Crazy Rooster

[Okaythen]

I have a 8 1/2 month old rooster and he’s the sweetest to me. However whenever he’s near my mom he attacks her (I always hold him when he is near her). He usually doesn’t attack my sisters but whenever I am not there they are always saying how he bites them. Why could this be?

 

[wrathsfarm]

I have a 8 1/2 month old rooster and he’s the sweetest to me. However whenever he’s near my mom he attacks her (I always hold him when he is near her). He usually doesn’t attack my sisters but whenever I am not there they are always saying how he bites them. Why could this be?

He's human aggressive and more likely than not it's going to escalate.

 

[nuthatched]

He needs to go, it's only a matter of time before he decides he doesn't like you.

 

[Chicken_Obsesser]

What I've done in the past is whenever my rooster was being aggressive, I'd pick him up and pin his wings to his back. I'd carry him around with me whenever I was finishing feeding my other animals. Sometimes I'd even flip him on his back and hold him there for a few seconds. This reminds him that he's not in charge when it comes to people.

 

[DemeterAD9]

I had one that I thought was being sweet to me too. He would jump on my shoulder and hop down onto my lap whenever I sat down, then he would coo and dance and let me pet his neck and head. At some point he started dancing at my feet, trying to grab my hand and "mate" with it, and follow me around at my heels everywhere I went. I've come to realize that these were warning signs.

He bit my dad a few times, then kicked and scratched my sister. He eventually starting this behavior towards me. I have several 1-10 year old nieces and nephews that are around all the time so I decided he was to be butchered in the near future. Low and behold, one morning he jumped out of the run (as he often did) and something got him before I could. I had 4 other younger cockerels growing out at the time so I wasn't too upset. Now I have 2 very good, respectable boys who do nothing like the other one did. They don't bite, kick, dance at me or anything. I don't pet them but they will eat out of my hand, the hens also adore them. I don't worry about the brats getting attacked by either of them unless the kids are naughty enough to try and grab one of the hens (they have been warned).

I'm on the side of not coddling young roosters in an attempt to avoid human aggression. If they do not see you as "one of them" then you are less likely to be seen as an enemy. It is a rooster's instinct that makes them want to be top dog so if they see you as a threat they will try to dominate. Of course every bird has their own personality and I've seen a few very nice pet roos who would happily fall asleep in someone's lap. But if you are wanting a good flock leader it is best to let them be a chicken, not try to make them a pet. Just my opinion.

 

[GracePoultry]

I used to have a rooster who almost never attacked me, but he HATED all men. and he would try and attack my dad and brother any chance he got

he was my little baby

 

[FrostRanger]

Soup him, it's the start of a dangerous behavior pattern you can't fix that'll only get worse

 

[chicken-tender]

I had one that would attack only my wife. I tried everything I could find here and elsewhere on the 'net. Last resort, I put him in rooster jail for two weeks. First thing out of jail, he started to mate one of the hens that was always 'visiting' him in jail. My wife walked by and he forgot the hen. Shortly there after, I found out my wife makes outstanding chicken pot pie.

 

[chooki]

I had a biting cockerel, I was able to rehabitate him by occasional jail time for punishment and treats plus free range time when he behaves.

The rooster needs to realise that he was punished for attacking people. Jail time alone is likely to make things worse if he does not know what he is locked up for.

Not all roosters are rehabilitatable, some of them will never change. I am lucky that I have a good head rooster that breaks up fights in the group, and another older rooster who intervenes when a younger cockerel tries to attack people.

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