someone is being a naughty boy!

[henny1129]

Like a lot of others has said, you have options, but there's really only two that are going to keep everyone safe.....
1. Cull him.
2. Give him to someone who will cull him.
In my opinion, you can't rehabilitate a mean rooster, it just doesn't work. I know this may seem really harsh, but I'm just used to having birds culled. We used to have two aggressive Banty roosters (we culled them), and I can't imagine having an aggressive full grown rooster. And don't you still have Toffee as a rooster? Best of luck!

 

[IdyllwildAcres]

she is older than me! she is just a scaredy cat! but I am the one responsible for the chickens, she just fills in for me when I'm sick ECT...! He only has 1 spur so not as much damage lol! he hasn't attacked me just charged me and pecked me! but I'm doing the best I can! I'm reading about this on other websites about why he just starting to act like this!

If you are the one responsible then you need to evaluate wether or not you are actually being responsible. You have received a lot of good advice here, so the question is what is the responsible thing to do? Is keeping him the responsible choice?

 

[bobbi-j]

I'm trying something to not make him as aggressive and as I was doing that I that there was blood drops all over the coop I didn't know if he had hurt a hen or what! I picked him up and he struggled and pecked me then settled down and we walked and walked and walked! and once we waled for about 20 or so minutes and put him back. I noticed I had blood all over my hands and hoodie! Hmm I wonder if that injury may have caused him to chase the hens maybe? and might be because of boredom too? or where there at, the coop hasn't been moved in quite a while and has rained and been nasty and we don't have are tractor to move it right now!

How big are your coop and run (in feet by feet)? Do they get out to free range? Sometimes over crowding can cause bad habits like aggressiveness.

 

[summerb123]

How big are your coop and run (in feet by feet)? Do they get out to free range? Sometimes over crowding can cause bad habits like aggressiveness.

18 ft by 6 ft with 8 chickens and we don't free range b/c of A LOT or predators!

 

[summerb123]

Like a lot of others has said, you have options, but there's really only two that are going to keep everyone safe.....
1. Cull him.
2. Give him to someone who will cull him.
In my opinion, you can't rehabilitate a mean rooster, it just doesn't work. I know this may seem really harsh, but I'm just used to having birds culled. We used to have two aggressive Banty roosters (we culled them), and I can't imagine having an aggressive full grown rooster. And don't you still have Toffee as a rooster? Best of luck!

yeah but but but! I don't wanna cull! that's the problem! I would NEVER get over the fact I did that to my boy! But yes I have still Toffee and he is a rooster but I am afraid if we absolutely have to cull him and put Toffee in there he will get bullied by the hens that are as bis as him! and I would have to separate him and his "adopted daughter" Pepper b/c they would bully her and even kill the chick!
(I got off topic I know lol)
but maybe he might not just be aggressive! He might be bored or something!

 

[bobbi-j]

yeah but but but! I don't wanna cull! that's the problem! I would NEVER get over the fact I did that to my boy! But yes I have still Toffee and he is a rooster but I am afraid if we absolutely have to cull him and put Toffee in there he will get bullied by the hens that are as bis as him! and I would have to separate him and his "adopted daughter" Pepper b/c they would bully her and even kill the chick!
(I got off topic I know lol)
but maybe he might not just be aggressive! He might be bored or something!

Well, let's look at your options. You can continue on as you are doing, being charged at by your rooster, having to watch your back and having a bullied, stressed out flock while you're trying to "rehabilitate" him. Or you can cull (which simply means to "remove from the flock" not necessarily "kill") him, and try your other rooster and his "adopted daughter" (Are they wilt the flock now? If not, where are they?) with them. Or, if the other rooster isn't with the flock, you can cull the aggressive one, and leave the other two where they are. I can't think of anything else, can you?

Personally, I would reduce the stress in my flock so my hens can stay healthy and continue laying well. Stressed hens are not healthy bird, nor do they lay as well as they could. I feel that I'd be doing right by them that way.

