What do you do with an aggressive rooster?

aart said:

Welcome to BYC!

How old is he?
How have you handled him in the past?

Show no fear, they can feel your anxiety, it makes them nervous and more likely to behave badly.
Be the boss, calm, confident, move thru him if he's in your way....beating on him is not likely to be helpful.
All humans interacting with birds need these skills....if you have little kids around, might be best to get rid of him.

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Agree 100 percent. In the past I've been able to show dominance with aggressive roosters. And get them to back off. But now that I have a two small nephews that feed the chickens all the time. I just can't take a chance. Aggressive roosters have drawn blood on my legs in the past. With kids it doesn't leave you a lot of options. At this point I put them on the dinner table swiftly if they ever attack humans.

My rooster will be 1 year old in February. I handled him only a little bit because it was my first batch of chicks, and I was nervous about hurting them. Okay, maybe not the rake, but I do want to try the water pistol.

austrolover1 said:

My rooster will be 1 year old in February. I handled him only a little bit because it was my first batch of chicks, and I was nervous about hurting them. Okay, maybe not the rake, but I do want to try the water pistol.

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It's more about understanding the chickens behaviors-why they do what they do,
being honestly and accurately aware of your own behaviors,
and how the two work together or against each other.

There are many methods of dealing with a rooster, death should not be the first answer.

If you are afraid of your rooster, rehome him. If you're not, here's a few things to try out.
First, make sure you're wearing a jacket or long sleeve shirt and get a pair of work gloves and a dust pan. If he comes toward you, shoo him away the dust pan and if he doesn't back away then be ready because he sees you as one of his ladies and not the boss. Grab him and push him down and tap the back of his head behind his comb. Keep him down at least 30 seconds or more. Do NOT let him get up, 'peck' him each time he tries to lift his head. Once he leaves his head down for a few seconds then let him up. If he doesn't back away, grab and repeat. You may need to do this a few times over the course of a week or 2. He'll start to lower his head when he sees you to concede you're the top boss. This method worked wonders on our rooster and he's a big ole gentleman now haha. I keep the dust pan at the coop/run so it's there if needed. My children have all been taught to have their work gloves on and use the dustpan if necessary. They know how to hold him down and do the tap behind his comb but they haven't had to yet.

Some people try the holding trick, where you pick em up and hold him under your arm for 10-15 minutes each time but this did not work for ours since he's been handled a lot. He just thought of it as a free ride.

Also, do not let him mate the girls if you're in the run or standing near it. Shoo him off them. If you're bringing treats, let the girls eat first. That shows him you're providing goodies for "his" girls just like he would. There's a reason behind rooster behavior and if you learn to see the signs it will help you in the future. Even this is still not a guarantee because there are just really mean roos out there that def need to be killed.

Hope this helps you out

Edit:
This thread is WONDERFUL at explaining roo behavior and tips, like I mentioned above.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/keeping-a-rooster