Aggressive Silkie Rooster ..Last Straw

[BettyBlueRanch]

Alright friends. We rescued a Silkie Rooster about a month ago. He had been left to starve in a tiny cage, so I expected healing time to time awhile, both physically and mentally.

He is SO MEAN. He is overly aggressive with the hens, and was attacking me whenever I entered the run, even charging the fenceline when I was just doing chores. So, we separated him into his own coop and run.

I have tried always approaching with treats, I've tried carrying him around upside down, I tried changing his food.

Any other suggestions before I offer him to the coyotes? (Kidding, he would be handled humanely)

 

[BantyChooks]

He sounds like a fairly severely damaged rooster, so sorry for the struggles you're having with him. When he attacks, does he act scared, or is he acting cocky? In my opinion, those are two broad categories of aggression that require markedly different responses. It may be possible to quiet him with time and a correct, consistent approach, but I wouldn't fault you if you culled him for such behaviour.
I wrote this article on roosters a while ago to save me time on writing out my approach to handling male birds. Feel free to look through it if you want.

 

[cherrynberry]

To me, he sounds like a threat...not a really great keeper...especially if you have litte children.

 

[Folly's place]

There's no excuse for his condition when you found him, but he likely was a jerk, and that's why he was tossed out.
Some roosters are just going to be obnoxious, and unfixable.
You did a good deed, and he's in a better place, but he's just not a keeper.
Mary

 

[ElizaMay]

We were given 3 silkie by my MIL, who had received them as supposedly 2 hens and a roo that had produced eggs. I let my MIL know the giver was either delusional or a liar, because all 3 were obvious crowing hat-wearing male silk8es. One was a complete turd that flogged me or hubby the moment we walked into our barn. This was laughable coming from a 2 lb poofball, but highly insulting regardless. Worse, then his two buddies would immediately followupwiththesame. I gave the 2 most notorious attackers to a friend who stewed them the next day. The one remaining roo has ceased all aggression, is respectful and kind. Sadly, all my standard hen ladies won't tolerate him despite his constant tidbitting.

 

[Folly's place]

Is this rooster still very young! Maybe in time your hens will like him better. Or, they can't believe that this strange looking little guy is actually a rooster?!
Mary

 

[ElizaMay]

Is this rooster still very young! Maybe in time your hens will like him better. Or, they can't believe that this strange looking little guy is actually a rooster?!
Mary

No, at least a year old, and the nicest of the three which is why I kept him. He is not at all aggressive without the other two setting the bad example. He crows regularly, cuts a wing at various hens, tidbits - but he seems beneath their dignity, and his stumpy legs makes him too slow to catch them and to short to get up on them without their explicit permission.

 

[ElizaMay]

Follow-up - he ended up taking his frustrations out on one of my fave girls (my only white hen) when he developed speed several months later. He would hunt her down behind my main rooster's back, and she would sceech to get away but I wasn't fast enough to get to her, and neither was main roo. Rather than have her avoid coming to eat and lay in order to avoid him, I culled him.