My Roo just attacked....

[Maverick Farms]

My 9 year old but what has me upset is that he waited until she had her back to him and he came from behind and attacked with both feet.
She had gone to the coop and let everyone out, they all filed past as she held the door open, as the last one came out she went to step in the run area and did not even get all the way through the door. She screamed and I came running, I booted him in the butt with the bristle end of a broom and he took off. I did locked him back in the coop but he tried to bully me as I was doing this, I gave no quarter he's locked up. Think it time for him to go my daughter is absolutely terrified now, if he even takes a step toward her she screams.

He has never attacked before but once is enough. Other than a few scratches my daughter is fine.

Maybe it's time for a fried chicken dinner!

 

[Nathan Sampson]

If you want to try and discourage this you could have you daughter throw some of his feed on the ground to distract him and tell he to not turn her back to him or give him a swift punt if she can pull it off on him. Other than that fry him up extra crispy like.

 

[Maverick Farms]

I would rather she stand up to him and face her fear. I don't want her to be terrified all the time.

 

[Daisy8s]

It's pretty common for roosters to attack when the person's back is turned...doesn't mean they're sneaky, just is true of their method.

It's purely up to you regarding your personality, and that of your daughter's, and how willing you are to work with the rooster. If this is his first attack you may try some training and see if that works. But, if you're not inclined to try this then cull or give him away immediately.

The first step to training is understanding the rooster. When my roosters hit the age of crowing and mating they'll also be trying to figure out what their territory is and what things constitute a danger. During this figuring-it-all out stage they may attack a human.

The first time my rooster shows aggression towards me I stand absolutely still and do nothing. First lesson: I want him to learn that I'm not a threat, even though today something flipped in his tiny brain and now he thinks that I might be. I neither retreat nor advance. If he actually gets to the point of flogging then I get my toe under his breast as he leaps and I lift-and-push so he's lifted backwards in the air away from me to prevent damage to me. Takes some practice. Do this with long pants and tough shoes. Don't attempt to hurt the bird.

Roosters don't have great stamina. He'll be tired before you will. Once he's tired, he's ready for the second lesson. While I see no reason to make my rooster fear me (IMO fearful animals are more dangerous), I do want him to learn to move out of the way of people. So, I expect him to step back or away when I move forward.

I keep a small container of some treat like wild bird seed in my hands and every time he moves away from me I throw a few tablespoons of food farther away so he has to again walk away from me to get the treat. Just enough for a reward, not enough for a meal. He is learning that it is good to move away. I do this for about 15 minutes once a day for a few days. Doesn't take long.

This method has worked really well for me. To summarize: first, neither advance nor retreat if he attacks. Teach him you're not a threat. Second, reward him if he moves away. Teach him getting out of your way is good.

Finally, be aware that he'll need to be socialized to all different people and situations. After weeks of no problem my rooster got scared yesterday because I showed up wearing different boots than he's seen before and carrying two huge pumpkins. It was all too new and he rushed at me from behind. I understood that something was frightening him and he was triggered to defend his flock.

I put down the pumpkins, stood still, and began talking to him. He circled me warily. I crouched down and offered my hand like when I'm hand feeding him. He came over, looked at my hand (no food actually there), realized who I was and walked away nonchalantly. He had no problem as I then carried in several more pumpkins.

Caveat: some roosters are just plain mean and will always be unsafe and should be culled. I'm only suggesting this method for a young rooster that is probably acting out of fear and his instinct to protect his flock.

Good luck. P.S. I also have young kids (ages 6 and 10) and they can do this also, but you need to do it first to see if it'll work and then you need to be right there the entire time they're training the rooster.

 

[cafarmgirl]

It's pretty common for roosters to attack when the person's back is turned...doesn't mean they're sneaky, just is true of their method.

It's purely up to you regarding your personality, and that of your daughter's, and how willing you are to work with the rooster. If this is his first attack you may try some training and see if that works. But, if you're not inclined to try this then cull or give him away immediately.

The first step to training is understanding the rooster. When my roosters hit the age of crowing and mating they'll also be trying to figure out what their territory is and what things constitute a danger. During this figuring-it-all out stage they may attack a human.

The first time my rooster shows aggression towards me I stand absolutely still and do nothing. First lesson: I want him to learn that I'm not a threat, even though today something flipped in his tiny brain and now he thinks that I might be. I neither retreat nor advance. If he actually gets to the point of flogging then I get my toe under his breast as he leaps and I lift-and-push so he's lifted backwards in the air away from me to prevent damage to me. Takes some practice. Do this with long pants and tough shoes. Don't attempt to hurt the bird.

Roosters don't have great stamina. He'll be tired before you will. Once he's tired, he's ready for the second lesson. While I see no reason to make my rooster fear me (IMO fearful animals are more dangerous), I do want him to learn to move out of the way of people. So, I expect him to step back or away when I move forward.

I keep a small container of some treat like wild bird seed in my hands and every time he moves away from me I throw a few tablespoons of food farther away so he has to again walk away from me to get the treat. Just enough for a reward, not enough for a meal. He is learning that it is good to move away. I do this for about 15 minutes once a day for a few days. Doesn't take long.

This method has worked really well for me. To summarize: first, neither advance nor retreat if he attacks. Teach him you're not a threat. Second, reward him if he moves away. Teach him getting out of your way is good.

Finally, be aware that he'll need to be socialized to all different people and situations. After weeks of no problem my rooster got scared yesterday because I showed up wearing different boots than he's seen before and carrying two huge pumpkins. It was all too new and he rushed at me from behind. I understood that something was frightening him and he was triggered to defend his flock.

I put down the pumpkins, stood still, and began talking to him. He circled me warily. I crouched down and offered my hand like when I'm hand feeding him. He came over, looked at my hand (no food actually there), realized who I was and walked away nonchalantly. He had no problem as I then carried in several more pumpkins.

Caveat: some roosters are just plain mean and will always be unsafe and should be culled. I'm only suggesting this method for a young rooster that is probably acting out of fear and his instinct to protect his flock.

Good luck. P.S. I also have young kids (ages 6 and 10) and they can do this also, but you need to do it first to see if it'll work and then you need to be right there the entire time they're training the rooster.

I think that is excellent advice. I've used a similar approach with my current RIR roo with success and have taught my younger son to do the same, he is now 12 and has worked sucessfully with my roo since he was 9.

I agree that this has to be evaluated on a roo by roo basis!

Ours was also a young bird, raised by us, displaying normal rooster behavior, he is not an aggressive bird looking for every opportunity to attack for no reason, those I do not keep.