How to prevent an aggressive cockerel

[Johnn]

My boy rather flapped at me today and missed or pecked me because I felt him touch my leg. I just stopped turned around and walked directly towards him.

 

[chicksurreal]

My boy rather flapped at me today and missed or pecked me because I felt him touch my leg. I just stopped turned around and walked directly towards him.

I changed my tennis shoes for sandals yesterday and Hephaestus threw a little fit. Lol! He's not used to seeing my bare toes. He came up behind me finally and whacked the back of my sandal (not me, just the shoe) with his wing. I just turned around and ran him around a bit and he was fine after that. He sure doesn't like change of any kind!

 

[Johnn]

I was just starting to properley trust him and hes ruined it. I was walking down the field today with them all behind me and I got to the gate which leads to the feed shed and I turned around and he was coming at me! He jamp and I reacted quickly and kicked my leg forward which knocked him back. He didn't try anything again after that so I'm going to give him a second chance. I know I said if he tried anything I would get rid, but im more attached then I thought....

 

[scubatoad]

Our little rooster came to us as a hatchling along with 30 hatchling females. He's always been skittish around people and is just a psycho brat now. I have tried affection, intimidation, ignoring him, and introducing him to my boot (in self defense only) and nothing works. He even acts like he's going to be cool, pecking and walking around with the girls until he gets close to me and then he springs his attack EVERY SINGLE DAY. Solitary confinement just makes him angry. I'm really considering giving him to the dog as a play toy or using him as fox bait (not really). I think roosters are like people. Some are nice and some are not and they will be that way whether you are nice to them or not. I have only hesitated to give him away because he is beautiful and provides some protection to the hens. However, it would be nice not to be accosted every time I go out to interact with my lovely approachable hens. Would anyone take him if the post said "Free cheeky rooster, with a Napoleon complex, needs a good home"?

I hope you have better luck with yours.

 

[blucoondawg]

I don't do anything different with roosters, I just feed and water them don't play with them or handle them, I don't mess around knocking them off hens, I think that is likely a mistake eventually that rooster is going to get tired of that and fight back. We have only had 1 mean rooster out of 9 so far. He was a Rhode island red and downright nasty toward people. I kill them If they get mean, there's no sense dealing with that when its so easy to get a nice rooster. If he keeps getting nastier I would kill him and get a different one, this time just try the ignore him approach, it always worked for us.

 

[heartsizedfarm]

I was spoilt by my previous rooster, who was great with his hens but also very kind to me. Did everything the same with the new guy, raised him from a chick even, and its night and day. So I agree its breed plus personality. Probably little you can do to change it. Got a few management things help. Clean the coop when he's out ranging, stay vigilant, carry corn to toss farther away if the flock comes towards me, and always wear tall boots and chaps! Ha! I'll see how long I can put up with it. Jersey Giant sounds appealing.

 

[blucoondawg]

A big part of the problem with chickens nowadays is so many come from hatcheries who don't bother breeding for good traits like behavior meat or egg production color and shape etc. They just throw # bunch of chickens together and let them breed, this produces more bad roosters than if one were to only breed friendly roosters

 

[heartsizedfarm]

A big part of the problem with chickens nowadays is so many come from hatcheries who don't bother breeding for good traits like behavior meat or egg production color and shape etc. They just throw # bunch of chickens together and let them breed, this produces more bad roosters than if one were to only breed friendly roosters

Very true!

 

[Johnn]

Also, someone was saying to me that if he challenges me or attacks me, I should just back away and leave him alone. Is this correct? Wont it just make him think he can get away with it?

 

[blucoondawg]

I will give I've you my honest to God opinion on the subject, if he challenges you, you really can't always back away, you have to feed water collect eggs and care for your hens in other ways, clean coop out whatever, how are you going to do all these chores if continually backing down to your rooster who if he is aggressive will likely begin attacking at the slightest sign of a person. My advice is kill the darn thing and make a nice pot of soup, I have never seen a mean rooster be cured of being mean, which may be because we simply don't tolerate them, and even if you are able to calm him down some , you will be keeping him around and he will be passing on his nasty genetics to following generations.

There are plenty of non human aggressive roosters out there I would get a new one and honestly I would stop knocking them off hens and trying to dominate them, if you have a bird that isn't being nasty there is no reason for that sort of thing and I think it will backfire and make him eventually challenge you. That sort of dominance training I feel is more aimed at trying to break a bird who is already being nasty, which honestly I wouldn't bother with for the above mentioned reason.

If you get a new one and it ends up being a nice bird go ahead and hatch some out and maybe you will be able to get your own line of calm roosters going to replace them when you need to.