Aggression in Roosters--Is it Genetic?

[wolf-deer88]

My silkie rooster has always been a little standoffish, so I would keep my distance but one day last week, I suppose I got too close and he attacked me. Drew some blood, but nothing serious. He has charged at me several times since then. Yesterday, he even tried to attack me through the wire.

I originally intended to use him as breeding stock as he is a gorgeous, high-quality bird but I'm hearing that his aggression could genetic, and passed down to his offspring. Is this true? I would love to hear your thoughts on this. Thank you.

 

[LilyS]

I was really worried about this because we had a roo named Johnny who we had to kill. He was very very aggressive and used to attack us if we were just outside our while I feeding the girls or hanging out with my goose.

I ended up finding a chick outside one night by himself after I got done putting all the birds up so I gave him to one of our broody hens. He ended up being one of Johnny's babies and my favorite. I named him Mijo.

He's almost a year now and I've given him every opportunity to attack if he wanted to and he's just a gentle baby. His dad was always mean. I raised him from a babe also but he just wasn't nice.

So idk? We've had a few really mean roosters and now we have two of those roos offspring as our main guys and they aren't aggressive. This is Mijo.

 

[wolf-deer88]

That's strange. I raised my roo as well, so I find it odd that he's so aggressive. Thanks for sharing your story. Mijo is a beautiful boy.

 

[igorsMistress]

In my experience, no. I had a rooster that was tolerant of humans in his kingdom, but two of his offspring were aggressive and therefore dinner. My son has a rooster that has no qualms about attacking once in a while, usually in Spring. His son is super sweet though. Maybe it skips a generation

 

[sdm111]

No it is not

 

[Folly's place]

There is a genetic component to human aggressive behavior, but every offspring won't copy this trait. Given a choice, I wouldn't breed this guy, but you may find good cockerels in the next generation. Also, nobody really notices what influence the hen might have for this behavior.
Some breeds are more likely to produce obnoxious cockerels, and some aren't.
Genetics do matter, but it's not a sure thing at all.
Mary

 

[sdm111]

The average demeanor of a clutch is dictated by the hen

 

[wolf-deer88]

In my experience, no. I had a rooster that was tolerant of humans in his kingdom, but two of his offspring were aggressive and therefore dinner. My son has a rooster that has no qualms about attacking once in a while, usually in Spring. His son is super sweet though. Maybe it skips a generation

Hmm, weird! Maybe so! Thanks for replying!

There is a genetic component to human aggressive behavior, but every offspring won't copy this trait. Given a choice, I wouldn't breed this guy, but you may find good cockerels in the next generation. Also, nobody really notices what influence the hen might have for this behavior.
Some breeds are more likely to produce obnoxious cockerels, and some aren't.
Genetics do matter, but it's not a sure thing at all.
Mary

Thanks so much! I reckon I shouldn't breed him.

 

[wolf-deer88]

I have a lone young rooster (I have some chicks that I'll put with him if they're pullets) in a pen beside the aggressive roo. Could that be causing his aggression towards me? I only have one hen with the older roo (he's about a year.) She's five years old and infertile now. Could his lack of fertile hens be causing this?

 

[DarJones]

Everything plays a part. A rooster needs at least 3 hens to keep his attention. Seven is better. Small pens play a part. A free range rooster is less likely to display aggression than a rooster in a pen.

Aggression varies according to testosterone production with more testosterone positively linked with aggressive behavior. Some breeds are naturally low in testosterone such as hen feathered breeds. These breeds are far less likely to be aggressive.

When a rooster repeatedly displays aggression, he is trying to figure out if he is boss. He will attack until you either run from him or he has to run from you. There are two proven ways to stop an aggressive rooster. One is by culling. The other is to prove to him that you are boss. With a very aggressive rooster, this means you have to knock him down and then hit him repeatedly until he runs from you. Then the next several times you go near him do your best to knock him down again. He will get in the habit of running and you will have proven you are boss. It sounds nasty, but consider the alternative. Do you really want to cull your rooster.

As others said, the hen plays a huge part in inheritance. An aggressive rooster bred to a non-aggressive hen will often produce non-aggressive chicks. I've had a lot of aggressive roosters over the years. The only breed that were consistently difficult were BB Red Games. They are bred for fighting so it makes sense they will be highly aggressive.

One important note, the more times the rooster is aggressive toward you without repercussions, the harder it will be to train him otherwise. The very first time he is aggressive is the most effective time to prove to him that he is not boss.