Dealing with aggressive rooster

[Henriettasmum]

I have recently started breeding white silkies. The hens are adorable and at the beginning the rooster was too. However, he has become more and more aggressive over the past few months, making it rather frightening to go anywhere near him. He is possibly protecting his ladies but he will now chase me down even when I'm 10 metres away and walking in the opposite direction, to attack me. I have a toy poodle that is very gentle and that wanders amongst all the birds. None are worried about him except the rooster that sneaks up behind to attack him too.

I have other breeds of hens and roosters as well and they are all friendly, sitting on my lap for a pat and to be hand fed. But the silkie rooster is pure evil. Any ideas of what to do about him, apart from putting him in the cooking pot - the probable outcome, once I have another rooster to replace him and his duties - which he does well, by the way. He's the randiest rooster I've ever had.

 

[3riverschick]

I understand completely. Get rid of him. Not worth the fretting. I had one of those too in a Marans Nasty thing. Not all like my other Marans roo who was so friendly.
want me to send you a cyber pot?
Best,
Karen

 

[Henriettasmum]

They were my first thoughts but he is so beautiful and produces such gorgeous babies that I've given him a reprieve for the time being. I have watched him closely and think he's probably (hopefully) just protecting his girls. But thanks for the input.

 

[Red Star Hens]

I've seen some pretty ornery roosters calmed down by getting the boot a couple of times! Sounds mean but so was the rooster!

 

[Henriettasmum]

Tried that - even my 6 foot 7" husband's size 12 boot! It sends him running but doesn't stop him for long. He has calmed down a little lately so we'll see what happens.

 

[Red Star Hens]

Boot him again! Lol! My buddy Wes had a mean RIR roo and that was the only thing that spoke to that bird. If all else fails, there's always the soup pot. Good luck!

 

[thegawd]

I dont believe in keeping aggressive birds, especially since you dont want them passing on that trait right... Iv had a few that went straight to the chopping block for there first offense. but I had a crazy little pair of sebrights and the rooster thought he was the toughest thing around. my aunt came by one day when we wernt home, got chased all over the place and was deathly scared of him lol accused me of having a guard chicken instead of a dog LOL. The only thing you could really do was confront him and ya... kick his butt. I would catch him and carry him around for an hour as a trophy LOL... he did calm down eventually. iv taught all my kids to confront any birds that challenge them and if they can catch them we will have them for dinner. alas that crazy little sebright rooster and his hen got taken by a fox. and well I might have 100 birds and not a single one of them are aggressive in any way... we ate them all LOL!

Al

 

[Sydney Acres]

You really do have to be careful about breeding a bird like that. Sometimes that level of aggression, and poor judgement as to real threats vs perceived threats, will be passed down not just to his sons, but also to the sons of his daughters. But I do understand, and have kept a few roosters like that in the past because they were otherwise too good to lose their genetics. I handled it in two ways. First, I always carried a towel with me. Instead of just putting out a boot when he would attack, which essentially engaged him in a fight that he hoped he could win -- or at least try his best, I would start slapping him with the towel. I continued repeatedly slapping him with the towel until he ran away, every time. It gave me a good long reach, allowed me to move in on him without giving him the opportunity to make contact with me, and essentially taught him that aggressive behavior towards me ALWAYS caused him to be dominated but NEVER allowed him the honor of a fair fight. Now, it didn't create a sweet little lap rooster, which is what I select for in my breeding program, but it did always create a rooster that respected me and moved aside instead of attacked when I approached. When done with a heavy towel in a slapping motion instead of a snapping motion, it should basically pick them up off the ground and throw them aside, but never cause a bruise or an injury. It is humane, but still very disarming to the boys. You can also do this with a jacket or fleece pullover, but you have to be careful that there are no buttons or zipper handles that might injure him, and that there is no delay in starting the "slapdown" while you are pulling the jacket off, as you don't want to give him the idea that he can sometimes get a few blows in before you retaliate. The second thing I've done when I've had an aggressive breeder rooster is use calm and sweet hens as mates, and cull hard. Usually there will be a few cockerels in the bunch that have their daddy's good features and their momma's sweet personality. Then the original mean rooster gets stewed, and the nice son(s) take over the flock.

 

[Tom conway]

I have a sliver laced wyandotte cockerel just like that, the only difference is that he will attack anyone and anything other than me. The first time he went for me I went back at him, just simply hit him on the top of the head with your boot and keep doing it intill he backs off and runs. Non of my family do that, they just run which is why he keeps going for them. It was working well in till I can became from holiday last week, went into his pen barefoot stupidly and he put a whole in my ankle with his spur. All bruised and cut the skin badly. I had to run as I was barefoot so now he thinks he's dominant and will keep attacking me. The trick is don't back down ever.

 

[zebraffe4231]

Well to start, roosters are not pets. They have no interest in being your pet because it is just not in their nature, so don't treat them like one. But just because he is not a pet does not mean he is dinner. If you work with him you should eventually be able to live together peacefully. He was wired to protect the flock so he is really just doing his job. He is doing it because he sees you as a threat to the flock so try and look at things through his eyes. What are you doing when he attacks you? Where you moving quickly? Did one of the hens squawk when you touched her? He also could just be trying to dominate you which you cannot allow or else it will just keep getting worse.

You need to teach him that you are at the top of the pecking order. This can be difficult if you have are afraid of him so put on some long sleeves, long pants, boots, and gloves. Don't let him mate with the hens in front of you. When he mounts them push him off. When he does this he is saying this hen is mine. So is that one, and that one over there. You need to let him know that they are in fact yours. Don't let him crow in front of you. Roosters crow for a number of reasons but a big one is to assert their dominance. He is essentially screaming "I am dominant and you are below me" so don't let him. When he crow just take a step towards him. Most roosters are all talk so if you step at him he will run away and shut up. If he drops his wings down he is also showing how big and dominant he is so when he does this pick him up. Hold I'm under your arm and carry him around for ten minutes. Don't let him hold his head high when you hold him either. If he lifts it above his shoulders just tap it down with your finger like a peck from a chicken. If he struggles do it for longer. If he attacks you grab him and pin him on the ground. Make sure you keep his head down. If he tries to lift it tap him on the head. Keep him there for a bout two minutes and if he struggles do it for longer. Don't let him decide when he is going to get up. You can also give him some treats and have him eat out of your hand so he associates you with good things instead of bad. I always give mine a crushed hard-boiled egg out of my hand.

When you are walking normally, try to avoid going straight at him so he doesn't see it as a threat. Also don't stare him down because he will see it as a challenge.

This is what I do with my room who used to flog me every time I went in the coop. One time he got me in the face and sliced my whole cheek open. Now he rarely attacks me. I have him so well trained that when I pin him, he will stay like that until I nudge him to get up.

I also wouldn't let your dog down there if I were you. The rooster will most likely alway see the dog as a threat and can seriously hurt it. Don't let any kids around him either. Good luck!