Again, sometimes making hard decisions that are a benefit to the whole flock are necessary when keeping chickens. It's not easy making those grown-up choices, and I don't enjoy it either. But there are times when you've gotta do what you've gotta do... Give him a chance if you wish, but keep in mind how it's affecting the other birds and how it may not be fair to them.

 

[Beekissed]

Hello peeps!

My rooster Oscar is a year old and a week ago his attitude started to change! he use to be very mellow and nice to the ladies, but something has changed! we put are chickens on poultry vitamins and finally has sickle feathers, and I guess a newly found attitude ! And NO, I'm NOT sending him off to freezer camp! He has attacked my sister 2 times charged me so many times I cannot count! He is not letting the hens have any food, just hogging it all for himself. He with the hens will fight over treats! and if I give a treat to the hen I'm the one he goes after until he gets food! can anyone help me with this behavior! I will not tolerate it any longer!




thanks!
~Summer!~

Kind of contradicting information.....you won't get rid of him but you won't tolerate his behavior. Sorry, can't have it two ways, I'm afraid, unless you are willing to take some measures to change this bird's mind....but I'm doubting it will work, because you will still be you and he will return to that relationship dynamic if both parties don't change.

Guess you are up a creek with this one.

Settle in to getting flogged and having your hens be miserable, as it doesn't look like you are willing to make a decision that would eliminate both issues.

 

[Fluffers]

I'm not a rooster expert, but maybe you could try expanding his territory, make their run bigger. He could be fighting for territory. Don't let him peck you. I have a hen named Sunshine who is at the bottom of the pecking order, and she knows i'm at the top, so she tries to peck me to replace me so the others won't bully her (that's what she thinks). It's a battle to be the top of the pecking order. When she went after me and attacked my leg i would push her back and gently hit her on the back, then she would go away. It took a few months but she doesn't do it as much anymore.Good luck with Oscar, don't let him give you a scar!

 

[AllynTal]

I having a breeding program with my flock and I breed to the SoP (Standard of Perfection). It involves selecting breeding stock based on body and color and other breed characteristics. However, no matter how good a bird looks, the absolute first criteria I use to decide who to cull is temperament and the first boys to go to the chopping block are the ones that bully hens. If a cockerel runs pullets off food and away from the waterer, he's first on the list. Second on the list are any of them that get aggressive with people. Period, no exceptions.

I'm going to say this as gently as I can. If you can't make the hard decisions -- when to cull, for example (not IF to cull, but WHEN to cull) -- you definitely shouldn't be thinking about breeding chickens. If you can't bring yourself to cull one aggressive rooster, then having to make that decision for maybe a dozen other birds down the line isn't going to happen and your flock will be a stressed-out mess. That's not fair to the rest of the flock to make them so miserable because you're sentimentally attached to the bird that's bullying them. Being a responsible flock owner means making the hard calls for the well-being of the whole flock. If you can't do that, think very long and hard about whether or not you can really maintain a healthy flock of chickens.

I found this an interesting read. Maybe you will, too.
http://www.nwedible.com/you-absolutely-should-not-get-backyard-chickens/

 

[AshlyMommaWard]

I'm trying something to not make him as aggressive and as I was doing that I that there was blood drops all over the coop I didn't know if he had hurt a hen or what! I picked him up and he struggled and pecked me then settled down and we walked and walked and walked! and once we waled for about 20 or so minutes and put him back. I noticed I had blood all over my hands and hoodie! Hmm I wonder if that injury may have caused him to chase the hens maybe? and might be because of boredom too? or where there at, the coop hasn't been moved in quite a while and has rained and been nasty and we don't have are tractor to move it right now!

It seems like nobody has responded to this particular comment. Did you find the injury on him? Have you treated it? If he's bleeding that much you're not going to have a rooster left to worry about. If this has actually been a sudden change, and now you've found an injury, maybe just maybe, pain is causing aggression. Find and treat injury.
If it isn't that sudden, and he's been working up to it for weeks or months, I agree with the statements above.
But first, find the source of the blood.