They have a pill you can give him. It's about .22 inches in diameter.

Well, I think you're giving your rooster human qualities that aren't really at play. He's not embarrassed.

The issue is that he needs to respect your authority in the flock. Hitting him is probably not very effective -- maybe it gets your frustrations out, but it's a human attribute. Controlling the resources in the area would be better. Restrict his access to the hens, the food, whatever the good things are so that he understands that he only gets to have those things when you say so. That's what a flock does to the birds lowest on the pecking order -- they get the last approach to the food, last approach to mating, last chance out the door in the morning or in the door at night.

Use your net if you must (I worry about his toes getting tangled in it) or a broomstick or a long piece of pvc to "herd" him away from the good things and keep him at bay until you decide he can have access. Stand between him and whatever he wants. No need for violence, just be the stronger of the two. Pick him up and hold him when the others get fresh food. Don't put him down if he's struggling, wait until he's calm and then reward the calm behavior by putting him down. You are in control.

If after a couple of weeks of you consistently exerting your superiority in the flock he still insists on challenging you, then maybe it is time for him to be removed from the flock entirely. A mean rooster can be truly dangerous.

That's my two bits.

Johanna

We had 5 roosters at one time and only 1 didn't attack. Nothing worked so we took them all to a man who wanted roosters. If you can't do that maybe you could put him in a pen and put in hens when you want chicks. A portable pen would really be nice because you won't have to get in with him to clean all you do is move it to a new spot. If that isn't an option just shoot him. I would not advise eating a rooster! We ate a troublsome one and it was so terrible, he was so tough it was like eating leather.

50% of all chickens which are eaten are "roosters". The quality of the meat depends on age, conditon, management, preparation and other factors, but not sex.

Yep, the 50% of roosters that are eaten are less than 8 weeks old and not even sexually mature yet! We raised meat birds and the roosters get to their 4#-6# weight in only 6 weeks as opposed to meat hens which take about 8 weeks. That means 2 weeks more feed to buy to get the same result.

We aren't talking about immature meat birds here, obviously. And yes, grown roosters over a year old are not nearly as tasty as hens of the same age. Roosters are very muscular and tend to be tough and stringy with very little usable meat. Good for dog food though.

Reverting to the original posting, there have been several people with questions about aggressive roosters in the past few months. If Roberta searches the forum for the other threads, she might get some more advice. Also, even though she hasn't posted much lately, Velvet Sparrow has a very useful site about chickens and roosters, including a good plan to tame an aggressive rooster. Roberta, I hope that you are able to teach your roo to respect you. Just be sure, as Johanna said, not to attribute the human feelings you would have in a given situation to the feelings the rooster has - he's a bird and you are human. And if you can't manage to tame him, don't feel too badly about it, he is/was being a rooster, but if he couldn't modify his hard-wired reactions to live in peace with people, you probably didn't really want to perpetuate his genes anyway.

I really want to stress that when I said I "hit" him, I sure didn't hurt him. I wouldn't do that intentionally. His male flock mates do a whole lot more damage when trying to get up in the pecking order! However, if his little toes get caught in the net ---- that is his problem. I have a puncture wound on my leg that I didn't appreciate either.

So far he and a couple of other questionable roosters are still with us, but they don't get too many other chances.

Once the grandkids start visiting in the spring, I am done trying to tame any of them! It seems a smack or being caught in a net is probably better than being in a soup pot -- but what do I know. I'm not a chicken.

We have an aggressive rooster. Our rooster is aggressive because he is jealous since I take some of his hens to work in my garden. I have kicked him, but he only settles down for about a week. Roosters fight until they win or until you win, and if you win, they stay away from you until they decide that it is time to fight again. Yesterday, our rooster, "Arthur", a Blue Andalusian, attacked me from behind, and left me with a bloody leg and two puncture wounds. I have already shot about 5 of our roosters (they just keep coming!) and this one is next, unless I can find a long-term solution. I'm ordering 25 more chickens (one Barred Rocks rooster), and I am going to be sure to tame the roo.

