Asian Black Rooster Suddenly Feisty :(

[StillSwirling]

We just got a new batch of chicks this spring. One of our Asian Black chicks turned out to be a rooster. For a few months he has been a good rooster. We let the young ones out to range for the first time and he stayed with the older girls when they did their thing. He's never attacked my husband or I. When my mom first arrived Friday he was cool. My mom gave them treats of beet greens and Jackie Chan (our rooster) was enjoying treats along side of them. About 10 minutes later, out of nowhere, he came up behind my mom and really scratched her good. She is fine, laughed it off but he'd never done that and we were concerned.

This morning I went to let them out for a bit before I have to drive to my appointment and when I turned to walk into the house with the eggs, he came and attacked me! Never did that before! Do we need to say goodbye already or is there something we can do? We never had this problem with our other rooster (that sadly died last year in the line of duty). We did end up with another rooster as well but the two of them get along as far as I can tell. Not sure if this could be a contributing factor or not. Appreciate the advice!

 

[DobieLover]

Your young cockerels hormones have struck. He is feeling insecure about his status but protective of the girls. Hence the attacks from the rear instead of directly at you.
I would stop hand feeding the girls entirely. When you have a cockerel or rooster in your flock, the pullets and hens belong to him.
You will need to watch him until he gains some confidence. Wear appropriate clothing when entering the flock's area so that his floggings don't hurt.
Sometimes it helps to pick them up and calm them down before the flogging begins. That works for my rooster but he is more mature. Each bird is different.
Your cockerel isn't one of the "nice out of the egg" boys and you will need to behave accordingly around him.
There are some good articles on roosters in the learning section. There are also some not so good articles. I would not resort to hitting or abusing your cockerel. That will only make things worse.
If he will be routinely exposed to children or others not capable of behaving properly around him or those whom he could injure, you should strongly consider re-homing him.

 

[StillSwirling]

Your young cockerels hormones have struck. He is feeling insecure about his status but protective of the girls. Hence the attacks from the rear instead of directly at you.
I would stop hand feeding the girls entirely. When you have a cockerel or rooster in your flock, the pullets and hens belong to him.
You will need to watch him until he gains some confidence. Wear appropriate clothing when entering the flock's area so that his floggings don't hurt.
Sometimes it helps to pick them up and calm them down before the flogging begins. That works for my rooster but he is more mature. Each bird is different.
Your cockerel isn't one of the "nice out of the egg" boys and you will need to behave accordingly around him.
There are some good articles on roosters in the learning section. There are also some not so good articles. I would not resort to hitting or abusing your cockerel. That will only make things worse.
If he will be routinely exposed to children or others not capable of behaving properly around him or those whom he could injure, you should strongly consider re-homing him.

Thank you! This is really helpful actually. I will try to pick him up and give him extra love when he gets feisty. I certainly will not resort to abusing him! I've never believed that sort of behavior is good for any creature. I will "comb" through the rooster section and keep an eye out for other helpful information. The girls will miss their treats but they'll get over it lol.