Cockerel sometimes pecks hand when I pick him up. Thoughts?

[FattySmough]

I agree, my roosters are strictly hands off, in fact...mine was raised by a broody, I don't think I have ever touched him. But I would not want him pecking me, and I would not want that to escalate into something worse.

I love to watch them and do so, but I don't handle mine very much if at all.

Mrs K

I see. the only reason I would pick him up, or hold him down if he pecked me was because other people said that it would teach him I'm the boss. But I've also seen more experienced people on this site say they never touch their roosters and rarely get mean ones. So many conflicting views...I just want a good rooster! Hopefully he turns out good as I try a more hands-off approach, I would hate to get rid of him.

 

[FattySmough]

I also think that hand feeding encourages hand pecking...

I think you might be on to something. I had been hand feeding my cockerel before the hand pecking started. Haven't been pecked once since I stopped handling him though

 

[Birdsong 82]

My Easter Egger cockerel is 17 weeks old, and so far everything is going well. He moves out of the way for me, doesn't attack me or threaten me when I am around, and he looks absolutely stunning. His crow is lovely to listen to. So far he seems like a promising future rooster. The only thing I'm concerned about is that when I pick him up, it's not uncommon for him to peck my hand as I reach out to him. It doesn't really hurt and isn't hard enough to damage my skin, but I would still prefer he didn't do it.

To all of you who have raised respectful roosters: Would you consider this acceptable behaviour? I'm the one trying to pick him up after all. For the past couple of days I've been holding him down with his beak against the ground if he pecks me. But I'm wondering if it's better to just leave him alone since he isn't being aggressive and just seems to want some space. Maybe I just shouldn't pick him up. What do y'all think?

I don’t really see that is necessarily aggressive since he’s not trying to tag you in any other way just when you try to pick him up. Seems to me he’s just telling you he doesn’t really want to be picked up. Ha ha my roosters have never cared to be handled and I avoid it unless they need it for medical reasons or are injured. And so far we’ve always lived happily together that way

 

[Hedgeland Farms]

As someone with a new 17wk cockerel I appreciate all the information provided in this post.

 

[3KillerBs]

I see! I've had to evict young birds from nest boxes as well. They...sullied the boxes when they slept in them

Your rooster in your pfp is very handsome by the way.

Thank you.

He's the winner from a set of 5 candidates and I named him Rameses because he's the founder of the dynasty.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Show no fear.
I pick up my roosters if I want, or if they want me to. Or they run off. My current rooster doesn't want to be picked up but is my shadow.

Never use a broom to push them off, and don't use your foot. That is a challenge to them, and is creating bad habits. Don't let young kids play chase with a rooster, that is teaching the rooster to be mean, and the kid will get hurt, and you will blame the rooster. It is all fun and games until someone gets hurt.

 

[LadiesAndJane]

I never hand feed my birds for the reasons discussed above. My rooster lets me pick him up, though he prefer I didn’t. He is quite tame and doesn’t mind being held once he is picked up. He isn’t afraid of me but definitely respects me. When I walk into the run he will move out of my way. He did go through a phase when he was a teenager that he would peck when I picked him up. After I pinned him down a few times, he stopped doing this.
He unfortunately has attacked a friend who was taking care of the birds for me when I was out of town. She was wearing flip-flops and a flowing dress so maybe this triggered him. No serious harm was done. Since then I ask people to wear pants and closed toe shoes when going out with my birds. I do not let small children around him though because I find this behavior unpredictable.

 

[FattySmough]

Yep. Pretty simple, don't pick him up.

Okay! I'm sure he'll be happy about that

 

[Gromstomper]

I'm dealing with a similar situation. I have two cockerels that are about 3 months old. Both are very friendly, one moreso than the other. However, recently the larger one has begun pecking me frequently when he gets near. He doesn't rear up or get nasty but now that he is older the pecks are starting to do damage.
Is there any way that I can deter or train away this behavior? Is it a sign of things to come? Thanks.

 

[FattySmough]

I don’t really see that is necessarily aggressive since he’s not trying to tag you in any other way just when you try to pick him up. Seems to me he’s just telling you he doesn’t really want to be picked up. Ha ha my roosters have never cared to be handled and I avoid it unless they need it for medical reasons or are injured. And so far we’ve always lived happily together that way

Good point. At nearly 24 old weeks now he is still non-agressive to me or anyone else. I also had the neighbor and her grandkids over and he didn't make a single aggresive move despite his girls being handled a lot by the little kids. Now he even lets me pick him up occasionaly without pecking me lol. He's just so handsome I have to get a closer look sometimes I love my cockerel.