Brahma rooster anger managment.

[blitz1027]

I've got a brahma rooster that used to be a sweetheart but over the last couple of months has turned into a terror. I got him from meyer hatchery last April and he has been handled ever since I got him. The first time he jumped on someone was when my little sister was in the pen by herself. He jumped on her and backed her into a corner and kept jumping on her. My little sister is 11 years old and weighs about 75 pounds and this 12 pound rooster just goes berserk on her. Since then he has tried to jump on just about everyone that enters the pen with him. Even this morning I went out and refilled the they're feed and after I was out of the pen with the gate locked I see him run up and headbutt the gate.

My question is, Will he grow out of this or will he forever be a vicious tyrant? I got Brahmas because they were supposed to be very docile and friendly but it broke my little sisters heart when he attacked her.

 

[ashleym]

hello i hope this helps and he calms down, sence he is young he is probly just getting his male hormons in and decided he is going to
protect his hens and is getting ready to breed my young roo's always get like this at first and during breeding season just let him know he caint do that
and with a big roo like that it can he hard just keep nudgeing him away and tell im no i hope it passes good luck

 

[BaGAWK!!]

I had a leghorn roo that was the sweetest boy to me up until a certain point. He was over a year old when he started going at me and flogging. He works still eat out if my hand and I can pick him up but he would just snap like someone flipped a switch. He's just doing what roosters do. Like another poster said its his man hormones kicking in. Treat him as if you're another rooster and not going to put up with his tyrants...get a big stick (for your protection) and walk him off. Make him move away from you when you want him to. Dont ket him crow around you. Don't let him mate your hens in front of you, break it up. I did this with my roo and he got the message. He was even coming around to being nice to me again.

Now, if you do this, I have found that he may only be submissive to you and not other people. So you will have to have your little sister go out and do the same thing. I hope this works!

 

[gritsar]

In every breed there is a bad apple. Yes, even with brahmas.

There is alot of controversy here on BYC about 1) how to handle male chicks to hopefully prevent them from growing up to be aggressive adults and 2) what to do when you find youself with an aggressive roo.

First of all, when I read of someone with an aggressive roo 99% of the time it turns out that the cockerel was handled alot as a chick. I never, ever handle my young cockerels anymore than necessary to assure their good health. I actually like the fact that whenever a family member is out with my hens the roos make themselves scarce.

If you have a male chick that doesn't have an aggressive bone in his body and you handle him alot as a chick, you have done nothing but create a roo that's a cuddlebug. However if the chick you are handling alot does have aggressiveness in his bloodline and you handle him alot what you have done in a sense is to remove an obstacle to him coming after you when he matures - you've removed his fear of humans. So I raise cockerels without alot of handling and I make sure they keep their distance.

Now you've got an aggressive roo and need to know how to handle him. You can try reforming him. If he gets too close, chase him. If he tries to eat treats when you are offering them to the girls, chase him. If he tries to mate in front of you, chase him. Make that rooster understand that he is to keep his distance. This only works some of the time.

OR

You can cull him and try again with another roo.

I will be ordering another brahma roo in the spring to replace my wonderful brahma roo that has passed away. When my little brahma cockerel arrives, he will be fed and watered and provided with once weekly health checks, but other than that he will be ignored. He will learn to keep his distance.

Just my opinions of course, but I hope it helps.

 

[keesmom]

I would part with him soon. Once he gets spurs he could really hurt your sister or you. There are too many nice roosters out there needing homes to bother with a mean one. Chickens are supposed to be fun, and you shouldn't have to watch your back while tending to them.

 

[Chickenwhispere]

baGAWK, (newbie here) just wondering why should you not let your roosters crow around you? Thanks

 

[Ariel301]

There are so many roosters in the world that there is really no point in keeping a mean one. They don't tend to grow out of it, once they know they can terrorize people, they will only get more and more bold. And if you're planning on raising your own chicks, you certainly do not want his personality passed on to the next generation. Time for a different rooster.

 

[sourland]

This behavior will not go away on its own, and most probably will continue to escalate. He needs to learn the boundaries between chickens and people - he is trying to subordinate all in the name of protecting his flock. This may be the reason, but it is still unacceptable. There are many threads on here about 'subordinating' roosters. Some of these techniques may or may not work. For me, the rooster would have been gone immediately after he attacked the child. Good luck on adjusting his attitude.

 

[BaGAWK!!]

Quote:
Hey Chickenwhisperer, a big

!!

I am just going by what I did to gentle my rooster when I had one like this. I noticed after I walked him off a few times and didn't let him mate in front of me that he actually would NOT crow in front of me either. I am taking it from his reaction that crowing in front of someone is their attempt at letting you know they are dominant or they perceive you as a threat to their hens and youre in their territory since before he would obnoxiously crow by me all the time. Not sure if it will work for everybody, just the results I've found.

 

[blitz1027]

Quote:
That was one of my concerns as well. Would he pass his aggresiveness down to his young? I hate to have to cull him before he gets any worse. Just to give you an example of some things he has done to me. I went out to refill they're feed and when I knelt down to dump the feed he jumped clean over the feeder at me. Just as a reflex I did kind of an uppercut motion with the feed scoop and knocked him back. Then yesterday I was checking on one of the girls in the pen where it looked like she had been pecked on and and he jumped on me. Now I realize the second time he thought he was protecting his girl but I still had to punt him to the other end of the pen.