Rooster May Be Turning Aggressive?

[ShianRainDrop]

So I have a "move in" rooster that started hanging out in my yard around a year old or just under. I started to take care of him because no one else was and he sort of adopted me over time. He was skittish at first but over the last year or so he has gotten to the point that he would take treats out of my hand. I thought that was a good thing.

I finally got some baby chicks (my first ones ever) after a farmer friend recommending that for him and now that he may have heard them in their brooder in my house, he is starting to do a little shuffle kind of dance and puffing up his feathers while coming very close to me. He has also nipped at my hand a couple of times. He's probably close to 2 years old now.

He hasn't flown at me yet with his spurs but I'm so scared he's going to do that. I'm even more concerned that once the chickie babies get to full size and can be moved out in the coop and run I've built for them, that he may get more aggressive.

Do you know if there is something I can do now to keep him from getting further aggressive? I'd really hate to give him away but I'll be danged if I'm going to let an 8lb rooster come after me.

My hope is to incubate my own eggs in the future so I'll need a rooster. I'd rather have him since he's the entire reason I've jumped into the backyard chickens to begin with.

As a side note, I got a really beautiful photo of him this weekend when he was being fiesty. Meet Colonel Sanders.

 

[Fillymj]

Beautiful Rooster

 

[harice4806]

No expert by any means but I wonder if hearing chicks is throwing his need to protect into overdrive and hearing them come from behind a door you just came out of means (to him) you must be holding them hostage. I really don't know but they run on instinct and his instinct could be to protect the babies. Which would be great for the future but a pain now. Keep hand feeding and try to get him to realize you're not hurting them. He needs to know you're not a threat. It's hard bc animals don't rationalize it's all instinct based. But don't give up yet. If he keeps being aggressive you can gently but firmly hold him to the ground between his shoulders. Like a hen does before a rooster mounts in submission. Let him learn you aren't intimidated by his behavior and won't tolerate it - without violence obviously. Hopefully this is a passing thing and he gets better!

 

[ShianRainDrop]

No expert by any means but I wonder if hearing chicks is throwing his need to protect into overdrive and hearing them come from behind a door you just came out of means (to him) you must be holding them hostage. I really don't know but they run on instinct and his instinct could be to protect the babies. Which would be great for the future but a pain now. Keep hand feeding and try to get him to realize you're not hurting them. He needs to know you're not a threat. It's hard bc animals don't rationalize it's all instinct based. But don't give up yet. If he keeps being aggressive you can gently but firmly hold him to the ground between his shoulders. Like a hen does before a rooster mounts in submission. Let him learn you aren't intimidated by his behavior and won't tolerate it - without violence obviously. Hopefully this is a passing thing and he gets better!

Thank you so much. This past Friday when he nipped at my adult son and was doing his little dance to both of us, my son was able to catch him. I took him from my son and knelt down on the ground with Colonel between my knees and held him down for a few minutes. He was able to claw the ground to start to get out but I got him back down pretty quickly. He didn't act aggressive anymore until the next morning. So I wonder if I did that every time he did his little dance and distraction (acting like he is eating stuff off the ground to distract me), if it would help.

I have tried to keep him from hearing the babies but it really does seem that since he maybe did and the fact that it's pretty much spring, so mating season, that that is why he is behaving as such? My chickie babies are only 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 weeks old so it will be some weeks before they will be full grown and safe enough for me to put outside.

I have a coop for them and my original plan was to put them in the coop once fully feathered and leave them in there for two weeks so they would get used to it as their home, and then let them out into a fully enclosed run (which I haven't even started on) without letting Colonel in until he gets used to them being there. Then I was going to introduce him after the ladies were fully grown and similar size to him. However, we are now going to go with flexible electric net fencing so I'd be worried about him flying over and getting in and hurting them before they are ready.

So soo much to learn. I just really don't want to get rid of him. He's been my buddy (at a distance) for over a year so I really want it to work. He's soooooooooooo freaking beautiful and I'd love to be able to hatch out some eggs that were fertalized by him. (Also brings me to another issue. Is him being feisty now during spring mating season and after hearing baby girls a concern when it comes to breeding? I'd think that's not necessarily a breeding issue as much as a nature issue.)

