!

 

[NH Homesteader]

I do think a lot of it is breed. I also wonder if they're too worried about each other to fight with you when you have that many! We've never had more than one mature roo at a time. Our Dominique has his days... But Dominique roos are known to be a fairly tough bird to deal with. He is great to his hens though, which matters more to me than anything else. He's been better lately also, between my rooster chasing dog, the garden hose, and a stick I always carry.