How do roosters communicate with people?

[kingmt]

The dance where he drags one wing & walks sideways is a hay look at me dance. He wants the hen to stop so he can do his thing. When he climbs on top & grabs the back of there head he is doing his thing. For the kids chasing I would have to say that is a bad thing. He may start fighting back. Most of the time unless they have some game in them they don't fight people if treated right. He must never get one up on you though. If he starts pecking you then pull a feather from the back of his head or hold him to the ground & pull his head back. Mimic what he is doing to the hens & make sure it is in front of the other birds. If you embarous him that will go much farther then fighting him.

 

[BluegrassSeramas]

Mine dance too, but they are really docile....
May be the breed tho...

Actually, I dont think one has danced "at" me......

 

[dixiedoodle09]

Our rooster "Stu" he will sometimes sneak up behind you, we try and knock him off the hens when we see him, he is very good at protecting his hens. He is a barred rock rooster.

 

[Mrs. Glassman]

I had a free range flock...
My stepson would crow at the rooster & kick at him when he got near. I think the rooster took this as a challenge, because once he was full grown, my step son could not go in the yard without an escort. That rooster would come running from across the yard the moment he stepped out the front door, and have him screaming on the ground in no time.

To this day he is terrified of my chickens. I had hoped either my step son would cause the rooster to stand down, or the rooster would just give up.

In the end, the rooster had to be culled.

Of course these now, if the kids are piled up in the house & refuse to GO OUTSIDE to play, I just have to snatch up a rooster from the pen & drop it in the living room floor. The house clears in seconds flat.

 

[tienchinho]

Thanks everyone for your help with this.

I'm getting a general theme of mutual respect between us and the chickens. So far I think we have done OK with this. I think the ban on chicken-chasing will continue. I can see how I might hold a grudge if I were a rooster.

So far our rooster has not attacked any of us. I haven't had any problems holding him and he seems to like running over to greet us when we come outside. Maybe this is because he has been hurt in the past and I was the one to help him get food, water, splints, etc. I kind of get the feeling like I can't really trust him completely though. He definitely has some rooster behaviors that are out of his conscious control.

It sounds as if there are two schools of thought on how I should respond to his dancing. Some people just respect it as chicken behavior. Some people see it as a behavior that requires a response that a chicken can understand. I think I am going to go by gut instinct on this one. Watching our chickens interact has been fascinating.

 

[tienchinho]

I should say that our rooster is named Mr. Hen and is a Newhampshire Red.

Thanks again for all the insight everyone.

 

[Pine Acres Peeps]

So far I have been lucky my boys are very social and sweet they all just wanna be held. Maybe I spend to much time out there, oh well, that's not possible. A RIR Roo did spur my sister when she was growing up, got her so bad she had to have stitches and take antibiotics. My worst run in was with a silkie he spurred everyone everytime they got near. He was so small though pretty much everybody just laugh him off.