I am surprised to see these posts. As for taming roosters, I've had the best luck by using the same techniques used to tame any other animal: Spend a lot time with them starting when they are very young. Hand feed them special treats. Be VERY consistent in your management of the coop, their food, their water, egg collection. Be VERY consistent in all of your behavior around them. Avoid sudden movement and unnecessary noise. Be mindful of how your actions could be perceived as threatening to them.

Roosters and other animals become aggressive towards people because they fear you pose a threat in some way. The idea is to gain their trust. The more predictable your behavior is, the less suspicious they will be. The more you are linked with delivery of favorite food, the more they will trust you. Also, avoid picking up the hens when a rooster is present, because this may be perceived as threatening.

Hitting them, or showing any other kind of aggressiveness towards roosters tells them you want to do battle them. You might be able to convince them that you are higher on the pecking order, but that won't necessarily stop them from trying to "oust" you (to fight you) at some future date.

Rather than telling them you want to be the top rooster, tell them instead that you are NOT a chicken. Tell them instead, with your behavior, that you are harmless and that you are a provider of food. Try to ignore their attacks, and they will often stop trying to fight.

The biggest problem is with kids, who are prone to sudden movements and unpredictable behavior. We had a rooster who was perfectly tame with people until one day when my son's 9 year old friend ran into the coop, chasing and grabbing at the hens. The rooster was terrified, squawking and crowing, and the very next day, the he began attacking children.. He has calmed down a lot, but remains suspicious of kids.

Having said all that, I think there are some highly aggressive roosters that simply cannot be satisfactorily tamed. Eat them. Don't breed them. Breed the gentlest ones, if you want their offspring to be gentle.

I had an aggressive rooster about 5 years ago....Whenever he attacked me, I would catch him and carry him around upside down by his feet for about 15 minutes. Finally one day a fox took care of him.

I have about 40 Phoenix rosters in one large pen with 75 hens. They all grew up together. There were about 5 problem rosters that would fight each others and come at me if I picked up a hen or if a hen would fly onto my shoulder when feeding and watering or cleaning there pen.

I have these plastic coated tin plant stakes that are about 6' long and when a Roo was aggressive toward another Roo or come at me they received a tap on their tail. It didn't take long to train them as to what behavior was expected.

I've used this method to train all my chickens and ducks. When they are let out to range in the yard for goodies and went pot pf their area the received a tap on the tail. It doesn't take long before they knew were they were permitted. Also use it to guide them back into their pens, again if one lagged behind they received an tap on the tail. Now all I have to do is lift the green stick and they will go into their respective pens-well except the old white Phoenix hen (11 years old). She was 7 years old when I bought her and she is set in her ways and will follow the flock at her own pace.

This is an old method that the Oriental countries have use to train their poultry and if started at about 10-12 week old it is very effective. Mind you, you are not hitting the body of the bird only tapping the tail feathers.

Kill him before he goes after your grandkids. YOU might be able to make him respect YOU but that doesn't mean he'll respect someone half your size.
Roosters are male livestock... period. There is no safe way to befriend them. Demand their respect and make them go stand in the furthest corner when you step into the pen. If they don't, get rid of them however you have to.
A local ag instructor was recently killed by a bull that he tried to "gentle down" in front of five students.
My uncle spent three nights in the hospital from injuries from a ram that was supposed to be gentle because he was hand raised.
My cousin had a close call with a boar that turned on him while he was scratching it behind the ear. Aparently a gilt two pens down was coming into estrus... Luckily the dogs got there before any real damage was done.
My young bull that would stand in the corner when I went into the pen rolled my neighbors son up and down the fence three times before he flipped him up and over.
And my big blue tom turkey that never gave ME a second glance met a un-timely death after going after my three year old daughter.

There is no such thing as gentle male livestock. If he blinks at you, kill him. Some youngster who is to dumb to be mean will be happy to take his place.

cpp6318 is right--animals can be very dangerous. If you do not have the heart to get 'rid' of the Roo at least catch him and remove his spurs. Grasp the spur with pliers and gently twist them gently at first to loosen them and increase tension gradually until they come off. It may take a helper to hold him and use one of your hands to support the leg while your removing the spur with the other. They will grow back so keep an eye on them and remove them as needed.

Old Roos make GREAT soup with lots of carrots and potatoes!

