Getting over Rooster fear

[HippieAtHeart]

He can have treats.....just most the time walk thru and/or ignore him.
Frequent visits with no treating or treatments or doing anything can help him get used to your presence.
You did good treating him first for mites then the girls....
....they all learned that 'the human can touch us and we won't die'.

Yeah I don’t think most of them were handled too much before. On Friday night I took the hens and cleaned their dirty vents...I knew I’d be treating for mites Saturday and figured it would be better for the spray to reach their skin not just matted feather. The funny thing is I know they must have been grateful for me doing that because yesterday morning they were more willing to come up to me and then after spraying them yesterday they were still happy to come up to me and now I can pet them (kind of lol).
I’ll have to do more interactions where I’m not giving treats of some kind and start to walk through him more often. Thanks!

 

[HippieAtHeart]

Yes, what @aart said. It's sort of the difference between how you would treat an adult and a child. That's the difference between how we treat a rooster and our hens. We mainly ignore the roo except on the rare instances when we need to handle him. On the other hand, we feel free to scoop up our hens for frequent cuddles.

When giving treats, you can give him a treat, but he will likely turn around and give it to a hen. This is chain of command.

You're doing great!

Thanks for the encouragement, I need it I grew up with neighbors having chickens and were around them, but did not have to take care of them. I really wanted some since my mom got some a couple years ago and now am home with the energy to take care of them. It’s definitely different having to take care of them yourself, I feel this weekend was a crash course into chickenhood lol

 

[azygous]

Keep in mind that, due to individual temperaments, both the rooster's and yours, the relationship you develop with your roo is also an individual one. Just keep in mind the basic rules of interacting with a rooster, and do what feels most comfortable for the two of you.

I have two roosters, pop and son. Each has a different temperament. The older one has always been a perfectly behaved roo, and he's actually distressed if my movements somehow end up cornering him so he can't easily slide out of my path. The younger one is well behaved, but is more laid back in the way he relates to me, tolerating being crowded when I'm focused on my chores.

At first, you need to be aware of your movements in relation to your rooster, but soon it will become unconscious for both of you. That's when you will know that trust is in balance between you and your rooster.

 

[rocking chickens]

My personal key to roosters is let them know that you see them and if they do any thing that could be considered a show of dominance you walk towards him with your arms up and wide and tower over him for a few second. If he moves out of the way let him be but if he stays tower over him bump into him even pick him up if thats what you need to do. Just let him know that you realize he is dominate over his hens but you are dominate over him.

 

[Mrs. K]

Inexperienced people often times do not recognize the warning signs that a rooster gives off OR makes excuses for their behavior, as in it is something the human did to provoke that behavior.

It bothers me that he is puffing up at you. It might get better, but it might not. All chickens have a brain the size of a half a walnut. So I am just not a great believer in the theory that it is a person's fault for chicken behavior. First of all, very few people live in their coops. Second of all chickens forget a life long flock mate in a matter of days. Thirdly chickens do not have real advanced reasoning capabilities. 4th - Roosters are highly controlled by hormones, and the pecking order of the flock.

I would do something with the spurs. There are ways to remove them or reduce the sharpness. Do be proactive. Being flogged or spured is not nice. If you have small children under the age of 6, do not keep him. His puffing up at you, is a warning, and they tend to attack children first.

Often times, people say don't be scared, which I think is meant, pretend to be brave. My advice is, if you are scared, a lot of the times, there is something to be scared about. Don't be scared by removing the rooster from your flock. NOT ALL ROOSTERS WORK, and roosters have ruined the whole chicken hobby for a lot of people.

A rooster IMO should be the first one to see you as you approach the flock. Within days, he will position himself so that most of the hens are behind him away from you, but he himself should move away from you, about 5-6 feet. If he starts sneaking behind you - not a good sign. If he gives the stink eye, or is bold not a good sign. He needs to be slightly wary of you. Not terrified, but not bold. You need to always be aware of how your rooster is acting.

Roosters are a crap shoot, always have a plan B for roosters, always have it ready to go. A fish net on a 5 foot handle, can subdue a pretty upset rooster, just have it handy. You may never need it. Have a sharp knife handy. You may never need it, but please do not try and keep a rooster, blaming yourself for his aggression.

Mrs K