Since we had 3 chickens killed by the family of raccoons last week, we have been locking up all 9 chickens in the coop and setting the coon trap every night. All have been safe so far so good. We have 5 roos and 4 hens left and all are about 4 months old. For the past 2 mornings, my youngest son (11 years old) and I have been releasing the chickens and feeding them alone. There is one rooster that has suddenly gotten really aggressive towards the two of us and our rubber boots. Yesterday, he pecked by son's hand (drew blood) and today he attacked my boot and flew up on the top of the fence (over my head) and was all fluffed up like he was going to fight me. I haven't gotten to talk to my husband about this yet, but I'm pretty sure he will say that rooster will soon be dinner. What do yall think? Is he just being more protective since the coons attacked last week? How do we get him to settle down and be more friendly?
I personally think it's just coincidence! If he's about 4mos old.....I think he's beginning the typical roo behavior of showing you who is boss! Mine has started to do this as well. Check out this web page...and remember while reading it....you and your family are part of their pecking order too even though you're not chickens!!! http://www.homestead.com/shilala/roosters.html
You may be part of the pecking order to him, but you need to be at the TOP and he needs to know it. I'd carry him around like a sack of potatoes, feed him from your hand when you have him there, pet him and love on him. Do it alot so he knows you are in control, not him. See if that helps any. If not, if he was here, he'd be gone, one way or another. My roosters are very large and I can't afford for them to be people-aggressive, as they could do some real damage.
I'm having the same problem with my wyandotte "Slick" He's not as bad as yours but he is getting "cocky". Doing the lil roo dance around us. I've been picking him up and making him become submissive to me. He's still strutting his stuff but He is learning who the boss is. He doesn't have spurs yet but he better learn his place by the time they come in. I'm not opposed to chicken dinners or in his case... roo dinners! And I will take care of it that way if necessary.
When he acts aggessively never, ever back away from him. Be aggressive, grab him up and hold him by his feet upside down. He'll flap and squawk for a few seconds, then he will just hang there, showing submission to you. Hold him that way for several minutes then put him down. Do this every time he gets cocky, He'll get the message and you'll be on top of the pecking order. I wouldn't worry about the rooster dance, one of mine does this everytime my DW comes around him, he likes her and follows her around like a puppy.
I have three roosters and 27 hens and have had to deal with all my roosters, one by one, wanting to challenge me for the throne. They generally all started getting confrontational when I'd get to cozy with the hens-such as talking to them or letting them sit on my lap. I keep a 5 gallon plastic pail in the coop with food in it and have occasionally used the top to swat at them- more so in a motion to scare them rather than knock them silly. I did this even when they were behaving sometimes. I had to hang my big buff orp. upside down and parade him in front of the hens for their enjoyment and he was a different bird after that. my partridge rock roo went after my grandson in my presence and I went after him relentlessly for 3 to 4 minutes with the plastic lid and that seems to have changed his tune, too. The best advice I ever got in my brief chicken raising experience was from this forum via a link to shilala.homestead.com/roosters, titled "keeping your roosters sane". The key word was"consistency" and I have applied that since the day my new chicks arrived. All my chickens, hens and roosters alike, know who is at the top of the pecking order in my pen. And at 20 weeks old now, I am getting 15 eggs a day and amazingly my 3 roosters all get along. I generally go out to my coop 3 times a day and it makes me feel good when they are all lined up at the door waiting to see me. Thanks to this forum and its members.
Excellent thread!!! My roo at 14 weeks is acting like a roo but is still submissive to me. I've been flapping my arms at him at crowing. The chickens think I'm nuts, my neighbors think I'm an idiot. Patch, sorry to hear about your loss. Faith and patience do wonders. You babies will have to re-establish their pecking order so different behavior should be expected.
OK, this might sound submission, but I won't make I contact with my aggressive rooster. Otherwise he attacks my boots. I'm on guard all the time. I cannot imagine trying to grab him and hang him upside down, or carrying around with me. How do I even get to that point????
Blondie, I understand where you're coming from. We have 2 bantam roos that I tended for about a year with no problems, but my teenage son or husband was always around the barnyard. One day I went alone and was cleaning out the hay and feeding/watering, etc. and one of the roosters cornered me in the barnstall where they live and kept coming at me with more and more force. Finally I screamed which seemed to infuriate him (maybe he thought I crowed?). Eventually I covered my face and ran. Once after that I saw a spider and screamed and the same rooster came running across the barnyard to attack me. I'm mixing up dumplings! I need to be able to tend my chickens and people keep telling me to "show him who's boss". Well, right now he is.
Put on gardening gloves or work gloves, and some goggles or safety glasses if you've got 'em. Also make sure you are wearing closed-toe shoes, long pants and long sleeves. Then when the roo decides to challenge you, just reach down and grab him. Don't worry about trying not to hurt him when you grab him, they are pretty strong--unless you're a body-builder, he'll make a lot of noise but he'll be fine. Tuck him under your arm so he can't flap his wings at you, then put one hand around his feet. If you can reach (depending on how big the roo is and how long your arms are), you can grab his feet using the arm he is tucked under. I wear baggy coveralls to deal with the chickens, so for my big roos I tuck their feet into my coverall bib pocket and hug them so they can't flap. Then I work one arm free and scratch their shoulders or get their heads covered with my jacket if it's cool out. That seems to calm them down. Once they have decided to be calm and friendly, they get put down, not before. It's a little scary if they are coming at you trying to peck and fight, but if you've got heavy gloves and safety glasses on there is not much they can do. Mostly they turn and run as soon as they see you trying to pick them up.