Keeping Your Roosters Sane
The Easy Chicken

for beginners
The Bad Bird

Nasty roosters have long been a part of keeping chickens. Lots of people remember that evil bird from when they were a kid, how he'd wait for you to take your eyes off him for just a minute, then pounce on you. It's a big reason why a lot of people who would like to keep chickens decide against it later on in life. It's a big part of the reason some people just keep hens. That's a shame. When you don't have a rooster around your hens, you miss a huge part of the joy that comes from raising chickens. You miss watching the rooster look out for his hens, taking his girls to dinner, and of course, the peeps!!!

Why it happens (just getting started)

Chickens operate under a distinct societal structure. There's the boss, he's what's called the Alpha Male. He enjoys first position in everything from liberties with the hens to fighting oncomers, to "leading the pack".

This "pecking order" (yes, that's where the term comes from) goes right down the ladder to the very last rooster with each having his own distinct position. The Beta male will sometimes share duties with the Alpha, but the Beta has to be careful not to overstep his boundaries. The moment the Alpha Male takes exception, the Beta Male will receive a well placed reminder.

There is also an Alpha Hen. The same structure works all the way down to the last hen. It's much more subtle, but if you watch the birds, you'll see which hen is the boss, and where the others lie in the chain.

How the birds keep track

The societal structure in the coop doesn't remain the same forever. At times, the Beta Male will take a shot at the Alpha Male. This may result in an all out battle, but seldom does it go that far. The Alpha Male consistantly reminds the Beta and all his subordinates who the King is. He does this a number of ways. They include anything from a good, old-fashioned beating, a peck on the backside, or just a posturing where the Boss will put himself between the subordinate and whatever the subordinates' intentions were. The dominant male will often assert himself by showing up when the Beta is mating one of the hens. When he arrives at the act, the Beta will yield, get pushed away, or take a beating.

There's a key here...

It's consistancy (huge point, remember this one!!!). The Alpha is ever-vigilant. He doesn't let up for a second because he knows if he gives his subjects an inch, they'll take a mile. If he lets things start getting away from him, he'll have big problems on his hands.

Back to how the structure changes...

When an Alpha Male ages, he'll eventually be replaced. This can happen through battle or just by tiring of his duties. When the Alpha is replaced by a younger male, a chain of events takes place. Once the Alpha yields, he's got a huge problem to face. The next rooster down the rung will have a go at him. Then the next, then the next. In a day's time, he'll can drop from Top Dog all the way to the doghouse. Lots of times he'll end up last in the coop, even to the hens (who will also take a shot at him during his descent).

All this time, there never has to be a fight. When the Alpha decides to submit, he's been beaten psychologically and seems so devastated that he's unwilling to take a stance against any of the birds for anything. At this point he's been reduced to simply saving his hide, and he knows it. There's an exception here. If the Alpha is replaced because he's injured or sick, when recovered, he's going to come screaming back to take his rightful place.

Changing places takes a million forms...

The scenarios I've mentioned are only a few of the many social happenings that take place in a flock. A flock's societal interactions are every bit as diverse as ours. The birds feel, care, protect, watch, learn, remember and hurt. They don't wonder, worry, think or guess. They don't have as large a brain as we do, and they don't hide their emotions well. They act on them outwardly and immediately. They show their emotions on the surface constantly. They don't have "Should I?" moments like we do. They act, reassess, act and reassess. They play our their lives rather than mulling about them. They are driven simply by necessity and survival. Survival of the Individual.

What about survival of the flock?

Chickens don't worry. They don't suppose, think or wonder. They have no idea that the way they do things is why they are still here. The fact that they've survived all these years, aside from domestication (or is that in spite of domestication?), is a byproduct of the way they carry on their lives. Chickens look out for each other as a byproduct of their nature. They see something that scares them, they chatter, and the other birds know that the chatter means "Ohhhh Boy". They run for cover to save their lives. If the Alpha Male figures out what the danger was that set him off in the first place, and he realizes he's the badder cat, he'll stand his ground and square off. If he doesn't figure out what it is that scared him, he's outta there, and everyone that isn't ahead of him will be behind him.

Okay Shilala, you're losing me here...

All this brings us to how we keep our roosters in line. There's two ways. The first way is to develop a deep and sincere love for soup. I love soup. Chicken Noodle, Chicken Vegetable, Chicken and Dumplings, Chicken and Rice, doesn't matter. I love it all.

