10month old Attack Rooster

[RoosterCogburn7]

Meet Kevin,

View attachment 1060463

We adopted Kevin when he was 3 months old. (Someone returned him to the hatchery, now I know why ) Anyway, Kevin has chased me twice. Both times were in the morning right after I let everyone out, and both times I was wearing red.
Crazy Question: Are roosters sensitive to color?
Got any good tips and tricks to get him under control? (Besides making him chicken pastry )
Thanks!

Barred Rocks can be aggressive. I know one trick to get him under control. Butcher him and put in the crock pot and slowly cook him all day long until the meat falls off the bone. Good flavor, and the rest can be used for chicken noodle soup. Now if he is starting his juvenile crow, you could quarter him and make fried chicken too.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I know of game roosters who attacked the discharge shoots on red lawn mowers and Bush-Hogs if that is what your asking about? I'll just say that it usually didn't end well for the chicken.

Also I would like to mention that the real purpose of topical medicine like Blue-Coat is to conceal the color red in an injury to help prevent the rest of the flock from doing more damage to the injured bird.

So yes, roosters and BTW all chickens are sensitive to red. Also children running, playing loudly, etc close to the coop or run will inflame the emotions of a cockerel and make him into a dedicated man fighter. Running after a rooster with frailing arms will just result in a sneaky back stabbing rooster, IMHO.

 

[FlyWheel]

I know for a fact that "do not look at him" does NOT work. my last rooster was attacking me, I tried every option I read about and he didn't stop, he just waited until my back was turned.

 

[centrarchid]

I know for a fact that "do not look at him" does NOT work. my last rooster was attacking me, I tried every option I read about and he didn't stop, he just waited until my back was turned.

The not looking at him part serves same role as not chasing, fighting, or running from him. Their is more to it than just that single part. When I have had a rooster that does the attack from behind I stay there and take it so long as he does noes try to repeatedly drill up my leg with spurs. If he gets no reaction he will stop in short order. Key is not to reward him by giving him the response.

I have an outsourced game rooster that comes from a line of machinery and people fighters. He was a problem for a while but he now causes no trouble because of approach I advocate. His trouble began with how he was kept by previous owner.

Some people should not keep roosters, period. More effort needs to be invested on the self identification for that.

 

[azygous]

You've gotten a ton of great advice. I especially like the one about wearing plaid!

Seriously, you need to understand why your rooster is treating you the way he is. It's partly his behavior problem and partly your behavior problem.

As my good buddy centrarchid has pointed out, it's very important for you to moderate your behavior. One of the very first things I notice when a young cockerel is coming under the influence of his hormones is that he is jumpy and nervous when I move too quickly.

Our behavior around a cockerel and a rooster has everything to do with how secure and trusting they feel, and when they don't trust you, they start treating you as a threat.

Some insist you should show the rooster who's boss. While it's important that you display a confident demeanor around a rooster, it's much more important that your behavior inspires trust.

By taking things slowly and deliberately, especially when in close proximity to your rooster, it will help him relax and trust that he won't have any unwanted surprises from you.

Way back when I had my first rooster, I had no clue how to behave with one. Stan was a Silver-laced Wyandotte, and they're known to be on the pugnacious side. Every day was a boxing match, several boxing matches, and sometimes I would chase him around the compound, accomplishing absolutely nothing other than getting a good aerobic workout.

Now I understand roosters, and I understand that the best way to have a gentleman roo is to ignore him from the minute he comes into his hormones. This shows him I trust him to do his job, and he comes to respect me and my job. The rooster I now have is a Cream Legbar named Strawberry, and he gracefully slides out of my path as I walk toward him, and I never get on his case about his role in the flock.

Having a good rooster is a two-way street. You need to show him respect, and he will return the favor.

 

[Folly's place]

I agree with centrarchid to a point, BUT would never stand around and let myself be attacked!!! I also don't hurry out there, move confidently, and walk 'through' my cockerels and cock birds as needed. I wear shoes and jeans, not sandals and shorts, and generally expect good behavior. I have horses and cattle too, and with them 'she who moves, loses' and she who makes others move, is queen. I'm queen! Some cockerels aren't going to be polite, turn into manfighters, and will taste great in the crock pot. It's just stupid to attack the giant who brings food every day! Kevin might reform, if you change your behavior out there, or he might just be one of those idiots who's dangerous to have around. Mary

 

[adlynch]

Thanks to all for the great advice!
I will add: Kevin is typically not aggressive towards me, this doesn't happen on a daily basis. The majority of the time he side steps away from me when i walk towards him. Although good advice, I'm not ready to put him in the crockpot just yet. I don't need him to be a "sissy". We live out in the middle of nowhere and let our birds free range all day. We have had some issues with Hawks and the occasional stray dog, so i feel like he needs to be somewhat aggressive... just not towards me! My husband has never had a problem with him, its just me with the issue. Sounds like i need to work on my confidence around him (and choose better clothing options/colors!)
When it happened yesterday-- The hens were gathered around scratching and pecking, i went over were they were and picked something up off the ground. It startled one of them, so maybe he thought i was a threat. Thats when he came running over, fluffed up, stared me in the eye and tried to ninja kick me. I wasnt prepared for battle in my pajama shorts and flip flops and didnt have a broom handy, so i ran and locked myself in the barn until the coast was clear . I know, i'm a failure.

 

[centrarchid]

Aggressiveness towards humans is not a good predictor of efficacy against predators. Do not expect much benefit against a dog under any situation. Hawks sometimes, for me in protection of chicks or hens in a smaller more natural harem.

 

[Folly's place]

x2! While he's attacking you, he's not thinking about protecting his flock from hawks or anything else. Stupid! The fighting bird people have it nailed; human aggression is separate from interbird or flock protection behavior genetically. In fact, it seem that those three behaviors are wired differently in their TINY little brains. That's why training only goes so far in modifying rooster behavior, (and their testicles are bigger than their brains, anyway). Mary

 

[aldarita]

centrarchid has considerably more experience with roosters than I do and no doubt has more right now than I have ever owned. Definitely advice worth taking.

I definitely second this post. Lots of people think that aggression "fixes" an aggressive rooster which I believe is totally wrong. You have to think in terms of pecking order and act like roosters do when they are trying to establish their dominance. Centrarchid advise is very good.