My rooster tried to eat me...should I eat him first?

I have a buff orpington roo that I raised from a chick last spring. We were going to eat him last year until our flock was killed and he was the sole survivor. Yesterday he ran at me as I was unloading groceries in the garage. I turned just in time and then chased him from the garage. Today I was walking in the garage again and he ran at me and bit my leg! It didnt hurt too bad, but I managed to kick him away and then made a point to be 'bigger' then him.

What should I do? I dont really like him...but he does protect all of our hens. I am affraid this will get worse. He used to attack our duck, but now we keep Bob with us at all times to protect him.

Mel

Hi Mel--He looks just like my re-homed Buff Orpington roosters. Didn't Granny have the same problem with her Buff Orpington rooster the second year? Maybe they just go bad--and being friendly they have no fear of attacking people? Like the bears at Yellowstone Park?

I would think that unless you need him to protect your hens, he should go bye bye. But maybe it is just a phase and if you are firm with him he will outgrow it? I've never heard of this being true, unfortunately.

I also believe, after watching how vicious some of my chicks are being, that they are really just feathery little velacoraptors. But so cute-- and they lay yummy eggs.

This message was edited Feb 24, 2008 10:24 PM

Mel,
You could always get a couple of guineas to "protect" your hens and eat the tasty Buff.

Mel,
We won't keep a mean rooster. If he is flogging you now, it will only get worse. I'm sorry to say you might need to make a big batch of chicken stew. :( Do you have children? We found that ours gets mean from being chased, it is a protection thing. We had 3 beautiful roosters that were as docile as could be. Some people came to visit the farm and their two teenage boys wouldn't stop chasing them and harassing them, even though we asked them not to. They eventually ran after the boys and never stopped chasing people and flogging them. I was so sad because I knew that was the end of the road for them :(

Sorry to give you such "bad news" advice.

Hi, Mel, too bad that you are experiencing the same problem I had with my Buff rooster. He got mean in his second year, and constantly attacked me, trying to bite me and spur me. I don't know if that's a natural thing with them, but he was very docile and sweet the first year we had him. I certainly wouldn't trust him anymore. He will probably get worse. So, yes, you should eat him first.

my rooster out grew it he went bad for about a month when ever he came near me even if he was not doing it i could tell that he was planing to i just kicked him and after a while he exceptted i was the dominate one

I used to know some people that had mean turkeys and I was scared to death of them!

We have roosters now that are almost 2 years old and I don't worry about them at all. They are very good. The only thing they like to come up behind me and crow and I usually lift off the ground! :)

Oh, Mel! My white hen, Blanca, for some reason does
attack me from behind. Our roo has always been very very
sweet, until one day, he saw Blanca draw blood, then he
attacked me because he saw her do it, and used his spurs
on my leg. I was lucky not to get an infection. He has seen the
hen do this twice, now, and he's learning from her. DH and I
have decided that she must go, but aren't sure if we should
wait til the new chicks are big enough to keep him company,
or just take care of business and let him be lonely for a while.
I feel your roo will definately continue, and spread this
behaviour to the rest of the flock.

Even after plenty of love and handling, our Golden Phoenix roo has started attacking me. Whenever he does this, I have to chase him around, catch him, and hold him for awhile so he knows who is boss. After that he's ok for a few weeks but then I have to do it all over again. It's really unfortunate, but no other roos that we have do that so I think it's an individual thing. Right now he has no spurs, but once they come in he might be on his way out!

I had chicken fettuccine alfredo for dinner and it sure was good! Sorry, just couldn't resist! 'smile'

misty, you are sinister, I say, sinister!!! ((((toothy grin))))))

So funny. Thanks for all the good advice. I would like to have a rooster that will cuddle again...and we DID plan on eating this one anyway...so may as well do it now. Then we can keep one of the roos that come from his offspring (that will be half RIR). Never killed or plucked a rooster...any ideas?

