Topic of the Week - Aggressive Roosters: What is the best way to handle them?

Folly's place said:

This rooster will only get sneakier; his goals won't change, just his attack plans.
Mary

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You know he has generally not been all that sneaky about it at all. He may not have been this time either since i was concentrating pretty hard at the task i was working on. I just barely noticed that several of the hens had also gathered around me. Like i have said before; as long as he is only attacking me, i have no problem with him. well one, i am afraid i may accidentally hurt him.

An ass paddling can work wonders. Both on human children, and our avian ones.

Aaron

READ THIS- it was such a helpful advice for me. We had an aggressive rooster, but only towards my three youngest children. The first (episode)was the worst and here’s the technique we used. He ended up being pretty sweet.
WHAT YOU DO is catch him and hold him down into submission with two fingers over his neck like an upside down V, and holding his butt down and you talk to him for one minute telling him who’s boss and that it’s not OK for him to attack humans or hens. then you isolate him For two days. Sometimes I’ve even done it for one and seems to work. You’re supposed to do this every time he shows aggression. Hard to manage, but you can train them because they are smart! I have noticed how much my hens love having a rooster for leader ship, and protection. If you can manage it, this seems to be the best way- they will be thankful.

This picture is of Harold, my "buddy". He was aggressive, note the operative word "was". I had read how to break an aggressive rooster so I tried it out. Catching the beggar is the challenge, but I figured and (and so did Harold) that a nice sized fish dip net works wonders. I cornered him up and with great determination I put the dip net over top of him. And oh yes he put us his best fuss and fight then, but I let him wear himself out, then pinned him down through the netting, talking to him and calling him by name. Once I got the dip net off of him, I placed him on my hip with his spurs away from me and then began to reassure him until he calmed down. When he resisted, I simply pushed his head downward in a submissive position and kept it there until he relaxed. Once he relaxed, I petted his head and neck, and even gave him a hug! I did this for about 30 minutes every day and watched him slowly begin to behave. The key is to also release him where he walks off without an attitude. If he started walking away with an attitude, yep, you guessed it, I begun the process all over again.

Now he's my buddy! I can catch him by hand, especially if he sees me with that dip net. We have a great relationship, he protects the flock inside the run, and I can carry him around on my hip even outside the run.

So I can truthfully say it was time well spent. He has never tried to hurt me since.

RedRoosterInn said:

We have a Rhode Island Red rooster that is appx.18 months and seems to be more aggressive every day, mean to the hens, attacks you as you cross the yard or if you go into the coop he waits outside to get you.
I have chased him, swatted him with the broom, soaked him with the water hose nothing works.
I hate to make him into rooster and dumplings, but am at my wit's end with him.
My wife will not even go to the coop because of him.
The real problem is I feel I need a rooster to help protect the hens as they free range.
Hope someone has a solution or rooster and dumplings it is.

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12 to 18 months is the typical age they turn into rebellious horny teenagers. What I do is watch his body language at all times. Your walking legs trigger his attack mode by the motion. I stop instantly if hackles start to rise, face him and look him in the eye but completely still, unless he attacks. After a while he forgets what got him worked up and he starts to walk off to go chase a hen. Don't start walking again until he is about 20 feet away or your legs are out of line of sight. This may or may not work for you depending on the breed or your particular brat. If it doesn't work for me, they go into the pot.

tammy summerson said:

My 4 mos old RIR lowers his head and bumps my lower legs. I did a little research and one suggestion was to pick him up and walk around for about 15 mins. He stays close to me and doesn't attack but want to be prepared. My chickens free range and I keep a broom handy. If he lowers his head then I grab the broom. I've never hit him but he recognizes me as the alpha. We will see if this continues to work. He takes food from my hand and let's me get eggs so hoping for the best.

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That awesome I get my first rooster today I use a brom on my Great pyneese if he starts on my 13yr old chocolate lab. So I will use the bom on the rooster to if I half to. Lol thanks!

JayBaby said:

Good question! I'm 5' tall and I have a rooster that tries to get behind me, he runs after me, he stands on the porch, he stands in front of the door when I try to go inside. I don't trust the rooster and I'm afraid of him, he ruffles his neck feathers up and charges me. My husband told me not to back away from him, but to walk toward him and chase him away instead of letting him chase me away. I walk out to the chicken house with a shovel because I'm afraid of the rooster. My flock is free range and I don't feel comfortable in my own yard.

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I had the same issue. We tried catching him and getting him crouched down to pull on his neck feathers a little. Not hurting him at all but was told that’s a way to establish dominance. It worked the first time but when I started keeping them locked in for winter it got worse and never got better in the spring. We were lucky enough to be able to rehome him and he’s doing great there! Maybe look into rehoming him? I hate that feeling of being stressed out in your own yard. I’m also a shorty and was terrified of him he became aggressive towards our rake because I’d always bring it in for protection, another thing I heard I wasn’t suppose to do. I’m not ready to own a rooster plain and simple. But with some more time under my belt I definitely want to try again.