The second way is to be the Alpha Male of your flock.

How in the world do I get to be Alpha Male?

Earlier on the page I asked that you remember something. It was CONSISTANCY. In order to keep roosters in line, you must establish a dominant position and be ever-vigilant. You have to act like a chicken (less the flapping, crowing, and pecking). You have a HUGE advantage here. You can think, chickens can't (regardless of what the science class experiment showed).

Because of this great gift you've received, you've conquered an age-old problem. You're already smarter than the object you're working with.

We're already well on our way...

Chickens begin earning a spot in their society very shortly after they come out of the egg. At a week old, they're sparring. (Sparring is the play fighting that chicks do.) The females spar with females, the males spar with males, and the males spar with females. The sorting out has begun. As the birds age, size and pluck determine who's who.

THIS IS WHERE YOU MAKE YOUR FIRST IMPACT!!!

The moment you see chicks sparring, step in. Use your fingers to push them apart. Knock them down. Stay and watch.

As soon as another pair (or the same pair) start up again, take control. Use your fingers to push them apart. Knock them down. Stay and watch.

DO NOT hurt the chicks. Hurting them helps nothing. It's not necessary, it's counter-productive, and it's just plain mean. If I find out you hurt them, I will swing by and, well, you get the picture.

At a point, the sparring will stop. It won't stop all the time, just when you are there. If it does happen, it's time to reassert your dominance. VIGILANCE is the key.

Now that you're King...

There's a few things you need to do as the birds grow. These things will assert your dominance and remind ALL the birds who's the boss...

1.) As soon as you can tell the Roosters from the Hens, you've got to single them out. If you take feed or treats to your birds, never let the roosters come to the feed first. Start with a nasty look, then a nudge, then a swat, then a slap. Whatever it takes. If it's got to escalate to a boot to get the point across, so be it. A rooster won't let other roosters come to the feed until his hens do. Don't you do it, either. A good King is a kind and merciful King. Once the hens have begun eating, relent. Stay close by, but relax your posture and allow the Roosters to the food.

All it takes to keep the Roosters at bay is VIGILANCE. You need to take this approach EVERY TIME YOU FEED. It only takes a few minutes, and it will pay major dividends down the road.

2.) Never let a rooster assert his dominance in your presence. That means to you or any other bird. If a rooster grabs another rooster by the butt while you're around, swat him. If you can't get a swat in, chase him. Corner him if you can. Scare him. Deliver the message that only YOU take those liberties with the flock.

3.) Never let a rooster mate one of YOUR hens in your presence. Remember, whether you are a boy or a girl, man or woman, you are the Alpha Male in this picture. If a rooster pins a hen in your close proximity, knock him off of her. If it's happening a distance away, take a run at him. If he sees you coming and persists, you need to get to him and give chase. If you've been consitant over his lifespan, he'll get off the hen as soon as you act like you're coming after him.

4.) Don't hunker. Don't crouch. Don't try to "talk in" a bird who's scared of you. Coochy-coo smootchy is not the way to gather up a rooster, ever. A rooster should NEVER want to approach you or touch you. He SHOULD be at ease with your presence. If you want to pick him up, then pick him up. Love him all you want once you've got him. Pat him on the butt when you sit him down.

Don't ever assume a submissive posture with him, or he might just take your eyes out when you're expecting it least.

5.) Handle your roosters!!! Gather them up, preen them, fuss over them. Make them know that you are not going to hurt them, you're just having your way with them. This reinforces their submission splendidly, and strengthens your bond with your birds.

The rooster has no idea that you are in love with him. All he knows is that you've got him, and you're not going to hurt him. That's good enough for him.

6.) If you even get a moment's sense that a rooster is getting too comfortable around you, take a swipe at him. It may seem like senseless aggression. To you it is. To a rooster, it's life. It's what he understands. A swipe is vigilance, a swipe is reinforcement, a swipe is consistancy.

My rooster is dancing and dragging his wing at me, what's that mean?

If you've spent your time doing your due diligance, this will NEVER happen. If it does, it's simply your rooster telling you "I really dig high velocity lead", or "I absolutely love sharp, cold steel". Give him what he wants and then start doing all the things I suggested. Do it better this time. Do it more often. SPEND TIME WITH YOUR BIRDS!!!

