I made the gals get out of the henhouse this morning..I had crunched snow and ice away from an area close to the pen so they could scratch and act like chickens again. They took off out of that pen and went straight for the yard..squalking and sliding.. was so funny..they are ditzy without their rooster..Had to kill him a couple of months ago..He tried to attack me when my back was turned..this time I had jeans on, the last time i jumped between him and my little grandson and he nailed me good..had shorts on and have a nice scar..Grabbed the first thing I could and it was a flower pot and I smacked him in the head..thought I had killed him but only knocked him unconcious..thought I would give him another chance and it was his last..got to rambling there for a minute..

-- Lynn (mscratch1@semo.net), December 16, 2000

Answers

I had a funny experience with a rooster too.....only thing sliding around on ice here is me! I had a black rooster that thought his 'stuff' didn't stink. He'd try to spur the kids and me too. One day I had had it! I went and got my double barrel (I know over kill but I was mad)..took aim and just as I was about to fire he charged me so I ended up shooting under him. Scarred him so bad he couldn't crow. He would try and nothing would come out...he'd put his head down and make this hillarious cluck cluck noise. Well I thought it might have broke him of his bad habits....it did till he got his voice back. I didn't miss the second time :o).

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), December 16, 2000.

That was so funny, Amanda!! I really dont have a violent bone in my body EXCEPT when I am attacked physically! (not that I think its right, its just reactive! :)))

I've been attacked by four roosters over the yrs, and all of em are history, but I usually just cowardly sent em to the auction or put an ad in the paper.....( I raise broilers so have freezers full of meat) Only took once... I have been very amused and amazed recently when reading posts on commercial poultry lists about how people "discipline" their roosters!! Its so funny!! They grab em by the neck, throw em on the ground, sometimes give em a "mean talk" real loud,and, according to them, it works! Some guys (even poultry kinda ones) need to know who's boss I guess. I guess I will try this someday if the occassion arises, but not sure if I would have the courage, unless they are attacking my kids or somesuch?

-- Earthmama (earthmama48@yahoo.com), December 16, 2000.

Did ya ever think about why folks are attacked by their poultry? You feed twice a day, and many hand feed treats. When you go out to feed, the birds don't see you, all they see is FOOD!! And then you have the audacity to go out there to do other things and don't have food with you! -LOL-

I presently have 7 roos with my hens. They all free range during the day and tuck themselves into their pens at dusk to roost. I then close the gates. (Predators, ya know.) I have never been attacked, even when I stoop down to collect eggs, which I do several times a day. Sometimes roos are in the pen when I do this, and I'm eye-to-eye with them as I stoop down. I believe they don't come after me due to my free feeding them ~ hoppers are always filled; and I don't hand feed treats. When I add feed to the hoppers, there's still some food in there. The birds who are in the pens at the time just watch, they don't act. Think about it ~ I think it makes sense, no?

-- ~Rogo (rogo2020@yahoo.com), December 16, 2000.

All our ice here in SE Oh. is long gone.Its sooo muddy here though! I'll need to put some straw and leaves in the chicken yard really soon for my rooster doesn't like to step in anything gooey.

Mean roosters : My guy is often threatened with becoming soup.I honestly don't think I could do it though.I did have to kick him once as he almost got me.Since then,I haven't entered the yard without a big stick in hand.If it gets to the point that I have to get rid of him,I'd probably give him away.He's quite a handsome fellow and so entertaining to watch(...just a bit overprotective of "his" ladies). Oh well...

Blessings,~~~Tracy~~~

-- Tracy Jo Neff (tntneff@ifriendly.com), December 16, 2000.

About 40 years ago before Hoot left home, hubby and I with our 2 yr. old son went down home to visit. Just about as soon as we got out of the car, one of the roosters made a bee-line for our son and knocked him down. Hoot said "I'm gonna kill that ole rooster". Pap told him not to because he didn't want Mom to have to clean it. Hoot pulled a handy Jimpson weed, threw at the rooster, hit him in the head and killed him deader 'n a hammer. P.S. Hoot got to clean the rooster. To this day, Allen and his younger brother and sister call my mom "Gramma Rooster". Truth!

-- ruth in s.e.Illinois (bobtravous@email.com), December 16, 2000.

I used to dunk mine in the water tough, three times. Once because I was mad, the second time for punishment, and third for good measure. If I couldn't catch him, I'd wait until night to do it. Other then the time he didn't reconize me in my yellow rain coat, he didn't attack me anymore. Husband refused to do below. Had to get rid of him.

Last year, we had an ice storm. I went to feed (on hills) legs went one way, hands the other - cat scrambling to get out of the way. Then bringing hay to the horse, hay went one way, legs the other. I was in work all morning pulling hay out of my hair, shirt, pants...

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), December 16, 2000.

Ooops, got rid of the rooster, not husband.

-- Dee (gdgtur@goes.com), December 16, 2000.

Rogo-makes sense. I haven't had chickens yet, but I find my horses are always easier to handle on a full belly. One day we ran out of hay, so the horses had to wait until noon to eat hay(they had their grain) and woohoo! I almost got run over and kicked when I brought it out and they started fighting eachother over who would eat from the first pile(I put 4 seperate piles out, one for each horse so they don't have to fight for it). I won't let that happen again!

-- Epona (crystalepona2000@yahoo.com), December 17, 2000.

When I was a youngun', we had a handsome Rhode Island red rooster that would chase brother and I BOTH around the pen, but left Dad alone. We couldn't convince Dad that the rooster was a menace...all Dad saw was the beautiful plumage and (to him) beautiful crowing (Dad is a morning person). "Til one day, Dad walked in the pen with a full waterer, and rooster attacked HIM. Slit a pair of heavy jeans, right thru' to the shin beneath. The cut had to be stitched, and the ole' family doc we used looked at it and declared that a cut like that didn't need any anesthetic--and stitched it without any!

The next day, we had rooster and noodles. Mom makes REALLY good noodles. And we had a much easier time, gathering eggs!

-- Leann Banta (thelionandlamb@hotmail.com), December 17, 2000.

We don't have chickens-yet.But I grew up on my Grandma's farm and she did. Us kids were all afraid of the mean ole rooster. We'd eyeball out the window to see where he was and when the coast was clear bolt out the back door to the outhouse. We thought we were so smart until he figured out what we were doing and waited for us behind the outhouse and attacked our toes under the door! The kid "on the pot" had no problem lifting feet but the poor kid who went with you to keep you company and give you courage during the dash was out of luck. Grandpa thought it was too funny to do anything to the old terrorizer!

-- Queen (queenbuffness@hotmail.com), December 20, 2000.

I don't think Rogo's reasoning is correct. We've always free-fed our poultry, whether free-range or confined with a constantly full feeder, and never hand fed treats, and we've still had some aggressive roosters. In the wild, those would probably be the most successful because they would be keeping their flocks safe from predators, even large ones. In the barnyard, the reverse is true, since we owners usually make chicken soup out of aggressive roosters!! It's kind of amazing that, with such small brains, they still have enough sense to wait until your back is turned before attacking -- what about painting eyes on the back of your hat!?!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), December 20, 2000.