Soak it in hot water for a while and then they pluck easy!
OMG I remembered that from when I was a kid, thought I could forget these things! HA HA HA
Well, I just couldn't resist the fettuccine! HE HE HE

Do I need boiling water? It is still very cold here...maybe I should wait until spring and then I can get a good file going outside to put a pot over. I am affraid I would make too much mess if I try to do it indoors. If anyone else has good suggestions please let me know! Thanks!

I believe we used boiling water, but it was warm outside when we done it, too. That is all I can, and care, to remember! HA HA HA

maybe wait till spring if he dosent get better he can go in the pot and you can have some yummy chicken breast :)

Sorry he has to go Mel. I dressed a turkey once, for a hunting neighbor who had no clue. He offered to share if I would do it
for him, and what do you know? The jerk took the whole thing
and walked off, never saying a word. We had not lived there long,
and I didn't know him at all- after that, I chose not to know him
ever.
Let's see, to start, you want to get all the blood out which is
more healthful. Put him in what they call a killing cone, which
is usually metal and holds the bird still, allowing his head and
neck to stick out the bottom. You are crafty, so I'm sure you
can come up with something. Using a very sharp knife, hold
it's neck down firmly with one hand and cut the throat, but not
the spinal cord itself. If you sever the spinal column, this stops
the heart and prevents it from doing your work for you, not
allowing all the blood to be drained. I know, it's kind of gruesome,
but is better this way. It only takes a minute or two. Have your
water scalding hot, but not boiling. A lobster pot works well, and
you should be able to dip most all the bird in, holding it's feet.
Allow it to scald (water about 130*)for 30 seconds. Pull it out
and transfer outside, having a clean surface to work on.
(You can scald him in the house, if you have a plastic bag next
to the stove to put him in right after you take him out of the
water to go outside.) Pluck away! It didn't take me too long
to do a whole turkey. Use a handheld propane or other torch to
singe the remaining hair like feathers. Open up the abdominal
cavity above the vent and scoop out the intestines, being careful
not to rupture the intestine. Many of the internal structures are
attached to the spine. This part is really a learned thing, needing
some practice, as I have dressed deer, and just one bird, so
I don't have a 'down pat' method to share. What you have now
is a naked bird needing the lower legs and head cut off, and
be sure to wash inside and out with lots of cool water. It is
important the scalding water not be too hot, as this will toughen
the meat. Voila! ready for the freezer. I hope this helps, and
happy plucking!

Thanks for the play by play. That will certainly help, and I think Ryan is looking forward to the culling. I said if he would do that then I would try the rest. I guess it is easier since we dont like him. I think we will wait until spring, and then do it outside...just not sure I want to dunk him inside. :)

No, don't dunk him inside. Wet chicken feathers do not smell good! I can remember my Dad killing chickens and helping with the plucking when I was a kid. They aren't hard to clean, but it does NOT smell wonderful. The finished product tastes pretty darned good though.

I think we can handle the culling, soaking, and plucking...but the removing of the inerds, head, and legs is where I am not very confident.

Where do you make the initial incision for the removal of inerds(SP)? Like below or above or across the vent? How long is the incision? Are the insides scooped out?

Mel, you could also consider skinning him. We did that 'cause we didn't want to pluck them.

Patch, referring to truest's post, above the vent.

Not to sound completely duh, but above the vent towards the tail, or above the vent towards the breast. LOL, just want to get this right. How long for incision?

I had leftover fettuccine today! ☻

Sorry about the editing on that post, Mel and everyone. I
tried to edit it, but at preview, it shows up fine. I give up on
that one. Again, Sorry.
As the chicken is on it's back, make the incision about 2"
above the vent. You definatelt don't want to cut the vent
or too deep above, as you could punture the gut.
Try to envision the cavity where you stuff the bird. Make a cut
about 3" wide, and below the end of the breast bone.
You can hold the bird with your left hand, and kind of dig
along the back following the spine with your right, loosening
as you go, till you get to the narrowed neck part and I think
you can pull the whole thing out the cut with a firm pull. Or,
make a crossways cut to the lower neck first, like an
esophogeal cut.
I personally remove skin from chicken before cooking, and
plan to skin the quail as they have a million teeny feathers.
I would rather skin a chicken, if I'm going to eat it and not
freeze it. I think the skin on helps keep it from freezer burn.
Just try to keep your store bought chicken in mind while
processing it, and notice that it just has a couple extra parts
that need removing.

may princess tammy have her own plucker.

