Do roosters suddenly turn aggressive at a certain age?

[lionkitty71]

i had a barred rock rooster and he ended up turning mean... Every time we were in the coop he would try to attack us... We did chase him around but he still chased us..
I have a 7 year old who likes to do the chores so we got rid of him.. I think it may jus be the barred rock. I have a polish crested rooster and he jus runs away from us but does make
lots of noises.. Im hoping for more friendly chicks and roosterss this time..

 

[mike001]

I have no experience with this mind you, at least with chickens (some with other animals) but from what I've read here and elsewhere, I think you need to do a lot more than chase him around. I think you need to beat his *** and beat it good.

From what I've learned from others about rooster behavior, it seems like the chasing around is just a prelude. Like the subordinate rooster is being chased by the dominant rooster but he keeps trying, because nothing has happened yet. The same is true of many other pack animals with a similar heirarchy. Then, one day, he stands his ground and a fight ensues. If the subordinate rooster gets his butt handed to him, then his place is set for the forseeable future. He tried, and failed, and he may not try again until he sees an opportunity. Without that confrontation, no formal challenge has taken place, and he is just warming up until it happens.

If you love your rooster, the thing to do seems to be to open a can of whoop ***.

 

[Daisy8s]

There is another option besides culling the rooster or trying to dominate him with aggression. Every person who says they have non-aggressive roosters does what I have done--not engaged the rooster at all.

When my rooster hit the age where his hormones kicked in he began testing me with little pecks. I simply withstood them without any reaction. Luckily this was mid-winter so he could peck away at my boots and gloves and it truly didn't hurt. I never reacted whatsoever. No retreat, no response. I was as uninteresting as pecking the wall. After about a week where he did this to every human who entered the coop...and after nobody ever responding....he quit and he's never done anything aggressive again.

If you are aggressive your rooster labels you as either a threat (same as a predator) or as competition (same as another rooster). Once your rooster has labeled you as either you will constantly do battle with your rooster. There is no such thing as "teaching him a lesson". Those lessons are short-lived. You may win the battle but never the war--you'll always have to be on guard and ready to do battle again.

Techniques that are used with dogs and horses (showing them whose in charge, being the pack leader, etc.) do not work with fowl. Your rooster has a totally different mindset than your dog and he's not going to "learn a lesson" in the way that a dog would.

Of course I'll state the obvious caveat here and say that there will be exceptions, but after reading so many of these posts I see a clear correlation between people who use aggression to try to dominate their animals and thus have aggressive roosters trying to dominate them. I also see a smaller group of experienced chicken keepers who understand their rooster's thinking process and work with him instead of against him.

 

[Panth]

I COMPLETELY agree with Daisy. My rooster is a doll, very non aggresive. But I do not really pay him attention at all. We just ignore each other and it works perfectly. I do not try to challenge him, or chase him, or threaten his hens, and he does not threaten me or get underfoot. I move slowely and calmly around him and he does not see me as a threat or a challenge. He is almost a year and a half old, so if he was going to be a brat, I think it would be now.

 

[chickencowranch]

I bought my 15 pullet chicks hoping none would be roosters. This morning my one speckled sussex was trying to crow. Grr. I questioned from the begining if in fact this one was a pullet because he would pick fights with some of the other chicks. He and any other roosters will stay for now. If they decide to be aggressive I plan on taking them to farmers auction. I don't really stay in the coop long enough for any of the chick to get close to me. i talk to them standing outside the coop.

 

[TonySorrento]

I realise after getting them and watching them work that I love my two roosters ... I am trying the daisy method first .... if that doesn't work ... onto the holding them upside down deal .... then baubles bath .... I really want them to work out .... they are turning out beautiful ....

 

[mike001]

Daisy,

That sounds like a great alternative. Not as fun, but maybe better.

How many roosters have you tried it with or heard about others trying?

 

[Red Barn Farms]

I'm the same way and wondering if mine will turn mean or not. I play with all my chickens daily and try to be around them all as much as possible. I'm also wondering if you might be able to tell the chickens sex by watching their body language. I have two 4 week old buff orpingtons that act just like roosters to one another, Jumping up chest to chest like they are trying to fight one another. Is the common in chickens to act this way being male or females?

 

[kopeck]

You should read the "got flogged by a rooster today" thread before getting rid of the poor guy. You can fix him! He's just going through a hormonal period. The guy there (and others) report fixing their roosters in just one day.

There is also a thread about a little girl whose rooster attacked her and she grabbed him and gave him a bubble bath in front of his hens and he never bothered her again. The link is in the thread above, which you can find with google.

Not all can be fixed and not all fixes are permanent. I've gone rounds with him after he went after my wife, I finally get him to back off but he ready to go at it the next day. Probably my wife is the one that needs to show him who's boss but I can't ask her to do that.

I'm not sure how long you have had chickens, it doesn't sound like all that long. Each bird has his or her own personality, just like people you can just change them.

I would rather have a truly good tempered rooster then one that is good right now.

As someone's said, life is to short to deal with mean roosters.

K

 

[chicknerd]

Well it really all depends I would start picking him up and handling him A LOT it always does help, mine went aggresive at aout 9 or 10 months very upsetting times for me. But you really never know till the day that it happens

This is VERY critical. I have pretty tame roosters. Someone here posted about how to tame roosters and this was the best advice I received. I picked up my roosters all the time and looked them straight in the eye until they looked away. We did this daily until they were well over 20-30 weeks old. I have never had a problem with them, they do not attack and they KNOW I am boss. One is 2 and the other is almost 1 and I can still pick them up if I want.

I should disclose they are father and son, so if there is something genetic about them being 'tame' they both have it. But I did this procedure with all my roosters I have ever kept. I did have a few that simply went to freezer camp, not because I had trouble with them, but because I did not like how they treated the ladies.