Sorry so long. I have so much to learn and am trying to fill my mind with everything I can possibly to be a great chicken owner.

 

[ShianRainDrop]

Beautiful Rooster

Thank you sooooo much! I think so too. I am absolutely in LOVE with the metallic looking teal on the tips of his cape feathers and his tail plummage! I'm a dog person. Never in a zillion years did I think I'd love chickens just as much. LOL!

 

[harice4806]

Thank you so much. This past Friday when he nipped at my adult son and was doing his little dance to both of us, my son was able to catch him. I took him from my son and knelt down on the ground with Colonel between my knees and held him down for a few minutes. He was able to claw the ground to start to get out but I got him back down pretty quickly. He didn't act aggressive anymore until the next morning. So I wonder if I did that every time he did his little dance and distraction (acting like he is eating stuff off the ground to distract me), if it would help.

I have tried to keep him from hearing the babies but it really does seem that since he maybe did and the fact that it's pretty much spring, so mating season, that that is why he is behaving as such? My chickie babies are only 2 1/2 and 3 1/2 weeks old so it will be some weeks before they will be full grown and safe enough for me to put outside.

I have a coop for them and my original plan was to put them in the coop once fully feathered and leave them in there for two weeks so they would get used to it as their home, and then let them out into a fully enclosed run (which I haven't even started on) without letting Colonel in until he gets used to them being there. Then I was going to introduce him after the ladies were fully grown and similar size to him. However, we are now going to go with flexible electric net fencing so I'd be worried about him flying over and getting in and hurting them before they are ready.

So soo much to learn. I just really don't want to get rid of him. He's been my buddy (at a distance) for over a year so I really want it to work. He's soooooooooooo freaking beautiful and I'd love to be able to hatch out some eggs that were fertalized by him. (Also brings me to another issue. Is him being feisty now during spring mating season and after hearing baby girls a concern when it comes to breeding? I'd think that's not necessarily a breeding issue as much as a nature issue.)

Sorry so long. I have so much to learn and am trying to fill my mind with everything I can possibly to be a great chicken owner.

First off - you're absolutely right. SO MUCH to learn. I'm 5 yrs in and still learning. Anywho...your reaction when he nipped was great. You may have to continue this for a while til he gets the memo and gives up some of the fight. It's definitely possible the sound of chicks and spring coming is putting his hormones in overdrive. They'll mate anything that let's them any time of year but especially spring.

A small fenced in area might not be a bad idea for your babies for a while just to give them time to get used to his presence without him being able to get to them. This leads a 2nd concern - if he's a true free ranging bird who may at some point belonged to someone else he may be a carrier for disease. He can carry and not show symptoms. Don't want him bringing anything into your flock. This will always be a concern if you don't have a way to keep him on your property.

The keeping them in the coop for a week or two once they're out is perfect. Gives them time to adjust and learn where home is. I personally have a fully enclosed run but I live with open fields (predators) and have a dog with high prey drive. But every case is different.

Hopefully with time it gets better and you can keep the roo with them all living harmoniously!

 

[ShianRainDrop]

@harice4806 is there anyway to find out if he is a carrier for disease? I definitely don't want him to cause my girls to get sick.

 

[harice4806]

You'd just have to keep him in a confined area (coop or covered run) on your property for 30 days or so and watch for things like raspy breathing, eye or nose discharge, etc. Things that could indicate respiratory which can spread fast if not checked early enough. Make sure he doesn't have any off behaviors to indicate possible parasites like mites/lice/worms (which are easy to treat). Just make sure he's as healthy as he seems.

 

[ShianRainDrop]

You'd just have to keep him in a confined area (coop or covered run) on your property for 30 days or so and watch for things like raspy breathing, eye or nose discharge, etc. Things that could indicate respiratory which can spread fast if not checked early enough. Make sure he doesn't have any off behaviors to indicate possible parasites like mites/lice/worms (which are easy to treat). Just make sure he's as healthy as he seems.

He comes close to me a lot and as you can tell in his photo I posted, he has a beautiful red comb, clear orange eyes, and I've seen plenty of his poopand it's normal. Would he not be showing symptoms of that now if he had something?