Yes, because if a rooster is friendly and shows he trusts your presence naturally you should react by threatening/annoying him in return. Great advice.
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I love my new rooster Henry!
- Thread starter Kylea0219
- Start date
Yes, because if a rooster is friendly and shows he trusts your presence naturally you should react by threatening/annoying him in return. Great advice.
- Mar 27, 2014
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I tend to agree, no need to rough him up unless he comes at you. If he is naturally amicable you can be too, only need to get tough if he tries to push his weight around with you or other humans.
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I have to jump in here and try to clarify the difference between "discipline" and "roughing" him up.
The fine line is you want to instill respect in your cockerel, not fear. Fear is the deal breaker, and will lead directly to bad behavior. You need to be firm with him while behaving in a way that he won't have reason to be afraid of you. If he becomes fearful, it will be very hard to get him to respect you. Instead you will become a rival.
It's very easy for people with roosters and cockerels to confuse discipline with being aggressive toward them. Any action such as sending a rooster across the yard with your foot after he attempts to flog your leg will incite fear, and inflicting pain on him is not a good idea. The war will only escalate from there. What you want to do is maintain a firm, quiet, non-reactive demeanor while taking the cockerel firmly to the ground and immobilizing him at the first sign of aggressive behavior from him.
You want to pin him to the ground and hold him there until he calms down and surrenders. Then quietly release him, making him leave you, not you turning and leaving him.
In any encounter with him, it's fine to pick him up and hold him, but it must always be your idea, not his, when to be released from your possession.
As has been pointed out, your behavior around the hens is crucial. You must be slow and deliberate and not cause any fuss among the hens in front of your cockerel. If you need to stir the harem up, it's best to remove the rooster to a location where he doesn't have to see it.
This "kid-glove" treatment is really most critical from now until his hormones settle down, from between a year and two years of age. After that, he'll be a lot less hormonal and unpredictable and you will have come to an understanding with him, and things can be a lot more relaxed.
The fine line is you want to instill respect in your cockerel, not fear. Fear is the deal breaker, and will lead directly to bad behavior. You need to be firm with him while behaving in a way that he won't have reason to be afraid of you. If he becomes fearful, it will be very hard to get him to respect you. Instead you will become a rival.
It's very easy for people with roosters and cockerels to confuse discipline with being aggressive toward them. Any action such as sending a rooster across the yard with your foot after he attempts to flog your leg will incite fear, and inflicting pain on him is not a good idea. The war will only escalate from there. What you want to do is maintain a firm, quiet, non-reactive demeanor while taking the cockerel firmly to the ground and immobilizing him at the first sign of aggressive behavior from him.
You want to pin him to the ground and hold him there until he calms down and surrenders. Then quietly release him, making him leave you, not you turning and leaving him.
In any encounter with him, it's fine to pick him up and hold him, but it must always be your idea, not his, when to be released from your possession.
As has been pointed out, your behavior around the hens is crucial. You must be slow and deliberate and not cause any fuss among the hens in front of your cockerel. If you need to stir the harem up, it's best to remove the rooster to a location where he doesn't have to see it.
This "kid-glove" treatment is really most critical from now until his hormones settle down, from between a year and two years of age. After that, he'll be a lot less hormonal and unpredictable and you will have come to an understanding with him, and things can be a lot more relaxed.
- Thread starter
- #14
Kylea0219
Chirping
Yeah he is a sweet little guy I don't see the need to piss him off for no reason. So best plan is just hold him until he calms down if/when he starts getting more aggressive. I don't think I am going to have a issue for a while he runs to my husband and I for protection. He is only 3 months old and my girls are older and bigger. He only made it a few birds up the pecking order before he got beat up. What are the kinds of things I should look for behavior wise?
You'll recognize aggressive behavior if it happens. And it may not be an issue with your little guy. A young cockerel usually starts out with the sideways dance in your direction.
Sometimes he'll start right out with an attempt to flog the back of your leg. That's when you want to swoop down and snatch him right up, tuck him under your arm in a football hold, very firmly. Keep him confined like that, facing backward, long enough for him to settle down and go limp. He needs to surrender before you release him.
Or you can just reach straight down and pin him to the ground with his head firmly in the dirt, until he surrenders.
If he so much as nips you, discipline him. Every single aggressive action from here on must be addressed. Disciplining a cockerel is just as necessary as disciplining a dog. If left to work out their aggressive tendencies on their own both dogs and roosters can become dangerous animals, sending people to the ER. Never think for a moment that this is a frivolous matter.
Meanwhile, get into the habit of demanding command of mutual space, meaning if you are both on a track to intercept each other, he is the one that must be made to move out of your way. Simply stand in his path until he moves out of your way. And the most important rule of all, never turn your back on him.
So many roosters have had to be re-homed or culled simply because their owners were careless about engaging in activities without being aware of where their young hormonal cockerel was, and had their backs to their rooster. It's sort of like waving a red flag at a bull, roosters often can't resist attacking a person bent over doing something. That's the way the "war" is usually launched.
So, watch your back when your guy is in the vicinity! This is only a precaution during this first summer with him as his hormones turn on. If you can stay on your toes and watch your back, by next summer, you and your rooster will have a mutual understanding and you both will be able to relax.
Sometimes he'll start right out with an attempt to flog the back of your leg. That's when you want to swoop down and snatch him right up, tuck him under your arm in a football hold, very firmly. Keep him confined like that, facing backward, long enough for him to settle down and go limp. He needs to surrender before you release him.
Or you can just reach straight down and pin him to the ground with his head firmly in the dirt, until he surrenders.
If he so much as nips you, discipline him. Every single aggressive action from here on must be addressed. Disciplining a cockerel is just as necessary as disciplining a dog. If left to work out their aggressive tendencies on their own both dogs and roosters can become dangerous animals, sending people to the ER. Never think for a moment that this is a frivolous matter.
Meanwhile, get into the habit of demanding command of mutual space, meaning if you are both on a track to intercept each other, he is the one that must be made to move out of your way. Simply stand in his path until he moves out of your way. And the most important rule of all, never turn your back on him.
So many roosters have had to be re-homed or culled simply because their owners were careless about engaging in activities without being aware of where their young hormonal cockerel was, and had their backs to their rooster. It's sort of like waving a red flag at a bull, roosters often can't resist attacking a person bent over doing something. That's the way the "war" is usually launched.
So, watch your back when your guy is in the vicinity! This is only a precaution during this first summer with him as his hormones turn on. If you can stay on your toes and watch your back, by next summer, you and your rooster will have a mutual understanding and you both will be able to relax.
bigbruce
Chirping
- May 4, 2015
- 210
- 25
- 60
You get an an aggressive one every now and then most are not.Nothing really that you can do to prevent it
A former co-worker of mine had a barred rock rooster. The thing came at him and he pinned him down. Even he hens got a few pecks in. No problems afterward.
Amelia Egghart
Songster
How is he doing? He looks beautiful! My EE cockerel is 7 months old now, so a little behind yours, but still a love bug!
LGKChickens
Chirping
I love my EE cockerel he was supposed to be a pullet. He is the same age as yours.
TheTwoRoos
Crowing
- Sep 25, 2015
- 4,368
- 2,042
- 316
Roosters get more distance the older they get,sometimes,usually around 3 to 6 months they'll start showing their True side. Meaning being rowdy sparring with the hens and each other,and mating a ton.Not all roosters get aggressive when they hit the teen months every rooster I have raised hasn't.
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