I think we broke our rooster.

[michiganmeg]

I'm a year into my first year as a chicken tender (ha ha!) and have learned a lot! The first thing I learned, about a year ago, is that the "pullet" bin at Tractor Supply may have quite a few non-pullets in it. Out of our first flock of 24 chickens, 6 turned out to be roosters. We culled a couple last summer, then one Bantam flew over the fence and never came back, so we were down to three: another scrappy little Bantam, a Brahma named Louise, and a Rhode Island Red named Ginger (Louise and Ginger were both named before we realized they went by another gender identity, lol.) They all did pretty well together last year, but this spring, as soon as the snow thawed, Ginger started being a total jerk. He came after me and my son, and attacked Louise on the regular. (Interestingly, Louise - who is HUGE - has more than once stepped in to defend my son when Ginger was trying to flog him, but never started a fight, and has never been aggressive with us.)
Anyway, once I started being afraid to walk through the yard because Ginger would pop out from under random bushes and come after me, we decided it was time he became soup. We figured he'd be relatively easy to catch because he's so bold and aggressive that he will walk right up to you, but he saw my husband coming with a blanket and, after a bit of a chase, high-tailed it to the woods. We thought he was gone for good, and later that day my husband and I had to leave town for a week, with my (adult) son in charge of the chickens. The next day, I got a text - Ginger was back! He'd just wandered back the next day and re-joined the flock as though nothing had happened. Later that day, my son saw Ginger and Louise get in a fight. And after that, Ginger's demeanor completely changed. Louise started kicking his butt all over town and Ginger got so spooked he spent his days hiding face-down in a bucket. Cocky Ginger! Hiding in a bucket! My son actually kept Ginger in a dog crate for a few days because he seemed so scared of Louise. Then yesterday, Ginger took off into the woods again! We got home late last night and figured maybe he was gone for good. Nope. This morning he turned up again, but it's like he's a completely different chicken. He stays away from the flock entirely and waits for them to go off together foraging before he runs into the chicken yard and eats from the feeders. Then he slinks away and stands around alone. Today I found him standing there by himself, just staring at a wall. There's no fight in him at all.

So my first question is - what on earth happened? Is switching places a thing roosters do? Louise always used to have a tiny bit of bluster around people and the hens, but he was definitely the beta rooster (I would say even the little bantam rooster was more alpha than him.) It's like Louise finally realized how big he is, snapped, and took over. Meanwhile the entire flock dynamics have shifted.

My second question is, should we still cull Ginger? I mean...he's really no problem now, but I feel kind of sorry for him, and I wonder if his presence will still make Louise act more aggressive than he has to (possibly eventually toward the hens or us.)

 

[Peanut]

Completely normal for roles to change. The hens do it also... there's always a 'pecking order'. Critters continually test each other, from horses down to bantams. Female critters aren't usually as aggressive as males but they test none the less. Roles change all the time.

Got a problem rooster? drop kick him across the yard, works for me. Show him you are dominate in a way he understands. Chickens aren't bright enough for subtleties, do it in an 'in your face' manner so they can't mistake who is boss. You're part of the pecking order too, claim your spot.

Get yourself a dip net from the local bait and tackle shop. Makes catching wayward chickens a breeze. I keep two in my pen.

 

[dademoss]

Completely normal for roles to change. The hens do it also... there's always a 'pecking order'. Critters continually test each other, from horses down to bantams. Female critters aren't usually as aggressive as males but they test none the less. Roles change all the time.

Got a problem rooster? drop kick him across the yard, works for me. Show him you are dominate in a way he understands. Chickens aren't bright enough for subtleties, do it in an 'in your face' manner so they can't mistake who is boss. You're part of the pecking order too, claim your spot.

Get yourself a dip net from the local bait and tackle shop. Makes catching wayward chickens a breeze. I keep two in my pen.

Been there a time or two, it identified as the top of the heap, and so did I. I won. couple of drop kicks, then a .22 short.

 

[backlash]

Critters continually test each other, from horses down to bantams.

Don't leave out children.
It was interesting to watch my wife and son. He was constantly testing her trying to move up in the pecking order.
I likened it to a young wolf trying to be dominate.
My wife kept him in his place until he joined the Air Force.
At his boot camp graduation he walked up to the car and opened the back door and his Mom got in.
After we were all settled in I looked back at my wife and said 'the training is complete".
He laughed and she slapped the back of his head.
Classic moment they both still remember.

