Aggressive 6 week old cockerel

[GambaDawn]

Any suggestions on aggressive charging and biting, from my young cockerel? I only have one, and five ladies. They are all 6 weeks old. The cockerel is initially aggressive towards me, anyone really, who goes into the brooder to clean, feed, water, etc. ive tried picking him up to calm him down, I’ve flicked his beak a couple times when he bit me, (it hurts! Not a peck) And I try to keep my shoulders squared, DONT baby talk him, so he will respect me. None of that seems to work. Some people on other threads have given ideas, some say to pet him first, acknowledge him first, and others say thats the last thing you should do, Others say boot, chase, hit, shoo, squirt with water,but their Roos are older and I am not into hitting or kicking my chickens anyway. But that being said, he’s still in the brooder till next week and I really want to curb his attitude if I can now. Before he draws blood, as it’s been close! Also if I challenge him, how do I do that without upsetting the ladies too much in the brooder with him? It’s a big brooder, 4 x 4 x 5’, but they are getting big and I can’t wait to get them outside to their new digs, where they will have more room. Do you think that is all he needs? More room? lately he’s been flying at the girls with his feet at them too. Caught him doing that several times yesterday. This is my first clutch of chickens and I’ve had them since day one, so I hope I can work with him, but only if he’s worth it! No biting! Ow!

 

[Bear1978]

Get an empty KFC bucket and threaten him with an change in his situation and ‘coop size’ downgrade to said KFC container. Lol

But seriously, I have no clue. Just thought I’d chime in with a bit of levity. I’m curious to see what others say tho, bcs my grandad had a rooster that was a compete turd and from what I can remember, we had fried chicken one evening and then the rooster was MIA after that.

 

[GambaDawn]

 

[Parront]

Sounds to me like you might not be ready to keep roosters yet. Some are just like that from the beginning. Some start to mount the pullets (and crow)when they are only 10 weeks old. Neither you nor the pullets are ready for him! The best chance to find him a new home is while he is small. Next batch of chicks you could keep a rooster if you get one and the year-old hens will teach him to respect them. And you will learn a lot this year about your chickens and then you might decide your small flock is fine without a cock-bird!

 

[GambaDawn]

Sounds to me like you might not be ready to keep roosters yet. Some are just like that from the beginning. Some start to mount the pullets (and crow)when they are only 10 weeks old. Neither you nor the pullets are ready for him! The best chance to find him a new home is while he is small. Next batch of chicks you could keep a rooster if you get one and the year-old hens will teach him to respect them. And you will learn a lot this year about your chickens and then you might decide your small flock is fine without a cock-bird!

Thank you, that was my initial plan. I didn’t want a rooster. But one of the girls turned out to be one of the boys. I’m not a quitter and am a little attached to Mr Shirley but that is what I was trying to decide, if I should try to Work with him since everyone on here is so kind, and very helpful or if he’s going to be too difficult for me. I hear there are plenty of protective Roos that still know their place and then others that experienced keepers, say wind up in the freezer. What if I can’t find him a home? I sure don’t want him to terrorize my girls.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you do decide to rehome him, make sure to do so with full disclosure about his aggression issues.

 

[AquaDuck]

My two cents on animal training of any kind; violence begets violence. Being aggressive back will only provoke fear and an aggressive reaction.
I usually cull feisty cockerels. I adore roosters and keep as many as I can, but only the ones with a good set of behavioral genes to pass on to the next generation. I also let the girls decide. If they're afraid of him, he's gone.

A little trick that has actually worked for me is to hold my foot (or hand) up and let him attack it until he loses interest. Basically ignoring and denying him any reaction. This was a silkie rooster, it won't work on a fully grown Brahma to put it that way. Could work on your 6 week old though.

I haven't actually tried to train chickens, but I expect positive reinforcement will work on them like it does other animals. Treats and praise to enforce positive behavior (when he's acting good). I'm not a R+ purist myself, I occationally tell off animals when they're being bad, but I'll recommend to always reward when they stop the unwanted behavior. Like in the example above, reward with treat when the roo stops attacking the foot and walks away.

