Rooster Management

At our other house, we have a flock of Dominique chickens, with a very good rooster.  Good in that he takes great care of his flock.  That is not always a good thing, though.  He tends to attack people, dogs, people walking dogs, small children, me.

Phoebe figured out an interesting way of managing him.  He is surprisingly easy to catch.  One or two quick steps toward him, with an outreached hand to pin him to the ground, and you have him.

 

A couple of minutes of being carried around changes his perspective dramatically.  When he is up, he is entirely tame; you can pet his waddle and fiddle with his comb.  He doesn't try to fight or escape, he seems to enjoy the privileged position.  When you set him down, he wanders off, and has no aggressive instincts, for at least the rest of the day. 

 

I was a bit bird-phobic when we first got chickens, 12 years ago or so.  The flapping of wings in my face was not to my liking.  However, I have gotten used to them over time.  Now I am fairly comfortable catching chickens, and would much rather grab Rosco than let him keep sneaking up to jump me.