Uneducated rooster owner

[lindalouly]

I got 9 birds from a local farm store of what were presexed hens... Knowing that this is not always accurate we now have a 12 week old rooster Delaware breed.. He hasn't been super aggressive as of yet and is the low man in the pecking order but he is getting big and pecked me so hard he pulled skin... The minute I found out he was a boy I found a good farm home for him but my 6 year old broke down and my husband thought I would be able to tame him like I do my dogs who are beyond awesome pits.... Any advice would be good even if you think he needs to be rehomed

 

[torilovessmiles]

Chickens are different from dogs. Sometimes, you can assert your dominance over them and be the "lead rooster" and they won't peck you, but only works with those who he views as above him. If he turns out to have an aggressive personality, your child could get hurt badly. Roosters have strong necks for pecking, and strong legs for using those sharp spurs.
I get pecked by my rooster sometimes. He only does it when someone picks up one of his hens and they make the "something is going to hurt me!" alarm. I can deal with this, considering he has saved my hens from certain death a couple of times. However, if he started attacking for simply walking into the coop, that's a different story. I also do not have children, so that makes a difference too!
If you want to keep this rooster, go ahead and try, just make sure your child knows not to get near it for a while, especially without you there. They can be aggressive and mellow out at a year old, or they can be mellow and turn aggressive at a year old. You never know!
There really isn't a "right" choice in this situation, just what works best for you and your family
Good luck!

 

[jen2314]

Good luck with trying to train them like dogs but I'm sure someone has along the way. You just have to have lots of patience!!

 

[lindalouly]

So the choice is learning as I go with a rooster keeping my fingers crossed or deal with my boys being heart broken over giving him away.... Better make this choice before the roo gets to big and doesn't come near me....

 

[CherriesBrood]

They recently had a great page on how to train a rooster, or if a rooster is right for you, let me see if I can find it for you real quick. I'm sure you would enjoy it and find what you are looking for.

 

[Toddrick]

If he pecks you again, grab him. If you can't get him by the feet, grab his tail. If you can't catch him at all, chase him hard for several minutes. My cockerel never pecked me again after that, and no longer considers attacking humans. If he is allowed to continue attacking people then you'll never be able to change him, but maybe if you nip the behavior in the bud it will cease. Better he be afraid of people than aggressive toward them.

My theory is if you can stop them while they are still at the pecking age, it may never come to a flogging. Once they flog a person though, I doubt there is any hope of eliminating that behavior (although you can minimize it by holding them).

 

[torilovessmiles]

So the choice is learning as I go with a rooster keeping my fingers crossed or deal with my boys being heart broken over giving him away.... Better make this choice before the roo gets to big and doesn't come near me....

I'm not a parent, but it must be horrible to watch your child be sad over losing a pet. If it turns out you can't keep the rooster, maybe he'll accept a cute new pullet as a replacement? Or maybe an older rooster that is confirmed to be friendly? There are plenty of options

 

[Egghead_Jr]

Handle him more to condition him. Pick him up and inspect him, hold him like a football until he settles down. Eventually you have to check the cockerels and cock birds for lice, mites and any other inspection so might as well condition him now. He'll not confuse that with you being top rooster, should not think that as your not dominating him like a bird. If all goes well he'll mellow with humans being around.

Then there are the cockerels that mellow but still don't quite get it, will charge certain people but be fine around his keepers. They can be tolerated if penned and children don't have contact. Then there are aggressive birds that stay that way and they are the most tasty. Somehow the meat gains flavor when there's no remorse in butchering.

 

[torilovessmiles]

If he pecks you again, grab him. If you can't get him by the feet, grab his tail. If you can't catch him at all, chase him hard for several minutes. My cockerel never pecked me again after that, and no longer considers attacking humans. If he is allowed to continue attacking people then you'll never be able to change him, but maybe if you nip the behavior in the bud it will cease. Better he be afraid of people than aggressive toward them.

The problem is with children. He may be afraid of the adults that chase him, but maybe not a small, young child whose eyes are at the perfect pecking/spurring height... Training is possible but may not always be worth the risk when children are involved

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

My advice is the opposite, I would not tame him, I would start chasing him away, there are some roosters that can be handled and be fine, but most need to be treated like another dominant rooster would treat them and that means he keeps his distance, I chase mine so he's away from the hens a bit and I follow up with my plastic coffee can flying his way, eventually he sees me and gives me distance, that's when I usually stop, if I see him trying to mate in my presence, I chase him off the hen, usually when they are past that first breeding season they will calm down. I'm sure some will disagree with me, but it works for me, it started one day when a young rooster started harassing my young hens which annoys me so I went after him to protect my girls, and one day I noticed that's how the older roosters handled the young roosters. You can carry them and pet them but in my experience this only makes you an equal, which means your competition. I've got 11 roosters and they all leave me alone.