My friend's daughter called me the other night in tears. My friend is gone to help her sister with a new baby and won't be back until this weekend. She told me that the rooster attacked her 3 year old brother and got him pretty good(or badly) in the head! I suggested making stew, but she said that her mom talked her dad into keeping the thing until she gets home. Why are some roosters mean and some not. I haven't had any trouble with mine. I'm the one that suggested to her to get a heavier breed, because they are more docile. Well, he made a liar out of me for sure. Has anyone ever calmed one down? I would have just eaten the thing if it were mine.What would ya'll do?

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), January 18, 2001

Answers

Oh Nan...what a problem..I also had a "docile" rooster until early summer last year when he started after my 3 year old grandson..fortunately I got between them and took a real good thrashing..have the scars on my legs to show for it.. I threw a flower pot at him to get him away and thought I had killed him but he was just unconcious..against my better judgement I kept him..went into the pen several weeks later to feed them and caught him just in time before he got me again!! That was it..sent my husband to get rid of him..didn't even bother to cook up that hateful bird..It just so happened that the last time he tried to attack me my Grandson was also there..standing outside of the pen watching me... have no idea if the rooster was just after the child personally or what..I do not think there is such a thing as a docile rooster..This one was a Rhode Island Red...the one before him also was a mean guy and he didn't stay around long either..could be territorial..I just don't know.

-- Lynn(MO) (mscratch@semo.net), January 18, 2001.

We've had two Rhode Island Red rooster that were mean. Mr. Redd and Mr. Buuud. I nearly broke Mr. Redd's back with a tobacco stick, and it didn't change his behavior, so he went to a new home. Mr. Buuud was in competition with Peeper-a Brahma? so he went to somebody canning jars. Peeper tried to show me who is the boss and found out I am. A couple buckets placed with force in the right spots settled his fanny down. He won't even come near me.

I heard that if you handle them too much when they're young they loose their fear of you and figure they can attack.

-- Cindy (SE IN.) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), January 18, 2001.

We also had a white rock-Mr. White- that was a very tame rooster.

-- Cindy (SE IN.) (atilrthehony_1@yahoo.com), January 18, 2001.

Our roosters, a bunch of heavy breed heinz 57s are very nice. We hatched them out with an incubator. My daughter and I carried them all over the place so I don't think that is it. We still carry ours around occasionally to feed them grasshoppers. Could it be that we have more than 1 and they just fuss with each other? She only has the 1 and it is meaner than snot apparently!!!!We also have more hens to keep them busy!! We do have a few hens that will peck you if you try to get their eggs, but if you reach in with your hand under your apron they can't see and don't complain much! The other night when it happened the dad chased the thing around the yard with a plastic baseball bat. It didn't seem to calm his ATTITUDE much!(the rooster's or the dad's) Maybe he needs a bigger bat?!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), January 18, 2001.

Every time I have had an "only rooster" they have been meaner than heck. I always keep two so they can fight with each other over who is going to guard the flock instead of me.

-- diane (gardiacaprines@yahoo.com), January 18, 2001.

We have 1 rooster, he's Auracana, and he has 25 ladies to keep him busy. We've never had any trouble from him and we've handled the chickens since they came in the mail. However, I have seen him get protective if someone new comes around. If he ever comes near any of us in an agressive way he will get swift kick that'll send him flying without the benefit of his wings. If that doesn't work, he can go to the stockyard auction where I can get up to $4 or $5 for him.

I think it depends on the bird and breed. Some of our hens are Red Stars and some are Auracanas. Then there are the six that neighbors gave us that are who knows what (Some feather legs, some top knots, one cochin). Some of the hens are skitish, some will "assume the postion" if you put your hand over them and will just stand there and allow themselves to be picked up. In the same way I think some roosters are friendlier than others.

-- Heather (heathergorden@hotmail.com), January 18, 2001.

We raised a Buff Orpington rooster we hoped would be docil. He chased the youngest children all over the place. Went in the freezer. Next time we raised a Silver Laced Wyandotte and a Light Brahma rooster. Wyandotte was mean as heck. The Light Brahma, however, would come between the child and the other rooster and chase meanie off if he was close by. I don't think we raised them any differently. One was naturally mean, the other naturally protective. You can guess which one we kept. We have a second rooster now who is offspring of the Lt Brahma, and half Barred Rock. He also has never attacked a child. (An attack rooster will sometimes learn his lesson with adults, but will always go after the children. Being a mother of younguns, I have no use for such a rooster. I vote for butchering him and trying another breed.

-- mary, texas (marylgarcia@aol.com), January 18, 2001.

One way around the problem is to just not keep roosters. I often just keep hens. When I do have roosters I am careful to keep their spurs trimmed. It never fails that when I forget to trim them they start getting aggressive. They know what an effective weapon spurs are. Sort of like a cow with horns is more aggressive than one without horns.

-- Amanda in Mo (aseley@townsqr.com), January 18, 2001.

We had a Rhode Island Red rooster who was very agressive, and after attacking my leg, I agressively turned him into a wonderful soup. In addition, we had several Barred Rock roosters, and I had to keep only one of them, so I picked the most gentle seeming one. He has been wonderful and never been a bit of a problem.

-- Katie (ktthegardener@yahoo.com), January 18, 2001.

Hey Nan, We usually keep one rooster. When i try to keep two they fight over my hens and then if you go near a hen the rooster's would attack.

I have only had one rooster wig out on me and i got rid of him. He had acted up a couple of times and i thought he was just letting me now he was tough. After i saw that my neice was bleeding he did not live another second. I have a beautiful rooster and he is very docile. I don't even really handle him that much, but he has no problem with me being with the hens.

