Aggressive Rooster

[Cherryblossom]

We’ve got an absolutely beautiful, enormous buff orpington rooster who is in imminent danger of getting his neck pulled, so I’m just looking for other options.
He used to be lovely and placid- my kids would carry him around. Then flockdown happened and he was shut in a stable for 4 months. Towards the end, I started having to carry a broom to go it or he’d fly at me.
Once he got outside to free range again, he settled down, although he has chased a couple of people off the yard in the last few months.
Unfortunately most of his hens met an untimely end, then we let one of the remaining two hatch some chicks. He and his last hen seemed okay, but then she vanished, only to be found after two weeks sitting on a clutch of eggs under the woodpile. Since having no hens (he’s too big for our normal hens and was hurting them) his behaviour has got more and more aggressive. I was trying to just wait it out until his hens could be returned to him, but yesterday he went for me in a big way when I was working with my horses. I had to use my lunge whip to get him away and my mare was terrified by the whole thing. Then in the evening he went for me again in front of my toddler who thought it was hilarious that I booted him; which is not the lesson I want to teach her about animal husbandry.
Other than removing hen #1 from her chicks or #2 from her almost hatched eggs (i’ve not got an incubator), my only option seems to be lock him up (which he hates) or get rid of him. I’ve tried advertising, but no one wants a rooster
We have dispatched chickens before, but only if they were sick, so this feels like a bigger deal. Are there any options I’m missing?

 

[Dexter]

Just put the hen with the chicks back in with him. Theres no need to separate her from them. Just make sure they have a safe space to get in to to small for the adults.

 

[Clodagh]

Please do not rehome aggressive birds, a big cockerel like him can do serious damage to children.
I’d neck him, I neither keep nor breed from dangerous birds. It may be worth as has been suggested putting him back with the hen and chicks but he will be protective of them. And he won’t be able to tread her so maybe be aggressive to her.

 

[Hepsibah]

A cockerel who attacks you is not worth having. You shouldn't be afraid to be around him and it won't get better. I would definitely cull without a moment's hesitation or regret.

 

[Auslander]

It would be a "Byeee" from me too. I still bear the scars from a rooster who attacked me when I was a kid. My grandfather went straight out and necked it

 

[Cherryblossom]

edit. double post

 

[Cherryblossom]

Thanks for the feedback. I’m just gutted because he was such a big dope for 2 years, and after being let back outside he’d seemed to settle back down. I don’t want the chicks free ranging yet as I’ve a terrier and a lurcher who respect the size of the orpingtons, but I wouldn’t trust them with something smaller.
@Clodagh you’re absolutely right about the rehoming. I’d done so when he had his women and was happy, and with a full disclosure, but knowing I didn’t want another winter of him locked up. I’d hoped someone would take him for their pot as it seemed less of a waste!
You’re all telling me what we’ve been talking about for the last 24 hours. I don’t want my kids or horses traumatised and I definitely don’t want my toddler seeing me hurt an animal, so the kindest thing is so deal with him

 

[Cortez]

Why don't you eat him? The last aggressive cock we had made a lovely coq au vin.

 

[planete]

I would eat him too. Having experienced a full on attack by a Maran cockerel where I worked I would have no qualms. They can do serious damage. Coq au vin or poule au pot, just long slow cooking.

 

[twiggy2]

One of mine started to be aggressive a couple of months so, he got fed to the dogs as I won't have it

 

[Rumtytum]

Our neighbour’s aggressive cockerel ended up in a coq au vin.

 

[fiwen30]

Oh dear, it sounds like the root of his problems was losing his hens, and being on his own. I wonder how much his behaviour might change if he was given a flock again?

I am not against having animals PTS for aggression/behavioural issues, but it seems a bit of a shame to rush to necking him, when another type of animal might have the chance to have it’s problems sorted out.

 

[millikins]

A work colleague rehomed a cockerel to me, she claimed the neighbours had moaned about the crowing but I later found out it had attacked her husband. It was seriously nasty, attacked all humans then the beagle and he went in the pot. Realistically OP has two broods of chicks on the way, 50% males, someone's going to end up in the freezer so may as well be the bad tempered one first.

 

[Cherryblossom]

I know I should cook him, I just can’t. I’ve never prepped a chicken and I couldn’t start with one of my own that I already feel guilty about.

@fiwen30 I agree with what you’re saying, which is why I asked; but he hates being indoors, he can’t go with regular sized hens and if avian flu returns he’d be getting necked rather than lock him up again. I don’t want any more jumbo hens, the clocking orpington was given 2 olive eggers to hatch so they won’t be suitable to run with him, even when they are grown, and my kids, horses and visitors safety is ultimately more important than the fate of an unhappy bird.

Thank you all for your input; I knew I’d get good advice here! It is now done, and he is being collected by a neighbour shortly.

 

[millikins]

I know I should cook him, I just can’t. I’ve never prepped a chicken and I couldn’t start with one of my own that I already feel guilty about.

It's tough, I can't kill things unless they are seriously ill/injured. I discovered with our unwanted "gift" that the local butcher will kill, pluck and joint a bird for a £5- I know more experienced chicken keepers will say that's expensive but I think it's a small price for a humane solution to the problem.

 

[babymare]

Some years ago when daughter was 4 ish we had various chucks and gorgeous cockerel. all ok for while but one day he attacked me at young child face level. It was a prolonged attack where luckily I had a bucket in hand. I had no hesitation of neck rung. Ok didn’t eat him but attack once like that and your gone mate. No hesitation at all.
ps got another who was a lovely gentleman to his ladies and us ?

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

I've had two aggressive Roo's. The first was an evil little sh!t of a bantie cock who was very rough with the hens and then started fluttering his wings at me. This behaviour escalated and he started attacking me and anyone else in the yard at the time; he'd even manage to thoroughly cowe-down my little Terrierist, unbelievably.

Then one night I'd gone in the henhouse to check the egg-boxes and the blighter flew at my face, hard. That was it, I took him out and did the job, end of.

The next one was a lovely Light Sussex bird who I'd "rescued" from a friend-of-a-friend. Lovely boy, we called him Kevin. He was a real dope, would come up to you and croon away, everyone loved him. Then this Spring he started getting seriously nasty, started fluttering his wings and doing the old side-stepping malarky (like the other one), and then started physically attacking. He was a big bird. I tried walloping him with the yard sweeping brush, but to no avail (RSPCA would've had a seizure!!! LOL). He brought blood on my legs twice before Easter - I've still got the scar there now - and because I have liveries on the yard he just had to go. You just couldn't turn your back on him, he'd just come up and go for people. I got a friend (licensed slaughterman) to do the despatching as it was damn hard to do myself and I knew that friend would do a good efficient job (he did - Kevin went to meet Jesus very quickly indeed).

I'm on a FB Smallholding & Off-Grid group and this has come up on there recently. One thing you could try would be to pick the bird up by his legs and carry him around upside down - that is one thing that has been suggested. However, I'm inclined to believe that once they've learnt to attack a human they'll always have the disposition to do it, and it just isn't worth the risk especially with a child around, in this case it is an easy decision for everyone's safety.

Buy a bottle of a decent Red and have Coq au Vin on the menu would be my advice.......