If you don't have time to spend with your birds, that's not a sin. The sin creeps in when you don't have time and you still keep birds.

A lot of times, as with any pet, people enjoy the drudgery of cleaning and feeding and watering while the critter is young, sweet and cute. When the pet gets older, it's not as much fun. Attention wanes, care slips, and the pet suffers.

A guinea pig can take it. A cat can take it. A hermit crab prefers it.

A rooster won't accept it, and will pay you back.

He'll remind you by sending you for stitches. He'll remind you by tearing your pants. If he's exceptionally talented, he'll send you to the eye doctor.

Remember the merciful King? Roosters don't do mercy. They do what comes naturally. If you haven't enforced to him what's natural in your world, he'll be more than happy to show you what's natural in his.

A parting thought...

If a bird goes bad, soup is good. While you're enjoying your meal, take a moment to rethink what you're doing. Realize that your dinner is a direct result of how busy you are. If time is too scarce in your life to do what your animals need, make freezer space or at least consider finding another home for your birds. Just because you don't have time now does not mean you can't have birds later on in life. Not having time for the birds will turn an extremely joyful hobby into a miserable and dangerous one.

Being a good steward to God's creatures is a choice that you've made on your own. Now that you've made it, you are responsible for the animal's care. Finding homes for birds that you can no longer care for is not irresponsible, and it doesn't mean that you are defeated.

It simply means that you are keeping up your part of the bargain!!!

Everyone needs to follow Thinknpink's advice. It really does work.

I got chickens for the first time a year and a half ago. I spent a lot of time hand raising them and they were all friendly including the americauna roo. Well one day the roo decided to fight with my neighbors pit bull. I ran out and seperated them and took the pit bull home. Well the roo with his little brain associated me with the pain of his whooping by the pit bull and started flogging me. My 4-year-old nephew was living with me at the time and I couldn't have a aggressive roo around. I didn't want to kill him though because he was my only rooster and he was a great protector and provider for the flock.

Well, I tried the methods above and they worked. First thing I did was bring out treats for the girls. Well when the roo came over shoving his way to the food I pushed him away. It was funny because you could tell this totally threw him for a loop he just stood outside the circle of girls for about 10 seconds. He tried a few more times but I didn't let him have any until some of the girls started losing interest. I also started knocking him off when he tried to mate with the girls. The first time he didn't move so I just scooped him up and walked around with him for 5 minutes. After that I only had to charge him. Now a year later he only tries when he thinks I'm not looking and all I have to do now is yell at him and he jumps off.

It does take some time though to retrain a rooster. At first he would only be good for a few days, then a week would pass without incident, now it's been over six months. It is an ongoing thing though, the other day I was walking into the barn and Fancy (yes, that's his name poor boy, he was the free "fancy breed" chick I got with my order from McMurray hatchery) was in front of me, well he got annoyed at me for almost running him over so he did his little rooster dance. Well I chased him and swiped his tail and that was the end of that. For the next few days reinstated his exile from special treats and he's calmed right down. If I don't remind him I'm the boss it's his nature to test me so you have to keep at it.

On another note, even though Fancy has calmed down small kids are always supervised by adults when they are with the chickens. If you're there and you're head chicken the chickens know they're not allowed to peck anyone in your presence but if you're not there's nothing to stop them.

I did a lot of reading about this because I wanted a roo and DH had very bad experiences with an aggressive roo when he was young. Needless to say, he wasn't keen on the idea. I ended up with 2 roos and one is clearly the alpha. Neither have ever shown any type of aggression towards us and generally get along as long as beta doesn't take advantage of the girls right under the alpha's nose. They don't have knock-down-drag-outs even at that but alpha lets beta know to knock it off. According to the info I read, the key is to demonstrate that you are the head roo. I've never let either roo mate a hen while I'm in the pen. I will either shoo him off or if he is particularly intent on his mission, I will smack him. Not hard but enough to let him know that I mean business. I've never handled or pet them aside from putting them in the pen. I usually give lots of treats from apples, pears, spaghetti, to kitchen scraps. So far, so good. Lori