Did I Ruin My Rooster?

[Pretend_Farmer]

I recently just sent my 7 month old Buff Orpington Rooster to a new home. He was attacking my kids, wife, even me. The funny thing is A.) Buff Orpingtons are supposed to be docile B.) I raised this rooster up from the day he hatched C.) He was very friendly right up until he got mean. This rooster loved to jump on my lap, eat out of my hand, and be carried around/petted. I’ve had some people tell me that I made him mean by babying him too much. I guess they’re trying to say he learned to not respect me because he didn’t fear me. Did I mess up? I have a new rooster now that is the same age and very timid. He’s terrified of me. I want to try and help him warm up to us, but I don’t want to create another monster. Should I just leave the new roo alone and keep things the way they are, or should I try and befriend him? Thanks for any info!

 

[azygous]

You can be friends with a rooster but not a cockerel. There's a big difference.

A cockerel, under one year old, is "in training". I call them rookie roos. They are, at the same time, overrun by hormones and confused and trying to learn how they fit into the flock. Also, they are learning how they fit in with your role in the flock.

By coddling and petting a cockerel, by the time he experiences the flood of hormones, he's pretty sure he's your equal. That means the urgency he feels to dominate the hens is going to set him up to compete with you and others who also handle the hens. So all of a sudden, it appears your sweet cockerel has gone rogue.

With this new cockerel, you want to strike a balance between disciplining him when he shows aggression and ignoring him when he's simply learning his role in the flock. This means you allow him to interact as he needs to with the hens, but you will immediately discipline him if he gets out of his role and shows aggression to humans.

There are lots of great rooster training threads on BYC. Here's one I wrote as an article. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/i-think-i-have-a-cockerel-now-what-do-i-do.76274/

After a rooster matures and roles are established, you can be friends with your rooster. I have two older roosters that I'm friendly with, although cuddling is something neither one wants a lot of.

 

[azygous]

I hate to have a rooster that always shys away from me like he’s scared

Actually, this is a sign of a good future rooster. You want a cockerel and rooster that defers to you by moving out of your way. This is desirable. In time, he will trust you and won't be afraid so much as he respects you.

 

[Mrs. K]

When people think of puppies and kittens, if they are treated well, they generally become very nice pets. Chickens are a flock society, and EVERY chicken in the flock is either above or below a chicken when they meet. Sometimes this is very evident, sometimes not so much.

When you pet, allow them to sit on your lap, you are taking the lower role. Chickens equate fear with respect. No fear, no respect. They are not afraid to exercise their dominance on you. This forum is full of stories where the darling becomes the nightmare.

However, the longer I am in this, the more I am sure that there is not a perfect way to raise roosters. As in, if you do this, then they will be perfectly behaved. I am now more of the roosters are a crapshoot, and sometimes you get lucky, and a lot of time you don't.

To raise a really good rooster, you need a sharp knife, and cull the rotten ones. Once you have a good one, you will not ever tolerate the others again.

Mrs K

 

[K0k0shka]

When you pet, allow them to sit on your lap, you are taking the lower role. Chickens equate fear with respect. No fear, no respect. They are not afraid to exercise their dominance on you. This forum is full of stories where the darling becomes the nightmare.

I need to point out that this is mostly true for the males though. Females are a whole different story. With them, it's very useful (and enjoyable) to hand-raise them, coddle them and win their trust. They won't necessarily think they are above you in the pecking order though. I'm not convinced that hens view humans as part of the pecking order (and the pecking order isn't linear either, it's a lot more complicated than that). If they have a good relationship with the human, hens will more likely view him/her as a resource than as part of the flock, and will fight over him/her, guard and hog him/her as they would a resource (because the human brings good things like treats, which are a resource). Having hens that are bonded to you and trust you makes chicken management SO much easier, and is so worth it! I hand-raised mine from hatch, and have spent a lot of time with them. They trust me and seek out my company, sit or nap on me, come to me for protection when scared, and allow me to pick them up, examine them, treat them when sick/injured, give them medicine, crate them, take eggs from them when broody, handle their chicks, etc. etc. - all without any fuss. And they've never tried to dominate me in any way. Running around trying to catch a flighty chicken, or needing two people to subdue and treat the chicken, or forcing any intervention on them, when they fear you and try to get away, is no fun at all. Fear gets you nowhere with female chickens, it just makes your life harder as their keeper. So, unless you are specifically dealing with the unfortunate crapshoot of roosters, by all means do cuddle and coddle your chickens, because, just like with cats and dogs, it will pay off, in very similar ways!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Makes perfect sense! Unfortunately these YouTube children farmers lead you to believe that the more you handle your birds the friendlier they’ll be. Not necessarily . Thanks for the advice!

YouTube advice. Worth no more than you paid for it, likely less. Sure, we are all anonymous posters here on BYC, but we do tend to call one another on each others {...}.

I have no advice on this topic (whether or no you "ruined him"), my management practice means I never have old roos, I constantly have roos on the verge of hormones (generally when I cull them), and I count on my older girls to enforce desired behaviors upon the brats. I don't handle my birds at all, except for weighings and cullings, and sometimes to step between them when they misbehave.

As to the culling, THERE I have advice. You did right. Human aggressive roos move to the top of the culling list, and culling moves to top priority in the day's chores.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

You'll get a range of replies and opinions and you'll have to choose your own path. Most male animals (actually a lot of female ones will too, but not so much with chickens) will become people aggressive if they are hand-reared. Hand raised ram/bull/stallion/buck = big trouble. There are always individuals that don't follow the trend of course.

I would recommend calm but uninterested interactions with your new rooster. He will get used to you without learning he can cross your boundaries.

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

Forgot to say, some roosters are just aggressive, and it wouldn't make a difference if you hand raised them or not.

 

[Pretend_Farmer]

You'll get a range of replies and opinions and you'll have to choose your own path. Most male animals (actually a lot of female ones will too, but not so much with chickens) will become people aggressive if they are hand-reared. Hand raised ram/bull/stallion/buck = big trouble. There are always individuals that don't follow the trend of course.

I would recommend calm but uninterested interactions with your new rooster. He will get used to you without learning he can cross your boundaries.

Thanks. You’re the second person I’ve heard this from. I hate to have a rooster that always shys away from me like he’s scared but he was raised with almost no human interaction and it’s probably best to just let him be the way he’s going to be. At least we can go get eggs without 3 layers of PPE

 

[Pretend_Farmer]

I was able to catch the guy for a photo shoot. He took it well.