Aggressive Rooster

[sarahsmiles209]

We have a 13 week old Blue Ameracauna rooster, that we thought was a hen. He is very sweet to us and will tolerate being held and petted. However, he started attacking 1 of our hens about 3 weeks ago, very bloody. We isolated him for about 1 week and then tried to re-integrate. The next day he had attacked her again, bloody and went back to chicken jail. Yesterday we tried to let them forage together supervised and he immediately bit her comb and wouldn't let go until we pulled her away from him. He quickly then attacked another hen's comb and is now back in chicken jail. None of our girls are sick that we can tell. We are looking for a new home for him, any last ditch advice? Anyone ever rehabilitate successfully a rooster that is an aggressor instead of protector of his ladies? Thanks!

 

[QueenMisha]

It's impossible to find a pet home for an aggressive cockerel. No way, no how. No matter what, aggressive cockerels always end up in the soup pot. Where IMO they belong. Some people will say aggressive cockerels will calm down after they mature, which can occur in some cases, but why keep one who has ever displayed aggressive behavior when you can give a good home to a cockerel who's never hurt a hen in his life? Not to mention that bad personality is often genetic so he may well pass his nasty temperament to any offspring he produces. Ditch him and get a good cockerel.

 

[Ravynscroft]

Normally, I would agree with what QueenMisha said 100%... but oddly enough, a friend of mine had the exact same situation happen with her and her cockerel... hand raised, friendly to people but fixated on a single hen in her flock in the same way... she had hatched him from eggs out of my own hens... he was turning out to be a gorgeous black Ameraucana and I had told her if she ever decided to get rid of him to let me know first... she did, and gave me full disclosure about what was going on... I agreed to take him and give him a try since I needed a good roo at that time...

After quarantine time, I introduced him to my flock of fully mature 1 1/2 year old hens... they taught him respect and he has been a model perfect rooster ever since...

My suggestion is to offer him on Craigslist or similar for free with full disclosure of what is going on... screen respondents to ones with older, mature hens that is willing and able to dispatch him if he doesn't learn manners... being 13 weeks old is young, it really could be that first rush of hormones causing him to act out incorrectly...