Is it my fault the rooster doesn't like me?

[Naser]

You need to prove that you're the boss.
.

That is why I said try the water hose with him. a good jet of water every now and then makes him afraid of you

 

[centrarchid]

Refrain from fighting with the rooster. Concentrate first on reading him and seeing how your actions effect his, The fighting / hosing business generally makes things worse unless you are willing to take into a realm that is considered by some to be inhumane,,

 

[GhettoRoo]

What breeds are other 2 roosters?

 

[ThePRfan]

Quote:If I try to explain to my husband that I am afraid and I can tell that "Lester" is posturing - my husband doesn't see his behavior as aggressive. Lester is the Alpha and we have 3 other roosters that are really nice to me and I am not afraid of them. We are newbies and still have a lot to learn. I am getting discouraged.

It's not your fault. Roosters are a whole different subject when it comes to hens.Naturally born,well told stories were born to protect the hens. There may be something your ACCIDENTLY doing to him,your just not yet realizing him. Are you sure he's not trying to fly on your should when he flies at you?

 

[centrarchid]

Roosters are born to protect their offspring and the privilege to create more offspring. The protection of the girls is simply a consequence of those efforts.

 

[chicksurreal]

I know there are times that people can do things that put a rooster on alert, accidently or on purpose. You might be doing something accidently.

My SO loves to tease the roos to get a reaction from them, therefore gets the reaction, has been flogged numerous times and spurred 3 times (not seriously injured, but enough to get the point across). They don't play like a puppy when you tease them.

I never do anything intentionally that might make them think I'm a threat or a challenge, but sometimes a hen needs attention and she will flap and make noise when I pick her up. The roos pay attention and may make a noise like 'Hey, what's going on?', but they never try to spur or flog me. Once in a while, they will run up like they want to see what's going on, but not with the intention of physical contact. I do keep an eye on where they are at in the pen or while free-ranging, but I'm comfortable turning my back on them.

I am not one of those people that believes you should be able to do anything to a rooster and have it want to sit on your lap (nothing wrong with that necessarily, I'm just not in that group). They have instincts and behaviors that are fairly easy to predict a lot of the time, I'm still learning and hopefully always will be.

 

[azygous]

Yes, it's your fault. But I don't mean that as a judgement!

Roosters really are not all that complicated, but they are extremely perceptive! Your little Lester is a genius at reading your emotions. He knows that your SO is confident and unafraid of him, so Lester ignores him. He knows you are uneasy around him, so he is highly suspicious of you and he is finding it all but impossible to trust you.

Until you become hyper-aware of your own feelings toward Lester and manage them, Lester's behavior toward you will continue to deteriorate.

You need to give yourself a good talking-to. Convince yourself you are NOT going to be afraid of Lester.

When you go out to greet the chickens, do not EVER turn your back to Lester. If Lester is in front of you and he's blocking your path, keep walking toward him, making him move out of your way. NEVER walk around him.

One of these days Lester may rush at you and try to attack. This will require a show-down with him if it should happen. This is where you can turn things around by snatching him up real quickly, and just stick him under your arm like a football. Tote the ornery feller around like that for a bit, and he will have a completely different image of you, I guarantee it.

It's all in your hands. You can gain the upper hand by paying close attention to your fears, thus changing your behavior, which will directly affect Lester's behavior. It's not all that complicated, but it does require courage!

 

[chicksurreal]

Yes, it's your fault. But I don't mean that as a judgement!

Roosters really are not all that complicated, but they are extremely perceptive! Your little Lester is a genius at reading your emotions. He knows that your SO is confident and unafraid of him, so Lester ignores him. He knows you are uneasy around him, so he is highly suspicious of you and he is finding it all but impossible to trust you.

Until you become hyper-aware of your own feelings toward Lester and manage them, Lester's behavior toward you will continue to deteriorate.

You need to give yourself a good talking-to. Convince yourself you are NOT going to be afraid of Lester.

When you go out to greet the chickens, do not EVER turn your back to Lester. If Lester is in front of you and he's blocking your path, keep walking toward him, making him move out of your way. NEVER walk around him.

One of these days Lester may rush at you and try to attack. This will require a show-down with him if it should happen. This is where you can turn things around by snatching him up real quickly, and just stick him under your arm like a football. Tote the ornery feller around like that for a bit, and he will have a completely different image of you, I guarantee it.

It's all in your hands. You can gain the upper hand by paying close attention to your fears, thus changing your behavior, which will directly affect Lester's behavior. It's not all that complicated, but it does require courage!

X2


I had a rooster attack me when I was a child and carried that fear into adulthood. When we decided to get chickens and wanted a rooster, I had to "get over it" if I wanted to fully enjoy our chickens. It did make a huge difference that I am now an adult and not a scared 5 year old with a rooster flogging me in the face. Lol!

It also helped that they are such intriguing creatures and my curiosity was immediately engaged.

 

[centrarchid]

I had been flogged by roosters as a child and even as an adult. I was always at fault for trying to mess with chicks. Hens got me even more often for same reason. Then I took steps so as to be less course in my actions around the birds and did some conditioning of key animals while they were chicks to reduce hazards. I still have a couple older hens that can still stir roosters into action but roosters no longer put it to me.

 

[chicksurreal]

I had been flogged by roosters as a child and even as an adult. I was always at fault for trying to mess with chicks. Hens got me even more often for same reason. Then I took steps so as to be less course in my actions around the birds and did some conditioning of key animals while they were chicks to reduce hazards. I still have a couple older hens that can still stir roosters into action but roosters no longer put it to me.

I think our SS Hamburg roo may have flogged me once from behind when he was a cockerel. It was so fast and light that I didn't know for sure, but he's never been "aggressive" with me that I can prove.

I'm too interested in chicken behavior to let them scare me now. I've definitely been flogged by the pullets, right in the face when I go to pick them up or something like that. It taught me to be more gentle and move more slowly. I'm glad we Had SSH's as our first chickens, they"re so flighty, the responses are heightened and create a steep learning curve. Our newest flock is sedate compared to them.