Amazing Roosters

Amazing roosters, are one of the most under-appreciated animals and sadly most end up killed. So I’d like to talk a little about them today. We have 5 Roosters on our farm. Two are with some hens and 3 live together in their ‘Bachelor area’. I see so much online advice about roosters and it saddens me as most people never truly understand them or give them a chance and most end up “in the soup pot”.

Roosters are VERY protective of their hens and their territory. They do an awesome job. If you have chickens I think a rooster makes life easier for them, and for you by keeping predators at bay (within their capabilities). They will protect their hens and literally sacrifice their life to do it. They spend their time looking for food for their chickens and watching the ground and skies for any trouble. They also keep hens in check so they don’t fight among each other too much. Roosters protect and keep the peace. So when do Roosters get into trouble?..well mostly when they turn their protective qualities on to humans. Roosters will go after things much bigger than they are…so no one hurts their family or them. Sometimes they will turn on to their human counterparts simply because they wore different clothes that they are not used to…so it may seem like they snapped but they are just misunderstood. Because Roosters can make wonderful and BEAUTIFUL pets as well as perfect pest control on any property I’m going to give a few tips on how to deal with their strange at times aggressive behavior. Firstly I’d like to say that our Roosters started out VERY friendly and then when matured become aggressive…just like with any other animal that needs training and guidance we took it upon ourselves to work through their behavior and make the environment they are in more peaceful so they don’t feel stressed. Now no one is aggressive towards me and some are even downright cuddly!

So here’s what we did…

If you already have hens make sure you have at least 10-15 hens PER Rooster – some docile roosters can share but most will only stress the hens and attack the other rooster(s) out of competition.
Have plenty of SPACE – if any animal has no room to run away or hide or just be out of each others’ personal space they WILL fight. This is doubly so for Roosters.
If you suddenly found yourself with a mix of hens and roosters – separate the extra roosters into their own area away from the hens. Sometimes seeing the hens and being able to interact through a fence is enough to cause fights…so put them somewhere where they can be with their male buddies with no girl influence.
Routines are important! Feed your Roosters by hand daily, carry them around daily. This is really important when you get them as babies. Don’t wait till they are fully grown if you can help it. Get them used to be being handled. 5 minutes a day is all it takes.
If a Rooster starts attacking you…see if you are doing something different. A change in the colour of your pants, shoes or coat…or wearing a hat…freaks them out. They get scared and they attack. When they do attack…gently pick them up and carry them around for at least 10 minutes while you do other things. Do this over and over and over. NO hitting or violent behavior should be shown to a rooster…not only is he MUCH smaller than you are, and can be easily injured, but their brain is wired to NEVER quit (this is why cock fights work in the first place because the don’t stop when they are scared). So by retaliating in kind you are actually making him worse…
If they are REALLY bad…simply pick them up again and GENTLY place them on their back and hold for a few seconds. NOT in a violent manner…just to calm then down and NEVER for more than few seconds. Roosters can bite and draw blood with their spurs quite easily…so if the carrying around isn’t working well, this can be tried. But don’t do it with anger!
Remember when a Rooster attacks IT IS TERRIFIED of you…hard to tell when they are running at you but if you look closely you will see they are trembling and very scared. We have to realize this and train them just like any other animal. Make the time with them positive. And give them what they need…space, plenty of food and if someone in the group isn’t getting along shuffle things around. This will calm everyone’s behavior.

Just like a puppy that bites we don’t kick it into submission and then put it down…no we work with them. We train them and work with their natural behaviors. I think every rooster can be trained they are actually quite smart…IF the time and effort is put in. Problem is many just are too aggressive with them and don’t give them a chance.

010 I think Roosters are funny animals with wonderful personalities that bring so much to a large yard or farm…in fact even if you don’t have hens and want to rescue a few Roosters as pets they are so worth it! They will keep your bug population down including get rid of ticks…we haven’t had much flies, ticks or mosquitoes near our horses since we allowed the Roosters to roam near them…so if you want a pesticide free bug control – maybe Roosters are the way to go for you. And if you already have them and they are a bit difficult…please remember they are just following their instincts and need direction and kindness like any other animal!