Rooster is nice to everyone, except my husband.

[Brink]

Hey y'all! So I have a rooster. I didn't raise him from a baby but he was given to me and I was told he was about eight to nine months old at the time. So he is estimated to be about nine to tenish months old now.

I was worried he was going to be aggressive but he was actually more curious and weary than anything else! He loves to walk around me and he'll even eat treats out of my hand but he won't allow me to touch him or anything. He gets scarred and runs away if you try to touch him.

However, he absolutely hates my husband! Now my husband travels for work and is only home typically every other weekend. This last time my husband was home, memorial weekend, Gimli (rooster) was flogging him and following him around like a crazy ex-girlfriend! My husband caught him during one of his flogging fits and pinned him to the ground to try and show dominance. That worked for probably close to an hour and then Gimli went right back to stalking and flogging him.

Has anyone else ever had a rooster that was sweet with most people but absolutely hates a specific person? What did you guys do? Is there a way to get Gimli to accept my husband? Even though he isn't home all the time I don't want my husband having to watch his back (literally) every time he steps outback. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[NatJ]

Even though he isn't home all the time I don't want my husband having to watch his back (literally) every time he steps outback. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

If you shut the rooster in a pen when your husband is home, that will keep both him and the rooster safe while you decide what else to do.

It seems to be fairly common for roosters to tolerate some people and not others.

Different people have different ideas about how to deal with problem roosters. Ideas vary widely: show dominance in one way or another, or show that the person is not a threat, or ignore the rooster, or put the rooster in a pen and avoid contact with him, or rehome the rooster to someone else, or butcher the rooster & eat him. Every idea has someone who says it works, and someone else who says a different idea is better.

I cannot give good advice on most methods, because I prefer to just butcher the problem bird and be done with the matter-- but that is my personal preference, not a statement of what you should do. The "right" answer for you might be different than the "right" answer for me or for someone else.

 

[Mrs. K]

I agree you need away to contain him, people visiting may not be as nice as your husband and they can cause real injury that you would be liable for.

I also would be very aware. I think he will become more aggressive to more people as time goes on.

 

[Brink]

I agree you need away to contain him, people visiting may not be as nice as your husband and they can cause real injury that you would be liable for.

I also would be very aware. I think he will become more aggressive to more people as time goes on.

Yeah that is was I am a bit worried about; him becoming more aggressive as time goes on.

He also seems to have a very strong dislike to a pair of red basketball shorts. As stated earlier he is fine around me, just a bit weary but this morning I came out in red basketball shorts to feed the horses and then sit down with the birds like I do every morning with my tea. He was not having it, following me around while feeding, and then tried to attack me while I was sitting down.

It was the strangest thing. Then it dawned on me that these are my husband's shorts and they're the same ones that he was wearing when Gimli started attacking him.

I got an accidental roo in with my pullets so I have a little blue breasted leghorn that's only 8 weeks old currently. Gimli just might find himself added to the next batch of meat birds if he doesn't get his head on straight.

 

[Ridgerunner]

It is not that unusual for a rooster to attack a certain pair of shoes or boots and not others. Or, as you have seen, a certain pair of shorts or maybe a certain color.

Let's say you and your husband never wear red shorts again and he quits attacking. But some day a young child shows up wearing red shorts. The face and eyes are a perfect height for the rooster's claws or beak if he attacks. Think about that.

If an immature cockerel is a bit rough with the hens or pullets I tend to say give him a chance to grow out of it, he often will. At his age he should be acting more like a mature rooster than an immature jerk but I do not tolerate this type of human aggression. To me it is not worth the risk.

 

[Mrs. K]

To be honest - I think it is not the shorts - I think he is just getting more aggressive.
If you have children, be very careful.

 

[Broody_Mama]

He also seems to have a very strong dislike to a pair of red basketball shorts.

I never wear red to my chicken coop. Only time my rooster ever got fussy on me was when I wore a red hoodie to collect eggs one morning. He didn't attack me, but his reaction was distinct enough that I knew something was wrong... then I realized what I'd done. He relaxed once I took it off.

Here's an explanation I found:

"Chickens are attracted to the color red because it is one of their natural instincts. They will attack injured and bleeding flock members until death to avoid being detected by a predator. Since they associate the color red with blood, they will often attack anything the color red."
LINK

 

[Klutch]

Have your husband and the rooster, take a walk behind the wood shed and work it out.

 

[Sad Chick]

I would suggest your husband brings a broom or something and just gently shoo the rooster away, so he doesn't get attacked.

 

[Pojojuniper]

Hey y'all! So I have a rooster. I didn't raise him from a baby but he was given to me and I was told he was about eight to nine months old at the time. So he is estimated to be about nine to tenish months old now.

I was worried he was going to be aggressive but he was actually more curious and weary than anything else! He loves to walk around me and he'll even eat treats out of my hand but he won't allow me to touch him or anything. He gets scarred and runs away if you try to touch him.

However, he absolutely hates my husband! Now my husband travels for work and is only home typically every other weekend. This last time my husband was home, memorial weekend, Gimli (rooster) was flogging him and following him around like a crazy ex-girlfriend! My husband caught him during one of his flogging fits and pinned him to the ground to try and show dominance. That worked for probably close to an hour and then Gimli went right back to stalking and flogging him.

Has anyone else ever had a rooster that was sweet with most people but absolutely hates a specific person? What did you guys do? Is there a way to get Gimli to accept my husband? Even though he isn't home all the time I don't want my husband having to watch his back (literally) every time he steps outback. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Sorry I don't have any specific advice, but I am in a similar situation. Our rooster is always trying to get in a sneak attack on my husband! And he's around a lot, so I don't think your problem is necessarily caused by your husband being unfamiliar to your rooster. I genuinely think the rooster knows my husband is a male (animals understand that there's a difference in genders, unlike many people in society today) and therefore perceives him as a threat. I wish I had a solution as well!