6 month old Salmon Faverolle Roo - showing aggression

[jaymejojos]

We have a roo, Sammy, that has recently matured. Previously he was shy and very laid back and our oldest hen was leader of the flock. But since he has sexually matured he is protecting the hens, calling them for food, herding the away from "danger" )my husband working in the yard ) ALL GOOD! But he has also begun to show signs of aggression towards me and my husband - side shuffling towards us and wing beating us if we get to close to the girls. Will this aggression go away once the flow of male hormones balances out? I want my old Sammy back!

 

[sourland]

It's time to reassure him that you are the boss. Do not kick at or swat at him as this will reinforce his instinct to fight back. Some form of submission has sometimes worked for me - grabbing him and forcing him firmly to the ground, Netting him in a short handled fishing net and carrying him around, some say that catching and carrying the rooster works. Sometimes as they mature and adjust to the raging testosterone they become more mellow. Sometimes they do not. Good luck with him.

 

[Folly's place]

Walk 'through' him, never around. Have him always move out of your way, swinging a feed bucket or something if necessary. you can try carrying him around or holding him down, and sometimes it will make a difference. He shouldn't act out this way at all, and I hope he learns to be polite to you. If things aren't improving soon, there's the crock pot, where human aggressive idiots need to end up. Mary

 

[duluthralphie]

How many roosters do you have?


I have several roosters and Toms. I find everything the above people say is correct, I do both. (BTW Sourland has a record of being correct 106% of the time).

Never ever step even one inch to the side of a Tom or rooster. Make them move away from you. Even if it is out of your way to walk through them, do it.


The other thing I do, is at bedtime. When I lock the birds up for the night, I make sure I pet each rooster. They do not like it. That's the point. I do it and they have to put up with it. The higher the rooster is on the pecking order the more important you do it. If the underlings see the boss submitting there is less chance they will become aggressive.

With the toms I make sure I pick up, hold, pet the boss. (My birds have a mixed pecking order so the boss Tom is the boss bird of the roosters too.) I do it so much the Tom will protect me. If another Tom makes a move towards me. My Boss Tom puts the hurt on the underling. A couple weeks ago, putting the birds to bed and one of the Toms snuck behind me. I thought I saw it make a feint at me from the corner of my eye. I was not sure.

When I ran the birds into the pen/coop the boss tom was waiting just inside the door, I did not think anything about it. When the bird I thought made a feint at me went through the door, the boss Tom gave him a light beat down. I know this is Anthropomorphism, but I think the Tom considers me his boss and if someone beats me out, he goes down the list, and he does not want to go down the list.

If these things fail, look how well this changed this rooster's behavior, we have nit had one ounce of trouble since we applied this treatment to him.

 

[donrae]

I agree it's time for some training sessions. Do NOT just let this behavior go and hope it will correct itself. Invest some time now and you should be able to head off bad behavior. Folly's place gave basically the same advice I would. Any time he drops a wing, etc around you, walk briskly toward him. Make him yield to you, move out of your space. that shows you're dominant to him. Do that every time he shuffles around you. Make it a point to walk through the flock often. Even when he's minding his manners, just walk toward him and have him move away from you. Not in a mean "I'm going to kill you if you don't move" way, just a purposeful "I need to get from point A to point B and you're in my way so you need to step over" way. It's not about being mean to the rooster, or making him scared of you, it's about respect. Just like your kids and your dogs should get out of your way, so should your rooster.

 

[Folly's place]

To sourland; "If mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" Words to live by!!! Mary

 

[donrae]

Yeah, I wasn't even going to go there! I know who gets out of who's way in Sour's house

 

[sourland]

The Princess is a fearsome woman , indeed. In 52 + years I have seen her enraged 3 times. Once at our son, once at our daughter, and once at a cellar door with a 'troublesome' door handle. She was going to attack the door with a hatchet - I was planning on replacing the door knob.

One kid lied to her and the other had a pigpen room that finally pushed her over the edge. I simply escorted the kids away to a safe place as she destroyed their rooms.

 

[donrae]

The Princess is a fearsome woman , indeed. In 52 + years I have seen her enraged 3 times. Once at our son, once at our daughter, and once at a cellar door with a 'troublesome' door handle. She was going to attack the door with a hatchet - I was planning on replacing the door knob.

One kid lied to her and the other had a pigpen room that finally pushed her over the edge. I simply escorted the kids away to a safe place as she destroyed their rooms.

I"m liking her more and more!

 

[sourland]

I"m liking her more and more!

Hey, the door had only been troublesome for about 6 months. I immediately removed the door knob and replaced it with a hook and eye temporarily - 3 years.

Forgot to mention that I gently removed the hatchet from her grasp.