The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: minibn on October 23, 2012, 09:53:27 pm
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Good evening
I have an aggressive bantum cockrel who leaps and attacks my legs hands and face, when i enter the run or the chicken coop. He has caused me some quite painful injuries to my hands and legs considering his size. He used to have a brother, although his brother flew out of the run and sadly the dogs saw him as a toy. Carl only started becoming aggressive after he lost his brother. They never used to fight either.
Does anyone have any suggestions of how to calm him down and to show him that i am not a threat? It makes handling my hens hard work. He is not the most approachable cockrel generally. I feel like he gets stressed out when i enter the run and he runs straight for me and follows my every move.
Any advice welcomed
Emily
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When I read that subject, I thought - oh yes, I know that... But the bantam cockerel I know is only aggressive towards another, much bigger cockerel! On the other hand, bantams like roosting (and flying) quite high up; maybe your run etc doesn't give him the chance to do that? The bantams I know roost way above my head... At least twice my height.
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Our aggressive roos went in the pot. I think I read that they cant really be rehabilitated as they are doing what nature intended, protecting their ladies. :-\
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i know for cockrels they say you can grab them and hold there heads down till they submit, never tried it, personally i'd be thinking 'cock aux vin'
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coq au vin.
pin him down until he submits as above. or eat him until he submits.
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Thank you for your replies. The run they are in is about 20m by 15m. He regularly flies out and in when he wants. Although i keep the dogs well away now. He doesn't bother with the two geese either. I think that's just the way he is. I think his father was quite an aggressive bird, although i don't know if that makes any difference. I think he suffers from tiny chicken syndrome ;D.
Regards
Emily
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As to eating - my friend and her family think bantams taste rubbish... I don't know whether it's all bantams, or just the ones on her farm, but they won't eat them.
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I wouldn't eat him, as much as he may not like me. I suppose he is just doing his job of protecting his girls.
Emily
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In that case - wear chain mail gloves! ;D
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Cooking definitely stops them misbehaving.
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OK! OK! it's not about protecting his females, etc., etc., it's about superiority! Take charge! YOU are the boss. When he comes at you ..............you kick him square, right in his chest and lift him off his feet -no, it is not unkind.... it is about letting him know YOU are the boss! It hurts nothing but his pride. You may have to do it twice (unusual) but it will let him know you are the BOSS!
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I agree with PG. The technique is to place your foot under his chest and lift him off the ground. Perhaps picking him up and carrying him around for a while would help as well. Yes, great for keeping order and protecting the hens, because he will attack an intruder and give time for the hens to scatter (if they have somewhere to hide). But your welfare is important. You don't want him flying up and taking your eye out!
If you can't bring him under control it must be the pot.
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PG is right, it's about who's in charge. Kicking them in the chest though, if you don't get the timing and distance exactly right and make it a lift, not a blow, can do some serious damage.
I had a nasty Old English Pheasant Fowl. I used to find carrying him around under my arm, wrapped in a fleece or cardigan, while I was doing jobs about the yard made the point ;) As did the odd two gallons of water :D
Fortunately, all five of my current cocks are gentlemen :chook:
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Yes indeed , the quick punt in the chest worked for me . I have a rhode island red bantie cockerel who started attacking me , after a bleeding hand a swift kick was delivered . He avoided me for the rest of the day but came back at feeding time . The following days after he kept a wide birth from me and now is a perfect gentleman with me and all of his girls . I would go as far to say he seems like a completely different bird . I didn't feel good about doing it at the time but and sure glad I did .
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Not had direct experience of this as all my cockerels are friendly lads and have to be as I have my own children and others come here to play as well. All my birds free range so I would personally have to dispatch an aggressive bird.
However, my father has a really aggressive wyandotte cockerel at the moment and is very fond of him so wouldn't dispatch. He finds that showing aggression back to him only winds him up and leads to more attacks. He picks him up and cuddles him and generally ignores his "threats". He spent time cuddling him at night and fed tit bits etc. George generally backs down now and dad is able to handle the hens etc. He has remained aggressive, however, towards strangers.
Just something else to try if the domination thing doesn't work and you don't wish to cull.
Good luck :fc:
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we had a RIR that would attack on entering his pen and lord help anyone that stepped towards his ladies tried all the soft approaches but the bottom line was he drew blood and having grandchildren and grandparents around there was only one way to stop him and that was a swift pull on the neck.
he would calm down over winter but as soon as he started treading his girls he would start up again.
good luck
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Sorry you are having problems with your boy. I would not tollerate an aggressive cockerel here. We have approx 15 rare breed boys and my daughters ( youngest being 7) can go in beside any of them, most are happy for a wee cuddle. If any displayed any signs of aggression what so ever towards us it would be in the pot at the blink of an eye.
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Hi,
I have a bantam cockeral that attacked if anyone went into the run, after he drew blood on my leg I chased him round the run for a few minutes, shouting at him. Two days of my aggression sorted him out and he now comes up for food from my hand. Hopefully yours will do the same when he knows you are the upper one. All the best.
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Put a bucket over him when you go into the run. (Don't forget to take it off again though ;D )
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Put a bucket over him when you go into the run. (Don't forget to take it off again though ;D )
LOL any particular size :roflanim:
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we had a big bruiser of a light sussex cockerel, he was fine for the first week, then tried to assert his authority! got to the point where he would stake out the house and look in the windows to see where we were. if we were brave enough to venture outside we took the big red snow shovel but after a couple of weeks I'd had enough and he was 'dispatched' while the kids were out. the hens looked quite relieved as he was very rough with them too.
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We had similar. I can still remember my wife coming running through the front door, yard brush in hand, slamming it behind her and yelling "That foot-high ninja HAS to go!!".
'Kellogg' had chased her right across the yard apparently, and though it was quite amusing at the time, I knew it couldn't continue.
He was delicious though!!
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Our white crested black poland bantam dougal hates my OH and our housemate. We have narrowed it down to the fact that they have short hair! He will fly at them with his spurs and it really nasty. If he tries it with me, I pick him up and cuddle him. He then is friendly to me for a while. We have tried solitary confinement, allowing him to free range, giving him only one hen, giving him more hens and dispatching some of the other cockerals that used to provoke him but we are now looking for a new home for him as maybe a change of scene will help. Pity coz when I give him a cuddle he really loves it and is a friendly chap.