 

[Peanut]

Most livestock are the same in that respect. Doesn't matter if you walk into a pen or pasture, you're now part of the flock or herd. If you're gonna be boss you have to claim it. And you will still be tested from time to time. Makes things easier if you recognize when you're being tested... and be ready to deal with it in that instant. Not later... it's easier to keep your status than lose it and have to fight to take it back. It causes less confusion for the rest of the flock or herd.

 

[Peanut]

This thread reminds me of these two guys. A raccoon managed to kill all my hens one summer. More than a dozen before I managed to catch it with a steel trap. (long story)

All I had left was these two roosters. The smaller white one was dominate when they first came of age. It took the bigger RR a while to realize he grew bigger. Of course he kicked whitey’s butt one day. Now he was the boss of the yard.

Once the white one got dethroned he got very aggressive with everything moving. Including me, made him decide that wasn't a good idea very quickly. I never back up from one. Any sign of aggression and I move right at them until I'm stalking them around the pen. Make them run!

I've tried soft approaches that work with bigger livestock. But a rooster isn't very bright, he doesn't want to be friends. He just wants to kick your.... Only one thought at a time.

Anyway, when these guys lost all the hens… It was funny! They had nothing else to do so they’d strut around all day trying to impress each other. Sort of sad too so I bought a few hens from a neighbor.

 

[The Lazy L]

I had a rooster that was overly protective of his flock, thought I was a threat. Punted him with the side of my foot to the other end of enclosed run. Youngest had to punt him too the next day. After that mister rooster left the humans alone.

 

[Curmudgeon]

I had a rooster that was overly protective of his flock, thought I was a threat. Punted him with the side of my foot to the other end of enclosed run. Youngest had to punt him too the next day. After that mister rooster left the humans alone.

They seem to learn, albeit the hard way lol. My FIL asked me to tend the chickens while he was on vacation and warned me about the rooster. He always kept an old rake handle next to the door going into the pen. I go to feed them one day and that rooster decided he was going to get me from behind and attempt to spur me, without really aiming, I swung that rake handle hard enough you could hear the loud whoosh of it cutting the air and whop, I caught him right up side of his head. He fell to the ground flopping all over, I thought I killed him lol. After that he would go to the far back corner of the pen when he saw one of us coming in, he never attempted to go after anyone again.

 

[Magus]

When you get up from the table, you lose your place. the minute the rowdy rooster bailed, he was no longer part of the flock. I've seen it happen with dogs too.

 

[backlash]

I worked with a guy that raised ostriches. He said they were very aggressive.
He put a long handle on a rake and used that to push the ostriches away.
He sold them for meat and also sold the eggs.
That guy would fit right in here. Maybe I'll try to contact him.
He got tired of the crap at work, sold everything and moved from the Seattle area to Maine.

 

[Peanut]

Oops! I lied by mistake, memory slipping. The next spring after losing a dozen hens I got a dozen ISA Browns from tractor supply. Here they are with the boys… below.

I posted this because… I have a large pile of old cinder blocks. I stack them end to end on the inside and outside of the perimeter fence. They are great protection from raccoons or digging critters like a fox, too heavy to move. Chicken fence wire tends to rot/rust at the bottom where it touches the ground. Holes appear there, the blocks are just another level of protection.

Question, owls? Afraid your Ginger isn’t going to last long in the woods. Between, fox, owls, raccoons and coyotes a chicken out of the pen doesn’t have a chance. Roosting in a tree doesn’t protect them from owls or raccoons either.

I trim wings to keep chickens from flying out of the pen. I usually trim the flight feathers from one wing. Then chickens can only fly in a little circle, funny to watch.

Sometimes I trim both wings but trim them differently. Again, same effect, the chicken can’t fly in a straight line. Makes it much harder for them to fly over a fence, almost impossible.

Here are pics of me trimming flight feathers with scissors. It doesn’t hurt them and keeps them grounded.

 

[viking]

One rooster we had a few years ago was really aggressive, one time he nailed me in the back of my ankle so I started carrying a walking stick, one time I knocked him out cold, I thought I had killed him but he revived and still hadn't learned his lesson, I swapped him to friends that had given the rooster to us, for some reason they got along, by the way the roosters name was sh!thead. Those friends once bought use a. bunch of chickens from Tractor Supply that turned out to be mostly roosters, however as a mothers day gift to my wife they bought use Barred Rocks that were all hens, they also got some Road Island Reds for themselves and one was a rooster, we told them to just leave their chickens on our land and in our coop and we just split the eggs between us, their rooster has a bit of an attitude, hasn't come after me but looks like he could, I stay prepared.

 

[Bacpacker]

Shut head the rooster....I LOVE IT