I'm sure many of my readers can relate-- if not recently in their lives, then perhaps earlier in their childhood they can remember some rooster stories to make us all laugh. Of course, at the time, I'm sure it was no laughing matter!
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| Our buff orpington rooster, Foghorn, in his younger days. RIP. |
Roosters seem more than happy to perpetuate the myths of their terror-stalking ways.
One thing I've learned is that they ARE territorial. And if you don't remind them who is the boss, they will happily take that role over for you and be the boss of everything around them, including YOU.
That was the mistake I made. I let our roosters strike fear into me, and I avoided them.
HUGE MISTAKE.
Here's the best explanation I found on the internet and I hope it helps others realize the best way to make your rooster see things YOUR way.
Go ahead, click on over and read this. It's very interesting, full of good information, and it's a short read too. What more could you want?
So what do you think after reading the above page? Is this new information for you, or did you already know this? It makes good sense, doesn't it?
I already knew that it's a good thing to handle chicks (and guinea keets) as much as possible the first 2 weeks after hatching, if you want them to be tame. In our case, this is extremely difficult - we both work and we're gone enough that it's hard to be consistent in this endeavor.
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| Sally with her young chicks in May 2013 (2 months old) |
In addition to our time crunch, our buff orpington Sally was diligent in watching over her chicks 6 months ago. She made absolutely sure that we did NOT touch them in any way!
But I do believe even though we missed this crucial first step, we can still catch up for lost time by consistently reminding our rooster -- with a broom, a boot, or a spray of water from the hose -- that WE are the dominant alpha entities at this house!! The back porch is now off limits to him, and we boot him off every time we see him perched there. (So far it seems to be working!)
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| Roo-boy, crowing his supremacy... um, no. We'll be taking back our living area starting TODAY. |
So I don't blame our rooster - he's just being a rooster, after all. He wants to be King of the flock and everything else around him. It's in his DNA. He can't help it.
We'll commute his death sentence for now, and give him another week or two of grace, and see if he accepts our alpha-ness. He's young; he still has the potential to learn a new game.
I hope he's smart and decides to play along, and play nice. After all, he IS a pretty boy. It's hard to see in the photos, but he's beginning to grow some green feathers in his tail -- gorgeous!
If he doesn't want to be nice, well, there's always chicken and noodles. A 7-month old rooster would do nicely.
Is this gorgeous roo boy still among us? Or is he stew? I am a rooster whisperer :) Our 3 yr old boys (two of them) occasionally still get a talking to, a quick gentle holding upside-down (it doesn't last long and I keep it nice!), or I cuddle them and embarrass them in front of their girls. Seriously, everyone thinks I'm nuts! But it has kept my roosters (and myself) sane :) Didn't get a chance to check out the link, but this has been 'my way' from day 1. I loooove my roo-boys and the girls too of course ♥ The boys serve their purpose and protect the girls also. -Tammy p.s. I do confess I get a teensy scare when one of my "precious" boys decide to drop a wing and dance.. lol.. it happens just once in a great while though! Then, it's like they stop and remember..... :)
ReplyDeleteI read the link...and I have had people ask me why my rooster doesn't attack me. Well around the end of that "reading" it mentioned something about a boot...one swift quick boot in the bum takes care of who is "boss". It seems cruel but it works every time. I also talk to my chickens all the time, they know who feeds them and when someone else is taking care of them they know. Chickens are funny creatures but I sure do love my chickens!
ReplyDeleteLove the new look of your website! I must have been gone for a little bit because I didn't even realize it had been remade! I can't say I know anything about chickens or roosters, but I'm sure I'll learn eventually (my parents dream is to own a farmlette where we can raise our own animals). That little boy IS quite the gorgeous creature but looks only takes you so far in life. LOL
ReplyDeleteJust ask any male with an attitude ;)
Hi there,
ReplyDeleteI have four roosters; two live together, one lives with the bantam hens and "Big Rooster" is king of the flock.
What I have found is that if the roosters are handled frequently, even as adults, they are much better behaved. Once I stopped handling them, they went right back to be quite nasty birds. The two that live together get very little attention from me other than feed and water duty and will challenge me very quickly. BUT...if I make a point of picking them up and holding them like a football very close to me and talk to them, they seem to remember that I'm not a bad person after all.
The bantam rooster, Woodstock, doesn't get handled very often but remains a sweet little guy. "Big Rooster" is enormous and has almost died three times from various things and he has pulled through each time. Because he's old and can't get up on his perch at night by himself, I have to pick him up and place him there. I talk to him and pet him. He has never tried to challenge me.
Yes, they are territorial. But even my nastiest rooster will tame back down if I pick him up and hold him tightly so he can't do anything but submit, he loses most of his attitude. :)
This was a very interesting post about roosters behavior. You always learn something new and we will look out for new posts fro you in the future. Thanks for the great post that you shared. Have a wonderful upcoming weekend.
ReplyDeleteWorld of Animals