Buff Rocks rooster becoming aggressive

[Apmi]

I'm not a first time owner, but it has been many years since my last flock.

I have a beautiful boy called Gallifrey as well as 5 females (he was supposed to be a female but mistakes happen). He's started crowing more lately but as it's only during the day it doesn't bother me much. However, he is now 4 months ago and getting into that hormonal phase of his life. I've read the articles and the posts and it seems that I've done most of the things that are suggested for handling an aggressive roo without even realizing it.

That said, Gallifrey has repeatedly attacked my 12 pound dog (who obviously weighs more but is physically smaller than him) when she is let out. He will actively seek her out to attack her so I now follow her around the yard to keep him at bay. Within the past week he has started to attack my 60 pound dog in a similar fashion. The chickens have been exposed to the dogs since the day I brought them home and Gallifrey knows they are not a threat. Little dog avoids them and big dog doesn't give a crap about them. Just yesterday, he started going after my 25 pound cat who I walk out with my 3 pound cat (who isn't allowed on the ground because she's blind and teeny) to their pen. Cat is a huge wimp and afraid of the chickens. Whenever I show dominance to prevent him from attacking, he tries to attack me. It happened again this morning, but he made the mistake of going after my daughter who was, until today, his favourite human. He's okay with the female chickens for the most part but has shown, what I consider, excessive aggression when he decides he wants to "have his way" with one of the ladies (who haven't even started laying yet).

This new aggression towards me and my daughter is a deal-breaker and if I can't get it under control will have to rehome him. I can pick him up and carry him around all day without him struggling (he even seems to enjoy it sometimes willingly perching on my arm or shoulder) so that won't work to break his behaviour. I use a stern voice when he's naughty, I aggressively stomp my foot, putting my arms out a bit to look bigger, and lunge/charge him while scolding him when he tries to attack the other animals to show him that they are my flock and under my protection but this only makes him charge me back. It takes up to a minute of this back and forth before he gets the hint that I'm boss. If my daughter or I go out without the other animals, he and the girls run up looking for treats and are sweet but once he realizes there is no treat, he puffs up, stretches his neck and eyes me like I'm most repugnant thing ever. He usually considers charging me at this point at well, but because I watch him so closely, I know the signs and am able to stop him before he starts.

I know this post has gotten long, but my chickens are my pets as much as my cats and dogs are. I don't want to give him away if I can fix him but he seems to becoming more aggressive each day. The ladies aren't overly friendly but they are well-behaved and will perch on your legs if you sit down and nibble your clothes. Gallifrey has no real issue with me being near or catching his girls so I don't really understand the aggression or the escalation. Any advice would be appreciated. I have no fear of him and refuse to let him win whatever battle he has decided is taking place.

 

[sourland]

A rooster that size and that aggressive can cause serious injury to your daughter. If he were mine, he would have to go.

 

[microchick]

I feel for you, Apmi. Dealing with hormonal roosters even when they are well behaved is stressful to all involved. I wound up with 5 cockerels and 7 pullets when I thought I was getting 10 pullets and two cockerels. No fault to anybody, mother nature will win out with such things, but at 4 months, things turned nasty between the boys who had been together since they were day old chicks. Two formed a partnership and decided to try and kill two more dominate roosters. I had to seperate them at that point and at this time have three very nice 24 week old boys tending the girls (I added 6 pullets to the flock) and two 'bachelor' birds that will go to the processor this week one way or another. One of them has turned nasty and will peck/bite hard enough to leave bruises on your legs. I don't even go into the pen any longer to lock them up at night and have set the food and water so I can refill through the fencing. The other bachelor isn't a bad bird towards humans, he just wants to kill other roosters.

You are right. Attacking a human is a deal breaker. You can try corrective behavior on your boy but I wouldn't expect it to last. It hasn't for our two outlaws. One of our dogs decided to chase one of the boys one day and managed to pull out a couple mouthfulls of feathers before I could rescue him. This happened to the cockerel who likes to bite and for about a week he was fine around me making me think that his near miss with the dog had helped cure his behaviors. It hadn't. I suffered an unprovoked bite while trying to get them in their coop that left a dime sized bruise on my leg. That was the last straw for him.

