hit a nerve

[caulichicken]

Hi. So I have this rooster that is getting more and more aggressive. If I wear black pants he will run at me and attack. I have been dealing with it by reminding him who is boss with my boot. Normally I walk in slowly not making any sudden movements and that works well enough unless I am wearing black pants and then he runs at me when I lift my leg to get out of the room (I have a bit of a "fence" blocking the doorway). This afternoon I went to collect eggs and as I was leaving he ran at me and I deflected him (straight in the chest but not a lot of force). He came at me again and my second attempt to deflect him landed as a glancing blow (also not a lot of force). He dropped like a stone on his butt, legs out in front and his wings splayed out and then his head fell forward. He folded in half and at first I though he was dead. His legs started to shake and his feet contracted. Then he popped up like nothing was wrong. So my question is, did I literally hit a nerve? He walked away much subdued and just stood there. Then he moved his head a bit but still stood still. The other hens were being slightly aggressive towards him so he walked away and was clucking (usually he crows and crows and crows). I left after 5 minutes but I wonder if I will find him dead in the morning. Has something similar (the dropping like a stone part) happened to anyone else?

 

[WishingStar]

My uncle did that with a white gallon bucket. The rooster ran at him and he popped it in the head. He'd had enough of it at that point and when I asked what happened, he shouted back "I f***ing killed it" and continued into the coop to collect eggs. The rooster got up, super shakily, and lived a good while after that. He was terrified of white buckets, though, after his near death experience.