Patchouli, sorry, I should have been more clear. Make a
crossways cut from right to left- to your position, the cut would
be horizontal. It would be located such that of you wanted to
tuck the legs in the slit for cooking, you could, kind of like the
metal bar that comes on some turkeys from the store.

may princess tammy have sunshine all day.

That helps a lot...I am concidering running to the store and picking up some broiler chicks to raise. I would feel better culling several at a time then just the one. I may also go buy a whole chicken from the grocery to examine and see that the inside looks like..and how it was done. I think I am a visual learner. :)

Speaking of visual...for anyone else like me who is wanting to learn this step...here is a good site with visual pics. They did a good job showing picture of each step (except the killing).

Google "butchering chicken", there is a couple of great videos and photo instructions. We use a turkey fryer to heat the water outside.

Thanks! I was thinking we would use the turkey fryer for the water as well...but really I dont cook chicken with skin on anyway...so could I just skin it instead? Not sure if I would still have to remove the feathers or not. Any ideas?

Ok...found one on skinning...maybe I DO want to keep the skin on. The pics here look too much like a person! Ahhh...

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/grim79.html

you could do that too. I like to use kitchen scissors (a designated pair) to clean chickens and pheasants. you can make smaller cuts to avoid cutting into the guts. It just seems to go faster with kitchen scissors.

My husband killed and skinned 7 roosters one time without telling me what he was doing. He left the feet on and my son brought them into me holding by the feet and said, "Dad said to clean these up and put in the freezer!" I almost passed out and wouldn't eat any of them because of the way it was all handled. I now will only eat what we bring to our chicken processor to do. We help him out, but I would never eat them off the farm ever again.

Don't feel too badly. My hubbie is a city guy and absolutely won't eat ANY critter he gets to know. We once had a feeder pig and when butcher time came he just could't send her off to the butcher so we sold her to the neighbor. Our turkeys went to a petting zoo! lol

I never thought I could kill one either but
My mother just told me last night, that my great grandma had a twin brother that was pecked to death by a mean rooster when he was 2.
I never knew one could get that mean!!!
But if I see one of mine getting really bad..... He will be dinner!

OMG Kel, that is horrible!!!!

I see an awful lot of chicken and dumplings coming out of this thread............

When we first starting raising animals for food, we had 4 pigs and we named them. Sausage, pork chop, Bertha, and Alf. My husband told me if we didn't name them as food names, we'd never eat them. Bertha and Alf became "pets" and gave us a lot of babies. But.....the first time we had one of the others butchered, my DH cooked some pork chops (I was at work and came home to dinner, how sweet). I looked at that pork chop and just couldn't bring myself to eat it. I literally sat there like a child for an hour and finally took a bite. It was so good (even cold) and I've been hooked ever since. But you know unless you are used to farm fresh meats, you don't realize that they really are not the same color as store bought because of all the things they inject at the supermarket to make them look "pretty" and appetizing. I say, get rid of that junk, I just want the meat.

We do raise our own chickens for sale and our own consumption, and we raise beef, pork, lamb, goat......they are all processed in USDA facilities so that we can sell them, but they are ours and I'm so glad we don't have to butcher them here at the farm! Phew....

Great responces! I am starting to feel better about this whole thing. That rooster is beautiful..and takes care of our hens...but he will need to go. One of my chicks (they are about 5 weeks old now) has lost an eye! I am guessing one of the others did it. I put my hand in to fill the feeder and one bit me! All the chicks I have raised before never did I have one like this...but these chicks are all the offspring of my 'mean' rooster. Do you think his temper could be hereditary? I like the idea of eating him...and then getting a RIR roo...I miss my Marsala!

Mc, did you get your chicks from McMurray?