How do you gentle down a mean rooster?
Image by Marji Beach
Morris and his sister Marjorie were abandoned by people raising them for a State Fair FFA project. The turkeys were being raised to be shown and then sent to slaughter. Instead, they were let loose in the wilderness, along with three other turkeys. The other three were killed by predators or starved to death. These lucky two, though, will get to live out their lives in safety!
Question by littledel: How do you gentle down a mean rooster?
We have a very beautiful, buff polish rooster and a pair of hens with him. The hens are very gentle, and we have never been mean or rough with these birds, but the rooster has gotten very mean lately and will run up and flog anyone that gets near. They are in a large pen with a few other hens, turkeys and ducks, but no other roosters. My kids are now afraid of him.
Can you help? Leave your own answer in the comments!
10 Responses to How do you gentle down a mean rooster?
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Two words,to cure the problem rooster,..Campbell’s Soup !
Disciple
November 16, 2012 at 10:57 pm
Kill it, and get another rooster.
Mike E
November 16, 2012 at 11:02 pm
u cant really his begin Territorial so best leave him alone till he calms down then slowly introduce urselfs to him by feeding him bits and pieces as long as he doesn’t feel threaten then it should be find, good luck
angie c
November 16, 2012 at 11:49 pm
he will cont …. trust me i had one like him… see if you can sell him and look for a different Rooster,or he could end up in stew pot…
melanie j
November 17, 2012 at 12:28 am
my grandparents had a rooster that did the same thing. now that he is cock of the walk with his pick of the ladies, he has a lot to crow about.
the territorial behavior is typical for a rooster in their prime and he is simply making sure that everyone knows he is the stud for the hens.
my Grandmother used to say that separating them completely from each other would take some of that behavior away. it won’t remove it all because he has no competition in the arena to humble him in front of his harem.
and if all else fails, gentle him down with hot biscuits and gravy!
stonechic
November 17, 2012 at 12:30 am
Roosters cant be tamed down. I would keep the kids away from him. I grew up on a farm with chickens my whole life. All the roosters we had were mean. Even the ones that we hand fed. That is just their nature.
amanda L
November 17, 2012 at 12:35 am
Answer : It’s high time you get a new one
DivineBitch
November 17, 2012 at 12:45 am
Do they make avian Prozac????
Scott S
November 17, 2012 at 1:14 am
Let me first dispel the myth a mean rooster cannot be calmed down.What you have is a dominate rooster.A rooster will only remain dominate till another rooster takes his thrown.A rooster ESPECIALLY one that is 1 to 2 years old will make attempts at proving himself against most everything he comes in contact with.When you go in the pen he is showing you he is the dominate rooster what you have to do is prove to him otherwise.Strange as this may sound yes you have to literally kick his butt.This is common in many species of birds.Tom turkeys,pheasant roosters, gander geese even some breeds of ducks.Most times simply chasing the rooster around the pen then catching and pinning him to the ground will cure this problem.Sometimes you need to be a little more drastic by holding him by his wattles then dragging him around a little.Roosters do not recognize a calm voice nor commands they only understand the pecking order and right now in his eyes you and the kids are not high on his.He sees you as a potential rival the kids he sees as an easy target because they will flee.Chickens are highly social birds and have a strict pecking order.Less you and the kids prove to him you are the top birds you will continue to have this problem.So will anyone entering your pen.I have raised and contended with several roosters with this same personality.I have on several occasions obtained roosters and tom turkeys which people no longer wanted because they feared them.Rather then entering the pen defensively you need to enter the pen offensively take the fight to the rooster before he has the chance to bring it to you.For lack of a better term man handle the rooster.Have your kids do this.It isn’t mean it is basically talking chicken and he will understand.I have raised chickens for many years.I currently have 12 roosters in my flock.10 of which are year and a half old birds.Nearly every one of them at one point or another made an attempt to show it was boss over me and the family,as well as a few friends.None of my roosters have any desire to make an attempt to spar with people.
ddstantlerstill
November 17, 2012 at 2:02 am
Roosters CAN be calmed down.
Basically, you have to make sure that he sees you as boss. Carry him around, don’t let him get away. Cuddle him as you watch TV, carry him around as you do chores. Quickly dunk him in a bucket of water (but keep his head above the water), basically anything that shows that you have power over him.
You can also remove his spurs to stop him doing any real damage.
http://groups.msn.com/CHICKENCHRONICLES/spurremoval.msnw
Helena
November 17, 2012 at 2:44 am