Aggressive Rooster

[HonaHelp]

Yes...two of the boys went back to the breeder today. The big boys.
She is going to trade us..pullets as soon as she has some. She has a few orders to fill
first and only hatches small batches.
The 3rd -what we think is cockerel--is the smallest and must be slow to mature.
I could not see getting rid of 3 at once and leaving one here all by herself while we wait.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Yes...two of the boys went back to the breeder today. The big boys.
She is going to trade us..pullets as soon as she has some. She has a few orders to fill
first and only hatches small batches.
The 3rd -what we think is cockerel--is the smallest and must be slow to mature.
I could not see getting rid of 3 at once and leaving one here all by herself while we wait.

Oh ya, she would have been very lonely and probably upset to suddenly be alone. That was likely the best choice.

 

[Wendyhowarth]

I just startEd reading this because my rooster (was told he was a she) is now biting me when I feed him and the hen. He is for the most part sweet. Let's me rub under his chin...my question is should I stop petting him? From what I've read it seems as though most people are being more aggressive than friendly...no judging by that last statement...we all have different ways of doing things...I just want to do the right thing

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Being friendly with an animal who live in a dominance structure puts you in a submissive position. I would never hand feed a rooster. A dominant rooster will take food out of a submissive members mouth. Your rooster is biting you to punish you. It will probably escalate. It isn't about being aggressive, it's about being assertive and having a dominant attitude, as well as being the dominant bird. Chickens don't think like humans, only like a chicken. You need to learn to speak chicken.

 

[dawn secord]

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are trying to raise some sizzles. (thank goodness for patient husbands)

I am not new to chickens, she is. I've had a few roosters and have only had one that was re-homed. I am not very knowledgeable about roosters though.

So, she has our latest hatch of 5 babies. Luck would have it - we have 4 cockerels and 1 pullet. She is going to keep a cockerel and the pullet. Two of the cockerels have already been rehomed. She is trying to pick which cockerel she wants to keep. One is flat feathered and sweet as ever (they are 3 months old now). The other (named Adam) is gorgeous frizzle feathered and the one we want to keep for our breeding program. His behavior is listed below (pasted from an email she sent me)

• I went out this morning to check on my 3 and Adam promptly pecked my shoes twice, and grabbed ahold of my pants holding on and pulled,

wiggling his head back and forth like he was a dog playing tug a war...

Do we rehome Adam and keep the flat feathered one? Can we work Adam out of this. She thinks he is playing. I think he is bieng aggressive. He has pecked her twice. She thinks he was grabbing her skin for amorous purposes.

HELP

 

[dekel18042]

Hi all,

My girlfriend and I are trying to raise some sizzles. (thank goodness for patient husbands)

I am not new to chickens, she is. I've had a few roosters and have only had one that was re-homed. I am not very knowledgeable about roosters though.

So, she has our latest hatch of 5 babies. Luck would have it - we have 4 cockerels and 1 pullet. She is going to keep a cockerel and the pullet. Two of the cockerels have already been rehomed. She is trying to pick which cockerel she wants to keep. One is flat feathered and sweet as ever (they are 3 months old now). The other (named Adam) is gorgeous frizzle feathered and the one we want to keep for our breeding program. His behavior is listed below (pasted from an email she sent me)

• I went out this morning to check on my 3 and Adam promptly pecked my shoes twice, and grabbed ahold of my pants holding on and pulled,

wiggling his head back and forth like he was a dog playing tug a war...

Do we rehome Adam and keep the flat feathered one? Can we work Adam out of this. She thinks he is playing. I think he is bieng aggressive. He has pecked her twice. She thinks he was grabbing her skin for amorous purposes.

HELP

If Adam is the one you want to keep he is young enough to try an "attitude adjustment" on. I'm assuming he is with others his own age but you have adult birds? If so, it might be the time, under supervision, put him with adult hens or even roosters. Again, I'm assuming he is at the top of his small group pecking order and this move will put him back at the bottom and he will have more things to worry about then pecking shoes or skin. I've found the best roosters are the ones that grow up with various aged birds.

 

[dawn secord]

THank you! We do have two cochin hens that are a year old. She tried to put him with them but they went after him - he is a bantam so there is a big size difference. So, I'll let her know she should put him in with them and let them work it out - under supervision??

 

[lazy gardener]

Quote:

• I went out this morning to check on my 3 and Adam promptly pecked my shoes twice, and grabbed ahold of my pants holding on and pulled,

wiggling his head back and forth like he was a dog playing tug a war...

Do we rehome Adam and keep the flat feathered one? Can we work Adam out of this. She thinks he is playing. I think he is bieng aggressive. He has pecked her twice. She thinks he was grabbing her skin for amorous purposes.

HELP

If Adam is the one you want to keep he is young enough to try an "attitude adjustment" on. I'm assuming he is with others his own age but you have adult birds? If so, it might be the time, under supervision, put him with adult hens or even roosters. Again, I'm assuming he is at the top of his small group pecking order and this move will put him back at the bottom and he will have more things to worry about then pecking shoes or skin. I've found the best roosters are the ones that grow up with various aged birds.
I'm not sure, but you might want to do some reading on genetics of frizzle birds. There might be a lethal gene involved, so you may want to keep the smooth feathered bird anyways. I've not had any silky/frizzle birds, so, don't have the knowledge, but... there's something clanging around between my brain cells about that. So... home work first. Then... decide. But... if Adam can't be retrained, do not use him for a breeder. IMO, there's only one use for a mean roo. They make good soup and casseroles. Adam is NOT playing. He is dead serious, and his aggression will only escalate if it is allowed.

 

[dekel18042]

I'm not sure, but you might want to do some reading on genetics of frizzle birds. There might be a lethal gene involved, so you may want to keep the smooth feathered bird anyways. I've not had any silky/frizzle birds, so, don't have the knowledge, but... there's something clanging around between my brain cells about that. So... home work first. Then... decide. But... if Adam can't be retrained, do not use him for a breeder. IMO, there's only one use for a mean roo. They make good soup and casseroles. Adam is NOT playing. He is dead serious, and his aggression will only escalate if it is allowed.

I don't have frizzles but I do read extensively on chickens and know others who have had them. I think the problem is if you do a frizzle to frizzle breeding. As long as one parent is a non frizzle you should be OK.
What I mean by "under supervision" is if he is being picked on and can get away, he is learning his place. If he can't get away or if blood is being drawn, I would step in.
I once had two young cockerels lording it over the same age pullets they were with. One got tossed in with the laying hens and the other I threw into my bachelor pad with adult roosters. I really expected the worst. While he was being a jerk they went after him and as soon as he ran and settled down no problems at all. I didn't have to intervene at all and both became decent flock roosters. I still have hens from the one today and others have grandchildren from them.

 

[snow5164]

We rescued a year old comet rooster. From day one he attacked me, hubby carried him around and stamped his feet , never got hurt. He surprise attacked me three times, yes there was blood and bruising .
Unless you listen to people who have the years of experience, don't get a rooster. Mine was more work then my 24 hens!!!

I did rehome him , but I put him in the snow out of the coop for 10 minutes and "broke him" before I did . The tough love did work but I decided I didn't need to feed an animal that was giving back nothing ...except nice sounds