There are a lot of things you can try to modify his bahavior, some work, some don't but if your boy's behaviors are escalating, I wouldn't hold out too much hope for him. He will continue to see your dogs, your cat, your kids, and even you as a potential threat to what he perceives as 'his' girls. Don't fault him too much. In his little pea brain, he is just doing what instincts are telling him to do. Roosters are a crap shoot. Either you get a good one, or one that needs to be invited to Sunday dinner.

As for adding hens, yes definitely. I did. I was able to pick up 6 pullets from the breeder of our original flock. You want to get them as close to the age of your older hens as possible and then introduce them to the flock slowly, keeping them isolated for health safety, and then keeping them in a pen where they can be seen by the others for a week or two. There are a lot of threads on BYC dealing with this.

Hope things work out for you. There are a lot of nice roosters out there looking to be rehomed if worse comes to that. Don't feel bad if you have to part with your aggressive rooster. Better to part than to see him tear up one of your dogs, cats, or even you.

 

[Folly's place]

He's dangerous and needs to be dinner for someone, if not your family. ASAP! Nice roosters are out there; maybe next spring try again with a new boy. Mary

 

[Apmi]

I was actually just out there and stopped a few attacks on my little dog and he didn't challenge me too much. Not 15 minutes after that, I picked him up while watering them and he was absolutely sweet. 5 minutes after that he was rubbing against my leg looking for pets like a cat until my big dog came for attention, too and he bit her nose. It's those sweet moments that have me hoping he can be rehabilitated back into his sweet self. I should be calling him Dr. Jekyll, Mr. Hyde at this point. I will continue to try to modify his behaviour for a while longer before admitting defeat. And, if that time comes, I will rehome him, but not to a soup pot. Pets aren't for eating. Thank you for the help.

 

[microchick]

I sincerely wish you luck if it comes to the point that you have to rehome him. You may find that rehoming roosters isn't as easy as it sounds especially those with behavior problems. Nobody wants a mean rooster. Trust me, I know, which is why our two roosters are going to be processed.

At least being processed for food means that their lives have stood for something.

 

[keesmom]

I sincerely wish you luck if it comes to the point that you have to rehome him. You may find that rehoming roosters isn't as easy as it sounds especially those with behavior problems. Nobody wants a mean rooster.

X2. This time of year everyone under the sun is trying to rehome cockerels. I have to butcher several well-mannered cockerels simply for lack of any interest in them. Trying to place a human aggressive one will likely be difficult.

 

[microchick]

I just got a lucky egg laid on me. I was able to give my two problem child roosters to an Amish neighbor up the road. One will be butchered one will hang around to do his rooster thing with their girls. I took a loss with them, but no longer have the worry of trying to find somebody to A) buy them which wasn't going to happen or B) be stuck with them all winter.

 

[Jesusfreak101]

I have to say that he would be a dead rooster, i love my rooster (rooster cogburn aka roo roo) he adores my two year old daughter and our cats just our dogs are the issues the kill his hens so cant blame him there. He very sweet in nature and has never attack myself or my daughter just my husbands boots he hated those things. He just started mating with the hens and it hasnt changed his additude at all i would feel like you if he had i love him he a pet i dont have the heart to kill him. However if he tried to hurt my daughter that might be a different story. Try what you can but dont forget that as sweet as he can be doesnt mean that he isnt dangerous to your child if he keeps up his hyde act.

 

[Apmi]

I should have made note that my daughter is 12 and nearly as tall as me at 5'7". While I'm not happy that he went after her she can handle it. Since the post, he has been on his very best behaviour other than biting my big dog while I was holding him (which I haven't done as much recently so I'm hoping he's just being a bit jealous and acting out).

My dogs have never attacked the chickens and of my three cats, one is scared of them, one is blind and only 3 pounds fully grown them so she's never exposed to them and the final one couldn't give a fig about them but I have no doubt that she wouldn't hesitate to take one out if it tried to hurt her. Gallifrey only seems to be going after things that present no harm. He even tried to attack a chipmunk. But thank you all for the responses. I very much appreciate the advice. Even if it's not what I want to hear, it's good to keep in mind that no everything works out the way I want it too and making that hard decision isn't just hard for me, but for others as well.