I last posted on Thursday about one of my roosters, named Muffin, who attacked me. I was concerned about his attitude, and didn't want his bad behavior to continue or get any worse. I was afraid of Muffin after he attacked me, and I certainly don't want to be afraid to go near my chickens. I've raised the chickens since they were 1 day old, I hate to think one of them could be mean to their human "momma hen".
The good news is that he hasn't attacked me again. I was wearing a bright orange shirt on the day he attacked me, and I came into "his area" suddenly. Quite a few hens ran up to greet me, clucking and asking me to pick them up. I think Muffin was defending his ladies from me, the orange shirt monster. Below is a pic of Muffin (on the left) on that Thursday, flapping his wings, all full of himself. Muffin's brother, a rooster named Brownie, is on the right. Brownie was just trying to get out of the way of Muffin.
Muffin is in the center, giving me the evil eye. Orange shirt monster better get out of his territory! Brownie is in the back, watching the scene closely.
The big tough rooster.
I've given Muffin lots of opportunities since then ~ I go out and walk around the chickens often, talking to them, picking up the hens and carrying them around. But Muffin hasn't tried to attack me again. This doesn't mean he doesn't have it in him, but he hasn't been outwardly aggressive again. I've tried to pick him up and carry him around, but he runs from me when I go toward him now. Maybe now he knows I'm the boss.
We'll see...
And I will not wear that orange shirt near him again!
7 comments:
That rooster is pretty big! So is Brownie! You'd better carry a big stick!! LOL! Just kidding! I know you love your chickens! Just be careful!
I hope Muffin continues the improved behaviour!!! He is quite handsome.
If my toenails are painted red and I wear sandals around the chickens, I'm in big trouble! They will peck the heck out of my toes!
My sister had that problem when she wore red.
Barb ~ I do carry a big stick at night to chase the chickens into the coop. If they don't want to go into the coop I tap their butt with the stick, it doesn't hurt them, but makes them mind. I do love those chickens, I'd be upset if anything happened to them!!
Knatolee ~ Thanks! Muffin is on probation right now.
Lisa ~ LOL! I haven't yet worn sandals around the chickens! I'll have to see what they do!
Gail ~ Now that you mention it, I remember when I was a kid my parents would take me to the local zoo every year. There was a moose who always attacked the fence to get to me whenever I wore red. Who says animals can't see colors??!!
Very interesting about muffin. I just read somewhere about aggressive roosters, and was glad to read how to "train" them. Not sure if I'll have this problem, but as you say, they will defend their hens from anything they think is scary and threatening. So glad he's been okay since the orange shirt incident!
Ouch, that could certainly be intimidating.
The Chicken FAQ has a section on dealing with roosters, along with some humorous commentary. The key points are a.) not to walk straight at a rooster, especially one that is starting to fidget in a warm-up dance b.) throw down grain if they try to attack you, and their pea brain will forget about you and eat the grain. He suggests that most roosters can be trained out of attacking people using grain, and the incorrigible roosters are delicious.
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