My rooster, Warren Jeffs, hates me

[intheredhomestead]

So, my rooster used to love being held, raised him as a chick. He was the first one to come up to me and sit on my shoulder when he was a cockerel, and then he matured. I understand that natural roo behavior once they mature is they become more...roostery, and I appreciate that. BUT, he definitely started perceiving me as a threat when that happened, and started puffing up and crowing whenever I came close to show his dominance. Then it escalated to charging, pecking, and full on kicking. I have tried EVERYTHING I've read without just downright culling him. I've held him down on the ground like he does to hens to assert dominance. Not hard, but just hold him there and pull on his neck feathers. I read that can help with submission. I've put my foot up to him when he goes after me and block his kicks, and I've read that can help but also display that he needs to keep after me. I've lightly pushed him away with my boot. I've held him upside down. I've picked him up in front of the hens and carried him away from them to gently set him down. Everything tells me something different, and sometimes the suggestions are contradicting. I mean....I feel like I've done everything at this point. Is there anything else I can try? I have hawks and so I appreciate what he does for the girls. I would prefer to try and keep him around. They seem happier, lay often, and he has NEVER gone after them. He's always a perfect gentleman to his hens, but boy he HATES me. I don't have any kids, and he doesn't have spurs so his kicks don't do a ton of damage, but it's just annoying that I can't go into the yard without having to yell "Warren!!" every minute. Maybe it's the name that's got him embarrassed any advice? Or am I destined to rehome him?

 

[kcan2]

@Shadrach tagging an expert!

 

[kcan2]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you might also consider a name change:

Warren Steed Jeffs (born December 3, 1955) is an American religious-cult leader and felon, convicted of several crimes and two assisted crimes involving children. In 2011, he was convicted of two felony counts of assault,[7] for which he is serving a life sentence.[8]

Seemingly, your boy is taking after his namesake

 

[intheredhomestead]

Don't take this the wrong way, but you might also consider a name change:

Warren Steed Jeffs (born December 3, 1955) is an American religious-cult leader and felon, convicted of several crimes and two assisted crimes involving children. In 2011, he was convicted of two felony counts of assault,[7] for which he is serving a life sentence.[8]

Seemingly, your boy is taking after his namesake

Oh I know, I currently live in Utah and it always gets a laugh when I tell people what his name is. A polygamous boy and all his ladies!

 

[Shadrach]

So, my rooster used to love being held, raised him as a chick. He was the first one to come up to me and sit on my shoulder when he was a cockerel, and then he matured. I understand that natural roo behavior once they mature is they become more...roostery, and I appreciate that. BUT, he definitely started perceiving me as a threat when that happened, and started puffing up and crowing whenever I came close to show his dominance. Then it escalated to charging, pecking, and full on kicking. I have tried EVERYTHING I've read without just downright culling him. I've held him down on the ground like he does to hens to assert dominance. Not hard, but just hold him there and pull on his neck feathers. I read that can help with submission. I've put my foot up to him when he goes after me and block his kicks, and I've read that can help but also display that he needs to keep after me. I've lightly pushed him away with my boot. I've held him upside down. I've picked him up in front of the hens and carried him away from them to gently set him down. Everything tells me something different, and sometimes the suggestions are contradicting. I mean....I feel like I've done everything at this point. Is there anything else I can try? I have hawks and so I appreciate what he does for the girls. I would prefer to try and keep him around. They seem happier, lay often, and he has NEVER gone after them. He's always a perfect gentleman to his hens, but boy he HATES me. I don't have any kids, and he doesn't have spurs so his kicks don't do a ton of damage, but it's just annoying that I can't go into the yard without having to yell "Warren!!" every minute. Maybe it's the name that's got him embarrassed any advice? Or am I destined to rehome him?

This article might help. It's helped quite a few people here on BYC.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[BantyChooks]

@Shadrach 's article is well worth the read. One thing I will throw in is that inconsistency is not going to do you any favors and any method that might work has to be done at length before you see results. I too did the "everything but the kitchen sink" at first and I ended up with a confused, scared bird that only got worse. I'd say it takes at least two months of calm, consistent correction before I can stop aggressive behavior.... this is for aggressive roosters I buy off other people, so YMMV given he's not new.

Suggestions are often contradicting because a rooster reacts with aggression to many different situations and the situation is what needs to be remedied before the aggression will stop.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...g-roosters-how-to-deal-with-aggression.74690/
This article details my personal experience with roosters. Best of luck.

 

[nuthatched]

Unfortunately, hand raised roosters often get nasty to their people since they've lost their respect of them.
I'd try the link shadrach gave but there's not much to do if it doesn't.

 

[Mrs. K]

They don't have large brains to work with. Often times, once there is a problem, it is nearly impossible to fix it.

Some people swear they can over come it, a lot of experienced chicken people say it is pretty chancy of it working.

IMO the bird you loved is gone, he is not going back to that.

 

[Acre4Me]

Solve for peace in the flock. In this case, you may want to get rid of him. He could injure you or a small human child bc they are at perfect height to get injured easily and in the face.

We’ve had great roosters…and a few aggressive ones. The worst was a highly aggressive one that really needed to be dispatched bc he was larger, and very deranged kind of aggressive.. he was beautiful though. We’ve had some that calmed down too. But, hands down, the best ones are the ones that keep their distance, pay attention to the flock and not to you. Meaning, the good ones usually keep an eye on you from a distance and tell their girls to go on the other side of them, farther from you.

Good luck, maybe he’ll calm down eventually.

 

[intheredhomestead]

Thank you all for your replies! I appreciate it. @Shadrach - thank you for sharing your article. I was an anthropology major and studied wildlife ecology, so it was wonderful reading your article and putting the instincts and genetics to reason! I learned a lot! I will try consistency, and be careful not to be aggressive back and see if that helps. I tend to love on my hens and they love a good cuddle, so I bet that has something to do with the aggression as well seeing that they shake off when I put them down, almost as if they've been mated. He definitely sees me as competition. Hopefully he'll calm down with some consistent, non-threatening behavior.

Thanks again!