First sign of aggression from my cockerel.

marlene

Songster
8 Years
Aug 17, 2011
659
8
128
UK
I was not sure of keeping a cockerel because some of the stories i have read on here about them turning nasty scared me. Then i hatched out 1 lonely light sussex chick which i carried around for a week cos all he did was cry, and i fell in love and decided i would keep him.
He is 17 weeks old and i've only heard him crow once a few days ago and nothing since.
Today i picked up my 20 week old pullet to check her and i see him come running staring at me and he did not look happy, the pullet was screaming so maybe he thought i was doing some thing to her.
When i went out this evening to put them in the coop, he charged over to me and bit my shoe, i was surprised as he has up to now been very sweet, i pushed him away with my foot and he did not challenge me any more.
I hope he isn't turning nasty as i will not be able to keep him if he is, i have a 3 year old that loves to go out and interact with the chickens and i will not risk him getting hurt.
I know this has been asked so many times but how do i deal with him, i need to sort it out sooner rather than later when it gets totally out of hand.
 
If he continues, here's a few tips I've used on my roo.
1. Show his butt your boot.
2. If he nips or pecks, you peck back (2 fingers tapped on the top of his head).
3. Put him in time out. Get a carrying cage or live trap and put him in it for a little while. I did 20 minutes, just like a child.

Others have stalked their rooster. I've tried it but he thought I was playing
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I think when he first went at you, he did think you were hurting his girl. Now he's mad at you and wants to show you who's boss. So he will need to be taught who's boss. These tips can work but until they do and you're comfortable again, I would keep the toddler out until it's safe.
When roos start maturing, I've noticed they feel threatened by small children. It happened with my roo and my 2 yo nephew. At 3 years old, it might be okay to teach the child that when the rooster gets nasty, the child needs to give him a good boot in the tushy and then go get Momma.
 
My best advice is that he's young enough to perhaps be able to stop it, if he is not "genetically programmed" to be human aggressive already. I wouldn't "fight" him by kicking, hitting. Grab him up, hold his beak shut with your fingers for a few seconds till he stops struggling, then put him down. It's just biting so far, which is usually boundary testing on young cockerels. Even the regal Delaware in my avatar would bite at 14-15 weeks old and doing just what I described a couple of times nipped it in the bud, no pun intended. He has never bitten me since, never shown any aggression. In fact, he's the best rooster you could imagine, wouldn't dream of hurting me. So, try that before you do any aggression in return. Sometimes, that backfires on you.
 
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Thank you TinyChickenLady, at the moment my little one isn't going outside because it's freezing here in uk and the garden is very muddy.
I will try what you have suggested and see how i go.
 
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Thank you speckledhen for the advise. Today when he pecked me i just pushed him away with my foot, didn't actually kick him. I will try the beak thing and hopefully it will do they trick.
 

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