Is my cockerel showing early signs of aggression?

[chickenluvin]

I am relatively new at this chicken things.... still learning.
This is my 2nd ever rooster & he is now 18 weeks old. I picked a Salmon Faverolles because I read they are usually very docile. I spend a lot of time with my chickens & enjoy the more docile natures over egg production.
About 2 weeks ago Sullivan started crowing just once or twice in the morning & thought I had a quiet rooster. Apparently not! lol These last few days he has started crowing A LOT ...more than I have ever seen before. He started doing a wing flap off & on & crowing around me when I entered. Now in the morning when I let them out, he immediately circles sideways around my leg several times & touching my leg while he does that ..not the wing dance I don't think, unless he's just trying to figure it out. He then does his wing flaps & crows while I'm there, right after the circling & touching. He also finds a perch near me & does his wing flap & crow. I don't know if that's for me or he just excited about becoming a rooster man.
He has always let me pet him, he will sometimes sit relaxed on me & will still eat from my hand .... but this change has me wondering if he is sending me warnings?? Am I another hen to him or am I becoming an enemy & should watch my back? I try to act henish around him (lol), am calm & talk gently with soft sounds. The girls love me but I am a little unsure right now how much he does.
What do you think... friend or foe??? Advice?
Thank you!

 

[Brittanyjohnson1986]

Mine does a circling leg dance thing right before he attacks sometimes it's a warning to back off but we never back down usually I'll stomp my feet or yell at him a little letting him know I'm boss and he'll walk away but I know his personality and feel comfortable doing that to scare him back in check!

 

[chickenluvin]

Mine does a circling leg dance thing right before he attacks sometimes it's a warning to back off but we never back down usually I'll stomp my feet or yell at him a little letting him know I'm boss and he'll walk away but I know his personality and feel comfortable doing that to scare him back in check!

So, does the circling & touching/rubbing the side of his body on my leg while he's doing that possibly mean he's becoming aggressive rather than flirting with me? I don't want to be mean with him if I can help it. I want to deal with it in the manner in which he is telling me ...& he can crow all he wants too because I like the sound. I am just praying it's not aggression.

 

[Frazzemrat1]

There's a ton of good info on keeping a good relationship around the hen house by making sure your roo understands that your the head roo. He doesn't think your a hen, he thinks of you more of a rival, and he's a hormonal teenager.

@lazy gardener has great advice on dealing with a roo before he becomes a problem...

 

[Brittanyjohnson1986]

I agree with her your his rival if u let him think he's the head roo it'll only get worse my advice is to put him in check before he becomes very aggressive. I'm not saying to hurt him at all I'm just saying to make him understand your the boss.

 

[chickenluvin]

There's a ton of good info on keeping a good relationship around the hen house by making sure your roo understands that your the head roo. He doesn't think your a hen, he thinks of you more of a rival, and he's a hormonal teenager.

@lazy gardener has great advice on dealing with a roo before he becomes a problem...

Thank you for the link! I'll check it out. I was certainly not expecting an aggressive rooster after researching this breed & lovingly hand raising him. I sure hope this doesn't escalate. Can this be just temporary sometimes? The hens are all sweethearts...

 

[chickenluvin]

I agree with her your his rival if u let him think he's the head roo it'll only get worse my advice is to put him in check before he becomes very aggressive. I'm not saying to hurt him at all I'm just saying to make him understand your the boss.

Oh myyy. I never expected this from a Faverolles & why I chose him. I am a gentle person & am not sure how to deal with this. He was starting to make me a little nervous because I wasn't sure. He is quite a confident fella it seems...

 

[rebrascora]

The fact that he is flapping his wings and crowing when he sees you and perching up a height and doing it, is his way of challenging you and I would be concerned. My advice would be to stop playing henish, as it is his job to dominate the hens, so you are inviting him to dominate you.
You are the boss and he needs to learn respect for that. You don't want him sitting relaxed on you.... allowing him to do that is telling him that he is the boss. You don't want him eating from your hand. He needs to get out of your way when you are there and you need to start reinforcing that by walking determinedly straight at him so he has to get out of your way. Beekissed did a really good post on the subject of training a rooster a while back which involves using a lightweight flexible stick to send him away from you. It may seem a little harsh but better to show him who is boss now, before it escalates. I will try to find the post and add a link.

 

[Brittanyjohnson1986]

Here's my story: I hatched and hand raised my roo! He was so sweet the most adorable he was never a problem. Once he hit his teenager stage his hormones started to flare up and he started wanting to be boss. That's when we butted heads. I had to show him I was boss. Every now and then he'll do his leg circle dance and I'll stomp my feet yell at him a little he'll walk away and everything is fine. My kids on the other hand used to run from him and he always tried to buck on them. Once they learned to stop running and stomp at him and yell a little like I did he backed off. Don't submit!!

 

[rebrascora]

I am a gentle person & am not sure how to deal with this.

It is unfortunately your disposition that he is reading (animals read body language so much better than we humans do) and therefore challenging. He is a teenage male with no adults to keep him in check and teach him right from wrong. Regardless of his breeding he will most likely take advantage of that situation. If you are unable to be more assertive with him, you may be best rehoming him.
Was there a particular reason you wanted to keep a rooster?