Aggressive Rooster. HELP

[ascott99]

My 4 hens and rooster are coming up on 6 months old. My rooster is becoming very aggressive towards me. (Challenging me) when I come in he stomps his feet at me and chases me. He has bit/pecked me twice now both times drawing blood. Despite this I still love him and would really hate to get rid of him but I can't go in the coop without worrying and watching my back. Any tips for me? Is this normal at this age or is it something I should maybe take into consideration. Anything would help!

 

[SIMZ]

People will hopefully give you some tips that may or not work with him. In my experience this behavior only gets worse. Sorry to not be more encouraging.

 

[SIMZ]

BTW - it's normal for a rooster that is going to be aggressive to start showing that behavior at his age. We get rid of roosters that show any aggression now, and it's usually around 20-25 weeks that they start showing aggression if they have that tendency.

 

[bobbi-j]

His hormones are getting the better of him right now. I wish I could say that he's going to settle down, but that has not been my experience. I will not keep a rooster if I have to watch my back when he's around. It's not enjoyable for me, and I keep chickens for the enjoyment of it. If you're bent on keeping him, look up user Centrarchid here on the forum. He has a method that he uses to break aggressiveness in roosters. I won't try to go into it here, because I haven't really studied it, and don't want to tell you something that's incorrect. If you have small children that could be in contact with your chickens, I would get rid of the rooster now. It can happen so fast that a rooster will come flying, spurs forward, and attack a child. And those attacks can come in at face level for a child, potentially causing serious injury.

 

[speckledhen]

No, it shouldn't be normal. There is some boundary testing at young "teen" ages, but not all cockerels even do that. I have a 6 year old Delaware rooster who is the sweetest guy on the planet, but at about 14 weeks old, he nipped me when I reached toward the feeder once or twice. He came from a line bred for temperament (an inherited trait, generally) so a little "aversion therapy", i.e., snatch him up, clamp his beak shut tightly with a stern, "NO!" worked very well. I trust him implicitly. He even defended my friend from Kentucky when his son jumped on her shoulder when she was squatted down feeding the hens treats. The youngster was being friendly, also a friendly guy, but Isaac wasn't happy and charged his son, knocking Deacon off my friend. Then Isaac went back for treats himself, LOL.

If he's flogging you and at prime breeding age, he's probably not very bright. An intelligent rooster, in my experience, does not bite (or flog) the hand that feeds and waters him. Breed the non-human aggressive males, keep only non-human aggressive males and you will be happy with the results. Isaac's sons and grandsons are just as easygoing as he is 99.9% of the time. And he was not handled a lot as a chick, either; it's just in his nature to be this way. You can't change a rooster's nature. You can make him afraid of you temporarily, but that only makes him more sneaky and he'll bide his time and get you when you least expect it.

I agree with all that bobbi-j said.

 

[Mrs. K]

Let this one go..... you are just getting started, and a wicked rooster has ruined the whole chicken experience for lots of people.

Personally, I think that roosters that are raised with just flock mates, tend to get mean. Not always, but often, what happens is they quickly out grow their flock mates and get MUCH bigger than the pullets, and become bullies. People often spend a great deal of time with a small back yard flock, and roosters loose their fear of humans, so try and bully people too.

In a multigenerational flock, a rooster growing up is much smaller than the laying hens, those older girls are a lot bigger than he is and will whip some manners into him.

I often recommend when asked, just keep hens the first couple of years, get some experience under you, then raise up a rooster in the flock.

Mrs K

 

[ascott99]

Let this one go..... you are just getting started, and a wicked rooster has ruined the whole chicken experience for lots of people. 

Personally, I think that roosters that are raised with just flock mates, tend to get mean. Not always, but often, what happens is they quickly out grow their flock mates and get MUCH bigger than the pullets, and become bullies. People often spend a great deal of time with a small back yard flock, and roosters loose their fear of humans, so try and bully people too.

In a multigenerational flock, a rooster growing up is much smaller than the laying hens, those older girls are a lot bigger than he is and will whip some manners into him. 

I often recommend when asked, just keep hens the first couple of years, get some experience under you, then raise up a rooster in the flock.

Mrs K

 

[ascott99]

Thank you for the advice. And believe me, we did NOT want a rooster but the person we got them from had a few adorable white chicks in the bunch but had no clue what they were (breed) so he gave one to us for free. And low and behold... a rooster.

 

[HighStreetCoop]

If you're bent on keeping him, look up user Centrarchid here on the forum. He has a method that he uses to break aggressiveness in roosters.

He has a good thread going right now:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...-reduce-rooster-aggression-directed-at-keeper

 

[SouthernFarmChick]

I have a 10 month old Dominique rooster who has taken to attacking just in the last month every time I go into the chicken pen to feed and water and collect eggs. He got me just above my boot twice a few days ago on one leg, and once on the other leg; all 3 below the knee and right through my Wranglers! I have quite a bump and bruise! He's flown high, above my waist (I'm 5'4) - he is just a butthead! I don't know what to do! I have 9 hens - should I sell him? Re-home him with someone with only 1-2 or so hens? Should I put him in my other pen (after we get the roof on it!) with just 1 or 2 hens? I dread going out there now and I've had chickens for years and never had a rooster this aggressive!