 

[Parront]

Thank you, that was my initial plan. I didn’t want a rooster. But one of the girls turned out to be one of the boys. I’m not a quitter and am a little attached to Mr Shirley but that is what I was trying to decide, if I should try to Work with him since everyone on here is so kind, and very helpful or if he’s going to be too difficult for me. I hear there are plenty of protective Roos that still know their place and then others that experienced keepers, say wind up in the freezer. What if I can’t find him a home? I sure don’t want him to terrorize my girls.

The younger you advertise him, the better chance someone will want him. Do be honest about why you are not keeping him. Many roosters are trainable, but you might not want to invest a ton of time into training one that you may not decide to keep. For only 6 weeks, that is a lot of male behavior. He has not even hit puberty yet!
I have kept birds of all kinds my whole life, since 1977 when I got my first parrot. I have trained many problem birds given to me by their well-meaning owners. (I got the African Grey parrot in my avatar off craig's list @ age 22). It is a very long process with some. This is your first flock, make it easier on yourself and let your young hell-raiser go to a more experienced keeper who might want him. The longer you wait, the more problems he will give you, if he is already causing you to think he is about to draw blood and at only 6 weeks old! It is not being a quitter, in my opinion at least, to understand your limitations and do the best thing for yourself and your bird. Enjoy your flock!

 

[GambaDawn]

The younger you advertise him, the better chance someone will want him. Do be honest about why you are not keeping him. Many roosters are trainable, but you might not want to invest a ton of time into training one that you may not decide to keep. For only 6 weeks, that is a lot of male behavior. He has not even hit puberty yet!
I have kept birds of all kinds my whole life, since 1977 when I got my first parrot. I have trained many problem birds given to me by their well-meaning owners. (I got the African Grey parrot in my avatar off craig's list @ age 22). It is a very long process with some. This is your first flock, make it easier on yourself and let your young hell-raiser go to a more experienced keeper who might want him. The longer you wait, the more problems he will give you, if he is already causing you to think he is about to draw blood and at only 6 weeks old! It is not being a quitter, in my opinion at least, to understand your limitations and do the best thing for yourself and your bird. Enjoy your flock!

Thank you! I have also had quite a few birds, mostly parakeets and cockatiels. My dad bred and raised for years, I had lots of fun raising babies. However, chickens, not since I was a kid and all I did was throw feed on the ground and then go in to get the eggs! Lol. So, never raising a young roo, this is an experience for sure. Sometimes he’s pretty good, he will run towards me but not peck or bite. Other times he’s all over me, Idk, I thought once we get him outside this weekend In the new coop and run, and he has room to roam a bit maybe he wouldn’t be so feisty? But probably not huh? He did seem to start this so young. And always jumping at my girls, is that normal behavior? I’m a bit worried about putting him up on Craigslist or local listings because we have a lot of cock fighters around our area and I don’t want unknowingly send him off to that!

 

[GambaDawn]

My two cents on animal training of any kind; violence begets violence. Being aggressive back will only provoke fear and an aggressive reaction.
I usually cull feisty cockerels. I adore roosters and keep as many as I can, but only the ones with a good set of behavioral genes to pass on to the next generation. I also let the girls decide. If they're afraid of him, he's gone.

A little trick that has actually worked for me is to hold my foot (or hand) up and let him attack it until he loses interest. Basically ignoring and denying him any reaction. This was a silkie rooster, it won't work on a fully grown Brahma to put it that way. Could work on your 6 week old though.

I haven't actually tried to train chickens, but I expect positive reinforcement will work on them like it does other animals. Treats and praise to enforce positive behavior (when he's acting good). I'm not a R+ purist myself, I occationally tell off animals when they're being bad, but I'll recommend to always reward when they stop the unwanted behavior. Like in the example above, reward with treat when the roo stops attacking the foot and walks away.

Thanks I have seen that recommendation and that has helped.