Aggressive Frizzle Rooster

[birdofhermes]

He "acts" aggressive with newcomers? That's not s cuddly rooster. *sigh*

he doesn't actually attack or puff out his neck feathers like he would if there's a real threat. he just sort of scuffles his feet against his wings in a threatening manner lol might just be playing

 

[birdofhermes]

How did you train him to let you know when he needs to poop?

i would just make a big deal out of it whenever he did it in the house and i'd put the paper towel with poop on it close to his face so he'd understand how gross it was. mind you if i'm not around to let him out every half hour he'll still go inside haha but still way better than when he was a chick and pooping in the house like 10 times a day

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I raise a few roosters every year. They are different breeds as I like trying new ones. Since I have taken a no handling approach I have not had a single one show any human aggression.

From my experiences it's not breeds. It's not over bonding them to humans, and it helps if you are a confident owner who moves amongst the birds like you own the place, which I do.

I used to have a few aggressive bantam rooster back when I carried and coddled them. Some can handle that treatment and some can't. Raise them correctly and you never need to worry about them.

Some can be turned around, but it takes confidence and experience, otherwise you will just make them worse.

 

[feather13]

Thank you, everyone, for your incredible advice and generous responses to my post!!! I'm really floored by your generosity and, as always, appreciate the wide range of opinions on BYC, even if they are wildly different

Young Mr. Bieber has not had another bout of aggression. This is not to say that he won't and I'm very vigilant when I go down to the coop. We recently enclosed the run to make a huge aviary area for the chickens and I've been spending the weekends cleaning out the coop and moving things around. I think he might have been stressed by all the commotion the day he pecked or scratched my legs.

We won't be breeding him since he's not very attractive (sorry Justin Bieber fans, but the other roosters we've had were stunningly gorgeous!) and our hens rarely lay eggs. The vet confirmed that we have Marek's (by sending out a pathology sample from our beloved grey bantam), which she said might explain why we rarely get eggs, especially whenever there's variation in the weather. We've tried all kinds of feed, treats, nesting boxes, etc. No new birds will be joining our flock for a very long time and we wouldn't raise any chicks right now given our Marek's situation. If Mr. Bieber shows any more aggression or if the neighbors ever complain about his crowing, we'll have to cull him since I wouldn't feel comfortable rehoming a Marek's exposed bird.

 

[birdofhermes]

Thank you, everyone, for your incredible advice and generous responses to my post!!! I'm really floored by your generosity and, as always, appreciate the wide range of opinions on BYC, even if they are wildly different

Young Mr. Bieber has not had another bout of aggression. This is not to say that he won't and I'm very vigilant when I go down to the coop. We recently enclosed the run to make a huge aviary area for the chickens and I've been spending the weekends cleaning out the coop and moving things around. I think he might have been stressed by all the commotion the day he pecked or scratched my legs.

We won't be breeding him since he's not very attractive (sorry Justin Bieber fans, but the other roosters we've had were stunningly gorgeous!) and our hens rarely lay eggs. The vet confirmed that we have Marek's (by sending out a pathology sample from our beloved grey bantam), which she said might explain why we rarely get eggs, especially whenever there's variation in the weather. We've tried all kinds of feed, treats, nesting boxes, etc. No new birds will be joining our flock for a very long time and we wouldn't raise any chicks right now given our Marek's situation. If Mr. Bieber shows any more aggression or if the neighbors ever complain about his crowing, we'll have to cull him since I wouldn't feel comfortable rehoming a Marek's exposed bird.

that's harsh about the marek's disease. i'd still try to rehome him into a single bird home like mine is

 

[Folly's place]

I agree with feather about not rehoming a Marek's infected bird. Why spread the pain? And a virus that lives for a very long time?
You could try getting vaccinated chicks from a hatchery, having them off site for three weeks, and then bringing them home. Many of them should do well, although of course they will also be infected.
Nobody who has or wants chickens should visit your coop/ run area without advanced warning, so they can properly disinfect their clothes, boots, and themselves, and not bring that virus home!!!
Mary

 

[bobbi-j]

Thank you, everyone, for your incredible advice and generous responses to my post!!! I'm really floored by your generosity and, as always, appreciate the wide range of opinions on BYC, even if they are wildly different

Young Mr. Bieber has not had another bout of aggression. This is not to say that he won't and I'm very vigilant when I go down to the coop. We recently enclosed the run to make a huge aviary area for the chickens and I've been spending the weekends cleaning out the coop and moving things around. I think he might have been stressed by all the commotion the day he pecked or scratched my legs.

We won't be breeding him since he's not very attractive (sorry Justin Bieber fans, but the other roosters we've had were stunningly gorgeous!) and our hens rarely lay eggs. The vet confirmed that we have Marek's (by sending out a pathology sample from our beloved grey bantam), which she said might explain why we rarely get eggs, especially whenever there's variation in the weather. We've tried all kinds of feed, treats, nesting boxes, etc. No new birds will be joining our flock for a very long time and we wouldn't raise any chicks right now given our Marek's situation. If Mr. Bieber shows any more aggression or if the neighbors ever complain about his crowing, we'll have to cull him since I wouldn't feel comfortable rehoming a Marek's exposed bird.

Culling instead of rehoming him is a responsibile, thoughtful decision on your part. As Mary said, why spread it around? IMO, you've made a good choice.

 

[sourland]

Good husbandry dictates that possibly infectious birds should not be rehomed. Great decision by the OP and comments by Mary and Bobbi-j.

 

[RollTideChicken]

I don't deal with aggressive roosters. The last one attacked one of my boys when he was 8. I tried behavioral training like holding and such but nothing worked with him. They just go stupid some times...

 

[sbhkma]

i would just make a big deal out of it whenever he did it in the house and i'd put the paper towel with poop on it close to his face so he'd understand how gross it was. mind you if i'm not around to let him out every half hour he'll still go inside haha but still way better than when he was a chick and pooping in the house like 10 times a day

So what you really mean is, he's trained YOU to learn how often he poops so you let him out before he does it.