AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

My coranation rooster has had a lump on its face between it eye & beak since I bought him up from Vic. He has been to the vet & cost me another $100 to have the lump return, he is eating & seems well in himself. Each day he gets antibiotic tablets & today the little #*>* has decided he should be able to attack me, not just once but 3 times, he's obviously feeling a bit better. Whats the best way to deal with Mr. Attitude??? other than an axe of course lou

l think you should put him in a cage by himself

Hi Lou, Pick him up, they rely on being dominant and when held it usually brakes them. If he goes to charge you pick him up and told him for a couple of minutes. Keep doing this and he should stop.



Thanks
P.A

Well have tried both of your suggestions but he is worse than before. Each day he is getting more aggressive, yesterday he came running up to me looked at me with that look, waited till I got past him them ripped bown the back of my legs with his thankfully blunt spurs, my instant response was to turn around & kick him which turned it into a full on frontal attack. When I pick him up then put him down he now goes for my the instant he hits the ground. I'm not scared of him & wonder if he is just starting to show his true colours, which aren't pretty or the problem he had with his eye has caused him some damage. I asked my partner last night if he would like a chicken curry

get a super soaker and squirt him when he gives you the eye
Not the piddley little water pistol it as to be a powerful full squirt in the face.

i used to hav some mean roosters one of them made my sister bleed. they free ranged and i was that scared of them i wouldnt leave the house without a rake or somthing

Many years ago I had a bantam rooster that was fine with everyone excpet my grandmother. The old lady would take every opportunity to hit him with a rake or hose, and it just riled him up. I always laughed because it was clearly her own fault. Eventually, though, he started to get too big for his boots. The day he jumped vertically off the ground and raked his spurs down each side of my face (I was 10), narrowly missing my eyes, was the day he went to a chicken farm down the road to play with their girls. A sad day, and I miss him still.

I found an interesting article on controlling rooster behaviour:

http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html

One quote in particular that I liked:

All this brings us to how we keep our roosters in line. There's two ways. The first way is to develop a deep and sincere love for soup. I love soup. Chicken Noodle, Chicken Vegetable, Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken and Rice, doesn't matter. I love it all. The second way is to be the Alpha Male of your flock.

Interesting that this person advocates lots of handling of roosters - and the occasional swat to remind them of who's boss - to keep them quiet. Has anyone tried it this way?

Good article, I enjoyed reading it. I had a rooster given to me over 12 months ago. He was so nasty. He must have been a few years old. He and I had a number of confrontations. But the person I felt most sorry for was my husband who is not an animal or bird person. This rooster would see him coming and he would chase my poor other half all around the paddock. Needless to say we said our goodbyes to Rodney the rooster.

The sussex rooster I now have is a real sweetie. He does the deed but is always well behaved. Brutus, the pekin rooster on the other hand will challenge me often regardless. He does not attack but challenges. I have begun to do what someone in the forum suggested and everytime he challenges me I swoop down and pick him up and hold him for awhile. This appears to be working as when I put him down he acts all demure and goes off and just scratches clucking to his hens and his challenges are coming less often.

I know that in breeding I will need to replace my sussex rooster Larry, down the track but I have to admit I am nervous about that after my experience with Rodney the rooster. Some of the pointers in this article will certainly help provided I get him young and he does not establish bad habits.

Hi Lou
I have dealt with the most calm - laid back roosters over the years [obviously my favourites!] and the meanest most EVIL b%$#@*&@ds on the planet.
Without warning one decided he was going to start tearing at us and nearly took my son's eye out - it clawed right across the centre of the eye - he is now partially blind in that eye. This 'thing' got my eye while I was trying to get him off my son - I required stitches to keep it in its socket. [imagine my trying to save my son - hold my eye in its socket AND get this evil &*%^$#^*()%&#^@)*&%$ away from us both to escape] I can laugh abt it now of course!!
This evil s&%t got worse over a period of a week or so - he only ever went for the eyes - he could propell himself to great heights and with great force. Nothing we did slowed him down. Obviously, regardless of the rarity of the breed/colour of this 'bloke' we ate him a few nights later. He is the only one we were never able to get out of that attack mode/stage. My son -against my advise used to carry this creature around like a puppy until the day it attacked him as he was walking into the pen!!
You have to remember that their main role is to mate with the hens and to guard the flock - once one gets it into its head that you are a larger rooster and part of the flock you are in for a few weeks of 'fun' taming him back down - if you ever can that is. [Have you noticed if he repsonds aggressivley to certain colours? = I had one that hated Blue so each time any of us wore Blue outside we had him rush at us ready to attack - I think he thought we were bigger Blue roosters he had to try and dominate]
I work on the theory that they NEVER forget and are really just only waiting for the chance to fight you again - and I am always on the alert around all our 'boys'. Evolution and instinct is an amazing thing!
Remember never to kick at him to push him away/off - as they fight by 'kicking' and see that as an open invitation to go full bore at you thinking you have started the fight - get hot blooded - and just dont want to stop until either they have done you serious damage or you effectively hit them away long enough to get out of the pen they are in. There are reports of roosters over seas doing such serious harm to their owners that these poor pplz had to spend substantial time in hospital.

Happyhenz is right - one of those big supersoakers can work wonders. Chillie seeds and pepper ground fine in the water works even better - they really dont like THAT.
You can try coming in quickly from on top of him as soon as he gives you the eye - push lightly but firmly down on his back until his chest is on the ground then carefully get a firm hold and pick him up - bring your arm up from in front of him under his chest and between his legs and use that hand to hold his feet/legs still the other hand still on his back to hold him firm - initially hold him with his head to the back so he cant peck at you - support his body with your arm. If you need to - smack at him from on top - just firmly enough so he feels it and use the word "BAD!!!" in a loud growling type voice [the word bad has a tone to it that they dont like when growled at them] - this way he will hopefully come to see you as dominant over him and in time all you would need to do is use the "BAD!!!" growl and he will back away. My former neighbours thought I was crazy - growling 'bad' at my birds on occassion and telling them they were bad
I have found that handling a rooster too often or treating it like a pet tends to make them less wary of humans and they can start to see you as part of the flock - eg - in need of dominating. A little fear on the roosters part is a good thing - "elfael" quoted it right = Be the Alpha Male - keep them cautious of you - handle them when you need to being concious of the feet and the beak and other wise just enjoy thier beauty

I hope you suceed in taming this boy back down - Hopefully others will post here with what has been successful for them.
Do let us know how you go

Good Article, worth a read.

Thanks
P.A