I have found that if they are running around and the hens are straying the rooster will get upset and try to keep them together. They seem more agressive then. I grew up with chicken and they were my responsiblity. I have had chickens on my own for almost 9 years. I raise all kinds and have tried many tricks of the trade with them. I have never seen one calm down. Perhaps they will for awhile, out of fear or what have you, but one day when your back is turned they will get brave.

I would tell your friend that it is better to be safe than sorry and make some chicken soup.

-- Shau Marie (shau@centurytel.net), January 18, 2001.

I have had Mille Fleur roosters, a heinz 57 and now an Araucana. Not one of them has been mean. I had 3 Mille Fleur roosters all at once, the others have been the only rooster at the time. My friend has a Rhode Island Red and it is very mean. Goes after her son all the time. Who knows what gets into them. I think they are like people and each have their own personality.

-- Cindy P (jandcpalmer@sierratel.com), January 19, 2001.

Update on the rooster. I saw the little boy tonight. He was pretty scratched up. They said that they hadn't killed the rooster yet. Seems that they clipped his wings and put him in a pen. When my friend gets back I am going to try and share a few chicken and dumpling recipes with her! I wish they would just eat him or put him out of their misery! I love animals, but I would stew him so fast his head would spin! Literally! I am very thankful that you all understand! I can't see keeping a rooster that would have to be watched all the time. Mine must just be lovers, not fighters!

-- Nan (davidl41@ipa.net), January 19, 2001.

I've only had one rooster, a Turkey Necked. He came at me twice and each time I pretended he was a football. After he learned I was king of the roost, he stayed back.

I think, like dogs, they can sense fear in people and exploit it. On the turkey toms I have had, one would come up and rub against some people, yet he wouldn't let others get of the vehicle. He seem to actually enjoy tormenting them.

I agree with the others. Unless you can convince them you are cock of the walk or whatever, they make an excellent stew.

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), January 19, 2001.

We raise buff Orphingtons. We have had mean roosters and nice roosters from the same batch. I think that the mean ones dont have enough brains to remember that your the one who throws food at them.My 7 year old spends time with the chickens and can tell them apart, when we have a new group of chicks she lets me know which ones are nice and which are not. We have only one nice one now, the mean ones went to the stew pot. Get rid of the nasty thing, let him fertilize some eggs and raise another rooster.

-- Trendle Ellwood (trendlespin@msn.com), January 19, 2001.

My 8 year old was more traumatized by a rooster attack that did no damage, than by a dog bite to the face that cost him 20 stitches. I heard the child screaming from a half mile away, thought he was on fire or something!

-- Shannon at Grateful Acres Animal Sanctuary (gratacres@aol.com), January 19, 2001.

We've had good and bad roosters. The worst was named Max and, boy, he had a Baaaaaad Attitude. He attacked me once and I kicked him in the head - scared me 'cause he was bleeding through the beak...didn't change a d*** thing, tho - he survived until he attacked my son - then he rather quickly became a chicken stew...

But Max had the last laugh on the stew thing - I cooked that bird all day - and the meat was still tougher than an ol' boot! Now, every time we have a tough piece of chicken, we claim ol' Max is comin' back to haunt us! Still better than 3" spurs in the back of the leg, tho, any day :-).

-- Judi (ddecaro@snet.net), January 19, 2001.

My experience with roosters has been limited to about 4. Two would go after humans, one just attacked the more dominant rooster, and the last was very docile and the one who made time with all the hens while the others were fighting it out. Ultimately, the rooster that was retained was #4 (what a surprise!) who tended to produce equally docile offspring. Someone on another thread suggested screwing those blunt plastic electrical-wire caps onto the spurs of an aggressive rooster. They can buffet you with them, but not do damage. If for some reason you want to keep a particular rooster, you might try that.

-- Julie Froelich (firefly1@nnex.net), January 20, 2001.

About 20 years ago, we had a fighting cock. I still don't understand why people raise them to do this; seems so cruel. Anyway, he was the gentlest creature I've ever had. A couple of years ago we raised some roosters from babies. I've taken approximately 5 roosters to the feed store to trade for other things since they seemed to turn vicious. They tried to attack me & one of my grandchildren on several different occasions. I separated them & put them into small pens until my husband could kill them for supper. Well, he never could find the time (or maybe didn't want to although he claims this is why we're going to have certain animals, you know, so we don't have to eat, the Lord only knows, what the manufacturer decides to feed them). He even bought a special pot to cook them in - lol. I guess he's waiting until we move to a bigger place & get some cows & pigs & he builds a smokehouse & a "special" place to do his slaughtering. Sorry I went on so long.

-- Darlene Balli (DMBPegasus@aol.com), January 23, 2001.

Maybe your all not keeping enough roosters! We have always had about three....old king, new king, and the little guy that trys to get some hen when nobodys lookin......I never have had problems with my roosters, but then I've raised them all except the first one. My neighbor had a mental rooster that attacked him and he would grab his legs and swing him around in the air a few times and set him down dizzy. It didnt work long .....the rooster finally got his beak broke with a feed scoop and has never bothered anyone since. I think you gotta show them whos boss. This particular rooster was a childs school project and was dressed in doll clothes as a chick. When he got banned to the farm he had never seen another chicken. Between that and the yard light on all night I think he developed some serious identity problems.

-- Michelle (lucabanks@netscape.net), January 23, 2001.

WE raise chickens onour farm. There free ranging. One of the Rhode Islands attacked my leg and headed for my head. We killed him. Another attacked my neighbor and in the pot he went. We have 4 now and there fine. I think it's the breed. WE hatched Henny Penny and he's like our pet. He's a leghorn. The other are Arcancus and Rhode Island. WE had majoor problems with our Turkeys.The tasted great.

-- PRISCILLA (Mtasheacres@aol.com), January 25, 2001.