Please help :( my chickens are scared of me. Rooster problems?

[lolobearleo]

The only thing I know of, for a cockerel that's under one year old, is TIME. He very well may mellow out when he's fully matured and the hormones aren't so rampant (like between 1-2 years old). But he might not. In my experience, there is no way to 'train' human aggressiveness out of them, and no way to know which way it will go, until it goes.

Thank you for the advice! He was so sweet and docile before spring kicked in. He would walk up and around me, didn’t want to be touched or anything, but he was always friendly. Going to chat about all the options with my husband and make a plan. He’s only 7 months old… ah decisions! Thank you so much, seriously!

 

[LizzzyJo]

You have such a lovely set up and opportunity for a hen only flock here that I would certainly remove the roo. Once he is gone they will be at peace with you and you will be able to enjoy your time with them again. There will be tranquility that they haven’t felt in a while. They will not mourn or even need very much adjustment time - if any.

Crock pots are great - as are $5 sales on Craigslist.

 

[Acre4Me]

Thank you SO much for this very thoughtful reply!!

Do you have any tips and/or tricks for attitude readjustment? My husband and I are leaning towards stewing him but I would like to try to adjust his attitude for a bit if possible before we call it quits with him.

Thank you again

So, I’m not willing to try to adjust the attitude of a male to any great extent. They are humanely dispatched to cook or to sell live. But, at 7 months, in spring he’s a hormone driven teenager. So, penning him separate could help humans and pullets. Getting rid of him can also work. Really your call.

But, any kids involved? Yours, or a neighbor or relatives? If so, get rid of him bc kids are more likely to be attacked bc they are smaller and they are at eye/face level to be attacked.

 

[wrathsfarm]

So, I’m not willing to try to adjust the attitude of a male to any great extent. They are humanely dispatched to cook or to sell live. But, at 7 months, in spring he’s a hormone driven teenager. So, penning him separate could help humans and pullets. Getting rid of him can also work. Really your call.

But, any kids involved? Yours, or a neighbor or relatives? If so, get rid of him bc kids are more likely to be attacked bc they are smaller and they are at eye/face level to be attacked.

I agree with this... at 7 months he don't have a brain. I have a 7.5 month BCM now that's testing me. I run this circus so I do a firm step stomp, point and shout "No !!" ... with 2 other flocks and 2 other BCM's over 1 year they both went thru the same testing the hand that feeds. Their both really good to their girls now and there's mutual respect. I'm hands off til I need to be hands on. I show the boys the treats first so they can "look what I found" also.
I always strive for mutual respect if that fails sometime then we resort to "I feed you, I rule"
My opinion... I'd hang onto to him for a few more months, lock him up, carry him around and tell him how pretty he is in front of his girls when he's bad. He might settle down after he hits 12 months and be the best Roo on the planet. Or not..... It's just too early right now.

With kids? If you can't separate him. Lose him or stew him. Look for an older roo if you really want/need one.

My opinion only.... others may not agree. Do what you think is best for you.

Edit.... here's my boys. Just because.

Prince.... 7.5 cockerel, and Kings son.

King with his kids.

And Kong....

 

[TinyRaptorDodos]

Personally my hens have always disliked people unless they think we have food. I feel like this is due to their free ranging and constant “on edge cautious” mindset, when I brought in the new young rooster he would go after my hens quite a lot, favors my old lady, and now they seem more skittish and make more clucking noises but the rooster is not hurting them they are simple rooster hating hens so they're even more on edge. They still love eating out of my hand and such but bigger beings scare them (my current rooster is very large compared to my hens)

 

[The Chicken life chose me]

I’ll try to keep this brief!

We got our 11 chicks back in august and got 1 rooster and 10 hens, which is exactly what we wanted. I raised them all by hand and they’ve always been very friendly with me. When we transferred them outside anytime I open the door and come out they run to the edge to greet me. One will stand and my feet and scream (bock) at me till I pick her up and snuggle her. She’ll sleep in my arms

Our rooster has started getting a bit aggressive as the weather has started to warm with spring. He will run up to me and we will have a bit of a stand off and he’ll get all stompy boots (stomps his feet) at me. He’s tried to kick up a time or two.

I did some research and the advice I saw was to 1) try to pick him up and hold him to assert whose boss but also show him it’s safe and 2) if he charges to make him back up and then not chase when you turn away.

He’s not liked being picked up or touched much as he has matured so I’ve tried to respect his space. Maybe the wrong move. Anyways, I’ve tried both these a few times recently. I’ve managed to pick him up twice but there have been some problems and this is what is really making me sad .

Since I picked him up the first time and in general since he’s been more aggressive my girls won’t come over to me at all. They’ll run away . I can get them to come up with grubs and I can pick up my one girl for maybe a second but then she wants down. She runs away they all do. One of my girls will come up a bit still but not much. They seemed to be getting a little better but not much… then the rooster charged at me a bit again and I picked him up (they were all in the coop not outside with us) and again they’ve been more standoffish.

I also managed to get them to eat some snacks out of my hands then the rooster came up and pecked my hand hard and scarred them all away. The girls also seem to startle more when they’re eating… is it him being aggressive?

I’m at a loss I don’t know what to do. I just wanna hang out with and hold my babes

Thanks for any advice everyone!

Usually you have to sit down on the ground and hang out with them everyday , then they won’t be so startled. If you stop doing this or don’t do it as much they will get more scared of your presence . What did you end up doing with the Roo?

 

[The Chicken life chose me]

I agree with this... at 7 months he don't have a brain. I have a 7.5 month BCM now that's testing me. I run this circus so I do a firm step stomp, point and shout "No !!" ... with 2 other flocks and 2 other BCM's over 1 year they both went thru the same testing the hand that feeds. Their both really good to their girls now and there's mutual respect. I'm hands off til I need to be hands on. I show the boys the treats first so they can "look what I found" also.
I always strive for mutual respect if that fails sometime then we resort to "I feed you, I rule"
My opinion... I'd hang onto to him for a few more months, lock him up, carry him around and tell him how pretty he is in front of his girls when he's bad. He might settle down after he hits 12 months and be the best Roo on the planet. Or not..... It's just too early right now.

With kids? If you can't separate him. Lose him or stew him. Look for an older roo if you really want/need one.

My opinion only.... others may not agree. Do what you think is best for you.

Edit.... here's my boys. Just because.

Prince.... 7.5 cockerel, and Kings son.View attachment 3451318

King with his kids.
View attachment 3451346

And Kong.... View attachment 3451319

Awww beautiful Roos!!!!