Chicken is showing aggression towards me

[pinknblackchaos]

Some people have a conditioned fear response and its not easy to get over. I am afraid of my rooster. I am even afraid of my good rooster that has never attacked me. I wish i wasn't because i love him but i know i cant trust him. I don't want to handle a rooster who is aggressive, period. Just sharing what worked for me. Now they have their own fenced in yard, and he can charge me from behind it and it doesn't matter, he cant get at me or my kids and we can all do what we want.

 

[normanthechicken]

Re: Chicken is showing aggression towards me



Norman is 8 months old. I have not been injured, and no small children live here.



We have a total of 3 rooters unfortunately. We purchased what we thought were hens from tractor supply (their genders were labeled). We had 16 chickens and only 5 ended up being hens!



We are beginners when it comes to chickens (when I say ‘we’ it is me, and my parents) so I truly didn’t know why he suddenly started being mean or how to deal with it. I’ve always been kind of on edge a bit with all the chickens we have. And I think it is truly hard to not be a little on edge when you don’t know if a chicken will come at you randomly! It’ll be a bit hard for me not to feel that way. Before he started being mean, I wasn’t that scared of any of them and would sit while they were scratching and peaking around. I would feed them snacks and everything.



The other two roo’s are respectful and keep their distance. I am sad that he started doing that because I love them so much.



I do appreciate the advice everyone had given me! My parents really love Norman so we will not be getting rid of him or killing him.

 

[grnidone]

That dance is mating dance. The only thing with that is the next thing he will probably do is fly towards your family members in an attempt to mount them.

Nope.

They also dance when they are excited: mine do it when I have a bag of raisins in my hand. They do not fly at me or try to mount.

They just want raisins. Or bananas. They do it for bananas as well.

Many people lose patience with roosters and don’t have the time to understand them.

Most people give roosters one chance and then turn them into dinner. (You wouldn’t potty train a kid like that, don’t train a rooster like that.)

And yes, when they flog, it hurts.

But, when you learn how to communicate with them, they are surprisingly willing to be the second in command.

It’s not a magical thing that happens overnight, mostly because humans are impatient creatures who are not consistent.

But it does happen.

 

[grnidone]

Re: Chicken is showing aggression towards me



Norman is 8 months old. I have not been injured, and no small children live here.



We have a total of 3 rooters unfortunately. We purchased what we thought were hens from tractor supply (their genders were labeled). We had 16 chickens and only 5 ended up being hens!



We are beginners when it comes to chickens (when I say ‘we’ it is me, and my parents) so I truly didn’t know why he suddenly started being mean or how to deal with it. I’ve always been kind of on edge a bit with all the chickens we have. And I think it is truly hard to not be a little on edge when you don’t know if a chicken will come at you randomly! It’ll be a bit hard for me not to feel that way. Before he started being mean, I wasn’t that scared of any of them and would sit while they were scratching and peaking around. I would feed them snacks and everything.



The other two roo’s are respectful and keep their distance. I am sad that he started doing that because I love them so much.



I do appreciate the advice everyone had given me! My parents really love Norman so we will not be getting rid of him or killing him.

What is your hen to rooster ratio? Ideally, you need 10 hens per roo.

 

[aart]

What is your hen to rooster ratio? Ideally, you need 10 hens per roo.

Not really.

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.
It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.
Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc
It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.
Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

.....and multiple males can create an environment of competition that can bring out the worst behaviors in all of them.

 

[Acre4Me]

So you like him and want to keep him. Then pen him separately, but with the flock. Do your chores then let him out. Or keep him in his pen.

roosters can cause damage. Numerous stories in here of injuries to adults. Some have had some pretty good injuries requiring medical attention. At least there are no little kids around, so unlikely to get any face or eye injuries.

we had a rooster that didn’t like me. He tried attacking all of us. He got to tolerating the other family members, but still didn’t like me. I dealt with it, and always kept my eye on him, and had a few methods of dealing with him. But my goal was to keep him until this spring so that the younger males got older and got a fair amount of chicken lessons from that male and older hens. We sold that male and I’m happy we did so. He served his purpose for the time he was with us. The new flock leader is 11 months old and minds his manners, and it’s so much more enjoyable when I’m out there with the chickens.

 

[normanthechicken]

What is your hen to rooster ratio? Ideally, you need 10 hens per roo.

He is free range with the two other roosters. The roo’s were putting too much stress on our hens so we decided to put them out one by one.

 

[grnidone]

Not really.

The 'rooster' to hen ratio of 1:10 that is often cited is primarily for fertility efficiency in commercial breeding facilities.
It doesn't mean that if a cockbird has 10 hens that he won't abuse or over mate them.
Many breeders keep pairs, trios, quads, etc
It all depends on the temperaments of the cock and hens and sometimes housing provided.
Backyard flocks can achieve good fertility with a larger ratio.

.....and multiple males can create an environment of competition that can bring out the worst behaviors in all of them.

Good to know! Thanks.
What is a good ratio to prevent fighting? Or is this also dependent on the Roos involved?

 

[Folly's place]

It's about their individual behavior, but also how the whole flock behaves. Too many, or the wrong individuals, will cause severe stress in the flock, and abuse of at least some of the hens. Consider that your hens are actually more important/ valuable than any individual rooster, and act accordingly.
Mary

 

[aart]

What is a good ratio to prevent fighting? Or is this also dependent on the Roos involved?

@Folly's place got it right.

It's about their individual behavior, but also how the whole flock behaves. Too many, or the wrong individuals, will cause severe stress in the flock, and abuse of at least some of the hens. Consider that your hens are actually more important/ valuable than any individual rooster, and act accordingly.
Mary

Amount of space has an impact too.
Subordinates need plenty of room to get away from a superior.