Calling all Chicken Whisperers. . .

[Queen of the chickens]

I have learned how to approach a strange dog from the the side to show I'm friendly not threatening and not to run, etc. Are there ways to interact with roosters to keep them from feeling threatened and attacking me? One of my favorite little Cochin Cockerels is only 3 months old, but seems to want to "back me up". He has acted like the head honcho for quite awhile. I even named him Napoleon because he was such a cocky little thing. I fear it's only a matter of time before he flogs me. which is a sad shame because he's so handsome and a favorite. Is there a way to make convince him that I'm the head of the flock?

 

[Neese87]

The only way that worked with me is to get a game rooster and let them fight but don't let them hit each other with their spurs.

 

[chookhead]

no sorry u must assert ur dominance
u imitate a neck at his neck like gently pull his neck feather just as another male would and then he will know that u are boss u must assert ur dominance in every way
otherwise when he grows up he will flog u and u will be forced to re home him

 

[terryg]

Aggression simply begets more aggression. Handle the rooster as much as possible. Carry him around. I've heard from many chicken keepers who say that this works. If nothing else- you'll embarrass him In the past, dangerous roosters went right into the stew pot. The nice ones were so nice that they were pets for children. These days, roosters are bred for production or looks. Temperament is rarely taken into account. Temple Grandin has written about rapist roosters who are aggressive to the hens. Please don't breed your rooster if it is severely aggressive.

 

[RedDrgn]

Actually, your experience with handling strange dogs is fully applicable to roosters. You never want a strange dog to perceive you as a threat or a rival, and you never want your rooster to do that, either. So pay attention to your movements and your body language and consider them from your rooster's perspective.

Like terryg said, spend time with him and handle him. Don't chase him, and if he starts trying to back you down, DON'T back down. Instead, squat down and offer treats. In fact, offer treats to him often. Also, don't stand over him. That's what used to set our roo off, and for good reason because it's very intimidating. You wouldn't stand and lean over a strange dog, so don't do it to your roo. Squat in front of him and talk softly and offer snacks.

Pick him up at random (without chasing him down to do so) and give him a scratch on the head or neck. If he struggles, hold on until he stops before putting him down. Give him a snack right afterward. Also, don't fear handling the hens around him. Handle them often and give them plenty of snacks out of hand as well (and note that "snacks" can well be their usual feed - they won't mind!). The only thing I recommend avoiding is petting your hens on the back, because if they squat for you, he's going to think you're breeding them and that is pretty much a direct "I'm the alpha roo!" message right in his face. You're not a chicken, though. You're supposed to be a just a flesh-covered, harmless feed dispenser to him.

Since yours is so young and hitting puberty, he still may be a bit of a nightmare until the hormones settle, so try to be patient. Now is the perfect time to work with him because he's pretty much harmless (likely no spurs) and impressionable. Of course, every roo is different and some are just @$$hats through and through, but yours doesn't seem to be a nightmare bird and doesn't have to be.

Best of luck!

 

[Queen of the chickens]

Thanks for the Advice RedDrgn. That's kind of what I did with my SL Wyandotte Roo and my GL Polish Roos. I didn't handle them all that much, but I did hand fed them a lot. They are very nice, polite gentle men and good to their girls. But, I was beginning to question if it really had an impact as I have a Belgian D'Uccle Roo who hates my guts. I don't do anything differently around him, but he seems to feel he needs to attack me if he is out of his tractor. I purchased him in a trio of last Spring. The Roo was fine with me at first, only flogged me once or twice over a six month period. Both those times, I felt he was just feeling a little extra spunky. But this Spring he has gotten very aggressive, but only with me. I think it may be because he was being bullied by our Polish Roos back in January and I had to put him in in solitary confinement until we could build a separate coop for him and his girls. I was the one who fed and watered him, but I am probably also the face of his captor. I will try these techniques with him too. Maybe we can be friends again. If not, I am willing to live and let live. . . at least for now. I unfortunately had eggs from this trio hatching by the time I really saw his mean side. I will work with the three roos that hatched and hopefully they will take after their mothers who are sweet.

 

[kcjones]

while i was building an addition to the coop for the new chickens my rooster started attacking me.he don't tolorate power tools being used in or around his coop. he lost all fear of the chicken stick and would attack me anyway. so i started acting like i had wings, and flapping them at him , an doin a little chicken dance like he does. the neibors get a big laugh out of it when they see it , but it works great, he just puts his feathers back down an goes about his business.

 

[RedDrgn]

Thanks for the Advice RedDrgn. That's kind of what I did with my SL Wyandotte Roo and my GL Polish Roos. I didn't handle them all that much, but I did hand fed them a lot. They are very nice, polite gentle men and good to their girls. But, I was beginning to question if it really had an impact as I have a Belgian D'Uccle Roo who hates my guts. I don't do anything differently around him, but he seems to feel he needs to attack me if he is out of his tractor. I purchased him in a trio of last Spring. The Roo was fine with me at first, only flogged me once or twice over a six month period. Both those times, I felt he was just feeling a little extra spunky. But this Spring he has gotten very aggressive, but only with me. I think it may be because he was being bullied by our Polish Roos back in January and I had to put him in in solitary confinement until we could build a separate coop for him and his girls. I was the one who fed and watered him, but I am probably also the face of his captor. I will try these techniques with him too. Maybe we can be friends again. If not, I am willing to live and let live. . . at least for now. I unfortunately had eggs from this trio hatching by the time I really saw his mean side. I will work with the three roos that hatched and hopefully they will take after their mothers who are sweet.

I don't think that they recognize the "face of their captor" so much as they just get tense when isolated from hens that they know are in their area (because they can hear and see them). I was extremely worried that our roo wasn't even going to work out when we first got and had him in isolation (quarantine period). He was in the garage in a large dog crate, completely out of sight from the girls, but not out of sound. He could hear them and they could hear him and it drove him nuts. He'd crow his head off and when we'd let him out (in the garage) just for some exercise he'd get a ruffled and a little nasty if we tried to steer him away from the door and window nearest the hens. Once we got him integrated into the flock, it helped with his aggression A LOT. From there, it got much easier to nip most of the rest of the bad behavior. If they're not getting serviced, they definitely get testy.