Making Sure Your Rooster Knows You Are Top Dog

[appps]

Interesting read. Our last rooster went from pet to attack chicken, tried the carrying stuff but no success. Do you think sometimes it's as much to do with the temperament of the rooster as anything we do around them? Have people done the same things with more than one rooster but the outcomes be totally different?

Have a chick I suspect could be a rooster at the moment so hope to have a better outcome this time.

 

[Nupe]

I raise game chickens. I establish dominance by beating them soundly in a game.

Connect four for instance.

Now, why didn't I think of that?

 

[varidgerunner]

I go to public, educational events, too. I can pick any random rooster out of my flock, regardless of previous handling, take him out of a cage and set it on a towel on my knee, and expect them to perch there and let strange people walk up and pet them, by the hundreds, without any aggression or trying to fly off. I can bring them inside if there is something wrong with them, and generally walk up to them and pick them up if they get loose in the yard. It's all in the breeding. If you want to have a cuddly rooster that craves human attention, try a breed that has been selected for thousands of years for close human contact, without human aggression. This is a definite trait, and it can be selected for. The only time I might have problems is if they are in molt. They don't like being handled then. Acts of aggression will usually be met with acts of aggression, if they are prone to human aggression, they will challenge you at some point, regardless of how many times you drop punt them or feed them by hand.

 

[centrarchid]

I go to public, educational events, too. I can pick any random rooster out of my flock, regardless of previous handling, take him out of a cage and set it on a towel on my knee, and expect them to perch there and let strange people walk up and pet them, by the hundreds, without any aggression or trying to fly off. I can bring them inside if there is something wrong with them, and generally walk up to them and pick them up if they get loose in the yard. It's all in the breeding. If you want to have a cuddly rooster that craves human attention, try a breed that has been selected for thousands of years for close human contact, without human aggression. This is a definite trait, and it can be selected for. The only time I might have problems is if they are in molt. They don't like being handled then. Acts of aggression will usually be met with acts of aggression, if they are prone to human aggression, they will challenge you at some point, regardless of how many times you drop punt them or feed them by hand.

I can take a group of 10 full-sibling line-bred American Games, split them into two groups of five, then rear them under two different care regimes to yield two groups distinguishable on behavior alone as it related to interactions with humans. The first group would be either brooder or hen reared where contact and training is minimal that will result in adults that will stand for handling as described above after just a few days of acclimation in the keep. The second group that is hand reared with intensive training will walk freely among a crowd and come to me when called and fly up into my hands when directed to do so. No genetic differences required. Some birds will be exceptional in one direction or the other but averages are very predictable.

 

[varidgerunner]

I can basically catch a hen reared oriental game out of a tree one night, that has just seen me around the yard, and turn him loose in a crowd of people the next day after a few minutes of handling and walk up to him and pick him up, perch him, etc. I can only imagine what I could do if I was smart enough to teach them tricks.

 

[izziebean]

I should probably mention that my roos are either polish or silkies. The silkies have always been nice to me. The polish... well.. the silver laced polish is scared of me. If I walk near him, he huddles near the fence and I just gently pick him up. It's the other polish that has been giving me problems. Since his feathers were getting so long in the front, I taped them up for a couple of days with some painters tape so he could see better. He was a lot less skiddish. Yesterday, I finally took the tape off and just lopped off his top feathers to a reasonably length. He seems happier and can see better.

 

[Pork Pie]

I find that quick squirt from a water pistol can deter any unwanted behaviour

 

[izziebean]

During the summer I could use the water hose out back, but now that it's so cold the ground wont dry. Maybe i'll buy a squirt bottle.

 

[Black Choctaw]

I have two adult roosters and a cockerel. My lavender Orpington is as sweet as he can be. But 'Roo' who I now call 'meanie' is just that mean, nasty-tempered and will attack, if I'm not carrying a stick around. He is a RIR/white leghorn and has killed two other roosters.
Wish I knew what to do with him, but my girls' eggs are fertile.

 

[aart]

I have two adult roosters and a cockerel. My lavender Orpington is as sweet as he can be. But 'Roo' who I now call 'meanie' is just that mean, nasty-tempered and will attack, if I'm not carrying a stick around. He is a RIR/white leghorn and has killed two other roosters.
Wish I knew what to do with him, but my girls' eggs are fertile.

Eat him....you don't really want to create more with his temperament.
Tho multiple males can bring out the worst in some of them.