Abigail M Johnson

Yeah, I have had many roosters attack me and my older daughter, who is now 9 and has been raised around them. Pepper was the only one who has ever donw THIS...drawn blood to the point of deep wounds nearly requiring stitches. I always do what was described if one comes at me even sideways...run him down and attack him back. It usually works for a little while. In this case though, as others pointed out, I couldn't take the chance on keeping him. That really is sound advice though in general. I agree!

Schatzi Hall wrote:My rooster, Soupy, started to attack me, but then he got attacked by a fox and saved the hens. I brought him in the house and kept him alive, though that wasn’t easy. I had to stitch up his wounds. He finally made it back to the coop, but then mites and a very cold winter. He lost lots of feathers. He’s alive and crowing again and we are now best friends. I call him Super, now. Bad boy to great boy rooster! He’s tough!

That sounds awesome! I wiah we could have kept Pepper, but he is in an ice bath right now and will be in a marinade in fridge shortly. He was a good bird, except for my leg that time.

Sounds like you are giving excellent care and are doing everything you can. I am encouraged by her improvement and glad she is not suffering. I also have not had as much luck as I had wished treating ear mites naturally, but the drops I ended up buying did do the trick. I think that was good thinking to not want to do a drawn out treatment when the animal is already going through a complicated treatment. Keep us posted!

greg mosser wrote:leaving heads behind is weird! brain is one of the most calorie-dense parts of the body. every time i’ve had raccoon predation problems, the heads are the first to go.

Yeah, may be something else. The head thing has us totally puzzled.

Jay Angler wrote:I have learned to trust momma birds. They seem to know when a baby isn't going to make it.

So true. The hen is taking such greay care of the other 6 she hatched! She knew exactly what she was doing.

Anne Miller wrote:If the attack is at night cold be raccoons or weasels.

During the day it might be hawks or owls.

It has been at night. Could be very early morning. We have never seen racoons here, not that it is impossible. They are rampant in the woods around us. We are in an area with lots of farms but very nearby are thick woods.

John Weiland wrote:

Abigail M Johnson wrote:....Make stew? We do eat roosters all the time but I am just seeing what others have as their rules. I have learned a lot on here by asking. Thanks guys!

Depends on how old he (.....was?...just hedging here....).  If I'm going for whole-bird processing, then probably best to make a big pot of stew to tenderize meat.  If mid-range to younger and rather skinny, you could just go for he legs and breast without full cleaning.  Still cook out in water, but the meat is great in things like egg-rolls, enchiladas, etc. where some spicing may help the flavor.  Yeah, it's a bit wasteful not cooking the carcass but that goes to the coyotes....who need to have Easter dinner as well!

What we do is let rest in a brine or marinade for up to 4 days in fridge. Then slow cook in either a rice n gravy type situation or chicken n dumplings. We keep rooster legs separately saved up in freezer to slow cook and shred for enchiladas. The leg meat is so so dark and slightly gamey and just cooks differently than the rest of the bird. Otherwise, regardless of age they taste dang good like this! Every part of them gets used. Bone brone from carcass, chickens or dogs get everything from butchering, feathers to the garden.

Carla Burke wrote:Personally, I would gently massage it into the correct position, as often as possible. I *might* straighten out on its own, but that's not been my experience.

Thank you for your reply Carla. The little feller didn't end up making it. I think there was more wrong with him than met the eye. He had a good day on earth and died peacefully!

Jay Angler wrote:

Abigail M Johnson wrote: And I was actually walking through the chicken yard to check on a brooder we had set up in a new place. So it was way different than what I am normally doing in the yard.  

So for the future, having a "rooster first" routine before entering the area, where you call his name and say stuff he doesn't understand but reminds him you're friendly, may prevent a future rooster problem.

That said, a rooster that attacks from the rear and draws blood isn't likely to get a second chance from me either. My suggestions are more along the theory of learning how to prevent future problems and teaching kids how to stay safe around farm animals.

Absolutely! And don't we always learn far more from mistakes or problems than from everything going great? That's homesteading, gardening, and life in general. Haha! I am glad to have a new outlook on our care of roosters and how we raise them near kids. We do value roosters very much. I love them! But I have taken for granted how dangerous they can be. And I want to respect them enough to try to prevent them turning aggressive. Although I will say, we have to date not had any roosters that stay mild mannered. Some have been absolutely horrible. Some are very friendly for years and then change. None have ever stayed nice so far. Maybe what we are doing, worth the effort to explore that idea.

Thanks, these are great comments. My husband and I were both thinking that if the kids were not part of the issue, he would be a good rooster to protect the flock. Of course, we could never turn our backs on him again. But the kids ARE a major concern now. I cringe thinking of how often my 2 year old has hand fed this rooster. Definitely going to be way more cautious in general with my kids around the roosters. I do sort of wish we could give him another chance, because as some of you pointed out, changing the routine does seem to throw them off. And I was actually walking through the chicken yard to check on a brooder we had set up in a new place. So it was way different than what I am normally doing in the yard. But again, he can't get his 3 strikes, not with these kids involved. I almost needed stitches yesterday! We don't get attached to ANY of our chickens (or ducks, or rabbits) so much that they can't be dinner if need be!