Flighty Rooster Won't Calm Down!?!?!?

[rosemarysugar]

Hi
I have a 4 month old Mix breed rooster, who for some reason is extremely flighty and scared to death of anybody who comes near him!?!? I don't understand why he is like this! I am very loving towards him, and have never chased him ( except to try to catch him which always fails) , never thrown something at him, NOTHING!! The only time he has been with somebody else than me is when he was about 1 week old at the local farm I got him at, and then with my friend that takes care of my animals ( which I'm pretty sure he is nice to the animals.) I snuggle with him about once - twice a day if i am able to catch him. Other than that he just hangs out with the 2 pullets I got when I got him. I have handled him since I got him.
Am I doing something wrong, or is he just a butt?
How can I get him to calm down?!?!

 

[gunslinger33]

do you know what he is a mix of? Maybe he is a mix of the flightier breeds. Is he SF (bantam) or LF?

 

[50-45-1]

I would recommend you do not attempt to make your rooster friendly towards you. A lot of "handled" roosters become aggressive after they have lost fear of you. Once he has spurrs you definately do not want him to see you as fair game especially if there are children around. Admire him from a distance and keep that respectful distance. If you need to handle him, checking for pests or administering medication or aiding injuries, do it after dark when he is roosting. Much easier and less traumatic for everyone.

 

[rosemarysugar]

do you know what he is a mix of? Maybe he is a mix of the flightier breeds. Is he SF (bantam) or LF?

He looks like he might be jersey giant.

 

[centrarchid]

Hi
I have a 4 month old Mix breed rooster, who for some reason is extremely flighty and scared to death of anybody who comes near him!?!? I don't understand why he is like this! I am very loving towards him, and have never chased him ( except to try to catch him which always fails) , never thrown something at him, NOTHING!! The only time he has been with somebody else than me is when he was about 1 week old at the local farm I got him at, and then with my friend that takes care of my animals ( which I'm pretty sure he is nice to the animals.) I snuggle with him about once - twice a day if i am able to catch him. Other than that he just hangs out with the 2 pullets I got when I got him. I have handled him since I got him.
Am I doing something wrong, or is he just a butt?
How can I get him to calm down?!?!

Stop this "except to try to catch him which always fails" immediately. Do not snuggle him. For now ignore his history.

I would put him on a feeding regimen where it is restricted (no quite as much as he will consume in a day) and feed him small amounts at beginning of day to get him to want to approach you. I would also make so you are not towering over him during these interactions. Consider using a quality treat like life meal worms.

When I have a bird that appears to be a particular hard nut to crack, he is penned in a 2' x 2' x 2' cube shaped pen placed in a table top with a surface relatively sternum (on me) high. Process proceeds in steps where I spend a lot of time near pen doing something like writing / reading or tinkering on something small. This allows bird to acclimate to my presence and movement. The I begin putting single places of eats slowly at edge of his cage where he can reach them and I step back a little avoiding eye contact. It takes not too many many minutes before most will start consuming eats immediately after I put them out. The effort is to get bird to eat from my hand. Still details omitted, but not worth investing time in helping unless you really interested.

Every year I have to take cockerels and sometimes pullets that act like pheasants and calm them down to point where they will eat from my hand and let me pick them up. Such treated males are not expected to attack me or anyone else when they mature. There was a time we did it almost like an assembly line. If a male attacks people, then your approach needs to be adjusted.

 

[chickens really]

He isn't a Rooster yet. He is a Cockerel and they are a bit flighty if your chasing him down twice a day to cuddle him. Don't handle him unless you need too.