Cockerels herding pullets

[andreanar]

I wouldn't give him any treats by hand, better that he learns to give you a wide berth.

 

[alessadry]

Then may be tossing them in his way so he moves away? I think if I try to scare him off, he will then really see me as a threat and then confirm in his head his suspicion.

 

[biophiliac]

I so hope he won't get to the point of attacking! I will have some treats handy for when he comes to check. I want him to get the message I won't be hurting the girls and that they're in good hands. Thing is, this rooster is hypervigilant, and he hates when we clean the coop and even use the broom to clean. He starts making these panicky sounds like he's just laid an egg and paces far at the end of the yard with all the hens following him. I think these things make us automatically not trustworthy in his eyes.

If you are new to having roosters be sure not to leave them unsupervised around young children. They can inflicted some serious wounds at the height of a child's face. Also, once they are mature, in most cases you need respect not love from them for good behavior. There are some excellent posts on how to manage roosters on this site, one by Beekissed comes to mind. [I will try to find it fro you] If you do not need a rooster for hatching chicks, you may have more harmony with just hens [and I LOVE roosters]. and good luck!

 

[biophiliac]

If you are concerned your cockerel may become aggressive, study this...

Here's something that works and works well if you follow through and do it with attitude:

When is the last time anyone saw one rooster holding another as he walked around doing his daily chores? That doesn't even compute in his brain case. Chickens respond to chicken behaviors, not human behaviors. Treat him as one chicken would to another...in this case a dominant rooster would do to a subordinate. And dress for the job..other chickens have scales and feathers, so put some cloth on your legs as protection. This kind of behavior modification doesn't take long but it does take a confident manner and consistent behavior from all humans who walk into that coop and no one feels confident when they are only wearing shorts around a crazy acting rooster .

As Lazy Gardener said, make him give you space at all times, even when he's making friendly. Roosters don't commonly make friendly with one another unless they were raised together and have already established pecking order. When you turn your back, keep one eye on your nether regions...you can bet all the chickens do the same thing which is why it's hard to catch a normal, untamed chicken. Don't be on the defensive...dominant birds never are on the defensive. They are always the aggressors and they act first, not last.

Watch your birds as they interact and eat...watch what the dominant hens do to the subordinate ones. They make them MOVE. The lesser hens are always on the look out for the dominant ones because they have already learned this one principle "If I do not move away from this food, this roost, or this nest right now, she is going to peck me...but HARD". The lesser hens eat with while keeping a wary eye over their shoulder...and your rooster needs to be feeling exactly that way when you get done with your behavior modification.

Find yourself a light weight but sturdy rod about 4-5 ft. in length and take a chair into your coop/run where you feed. Sit down, get comfy. Keep your wand at ready and when the rooster approaches "your' hens, give him a peck. If he doesn't move and move fast, stand up and peck him harder...then move towards him calmly and surely, and keep pecking him until he's on the run. Sit back down and watch. Don't let him at the feed or near your hens..you should be able to accomplish that now with just a point in his direction with your wand.

Now, while you are doing this your hens may be running around and freaking out but they will soon realize they are not the target and you can see them visibly relax as they realize he is your target. Be calm, don't move fast but move decidedly and with purpose. Stare at him and don't take your eyes from him.

Then, let him come into eat...let him get comfy eating and not getting pecked. When he's the most unaware of you, give the floor next to him a resounding WHACK with that rod, hard enough to make him jump and run. If he comes back to eat, peck him until he leaves the premises. Stand up and "hold" him in the corner with your presence and with your rod...don't corner him but just hold. If he is facing you, advance and peck him until he's running for his life. If he is pacing back and forth, trying to get away from your presence, your work there is done for the day. Exit stage left/right and let him eat.

The next day when you go in to feed, walk directly towards him with your wand until he is moving, moving, moving. Preferably move him out of the coop into the run and don't let him back in until you are done feeding. Don't let him in until you are ready to leave.

If all of this is working, don't think your job is done. Keep acting like you own this coop, that no 2 ft feather duster is going to rule your roost and every chance you get surprise him with a touch, a lunge in his direction or a peck from your wand until he is moving away from you quickly. That's how the big boys do it and, until now, that's what he's been doing to you...the sneak attack, the attempts to get you to MOVE and run away, inducing fear until you have to worry about attacks from behind.

Don't feed him treats. When is the last time anyone ever saw a dominant rooster call over another rooster and let him eat the goodies he just found? Nope. That is only reserved for the hens. Let the hens eat goodies, keep the rooster away from the treats. He can pick up any crumbs that are left when you and your hens move off.

Just turn the tables on him and he should settle right down. Then remember to keep him looking over his shoulder with the occasional peck or jump at him out of nowhere so he doesn't relax around you. And that's how the big boys do it. Soon you won't need the wand, just your confidence and presence should do it but I find it's a little fun to sit down in the coop and have a "train your rooster session" just to see if they still remember. It's good entertainment!

 

[alessadry]

Thanks, we have no children but just dogs. So far he stays at a distance from us unless it's feeding time (we make sure he knows we are the providers of food) and when the hens are near us. I was just wondering if this behavior was targeted towards keeping the pullets from us or from just plain simply just wanting them all together.

Thanks for the above tips, but as a dog trainer who specializes in training Rottweilers and pit bulls (which are often thought to be dominant breeds), I don't really buy much into the "be dominant" over cockerel/roosters theory or other animals in general. I am just not comfortable using certain methods.

If worse comes to worse, I might try this "chicken whisperer's methods" first which resemble the work I do with aggressive dogs which are science-based (desensitization and counterconditioning) and I am most familiar with. I don't have an aggressive rooster yet fortunately, but will keep an eye for progressing signs of trouble and will take preventive steps for now.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/help-for-agressive-roosters#axzz2iHs4mTBi

 

[alessadry]

Wanted to post an update: my cockerels have calmed down a whole lot in thee past month, I guess it was just a "stage" as they have now matured and come greeting us every morning and even accompany us into the coop to eat. They remind me of my cats who used to accompany me to the fridge for some goodies.

They have stipulated a plan though to avoid conflict so one cockerel must go in and eat first, while the other one waits for him to finish in order to go in.

These cockerels now even trust us to go into the coop to get eggs and even trust us around a broody hen which has taken over the mama role and hatched baby chicks. Looks like their fear stage is over. Gotta love these boys!