Is my "Rooster" trying to protect the flock? will it be a problem in the future? -New to BYC

[MyHappyHens]

Hello, I am new to BYC. I have 4 Orpingtons and 2 silver laced wyandottes. I believe one is a rooster, but I am not quite sure. They are about 18 to 19 weeks. My rooster has been running up to me. He doesn't peck me but he gets really close to me. The other two don't even look at me. My two girls walk around together but my rooster lingers around away from them but still stays close. Today, I walked out the door and he almost bumped into me! But then he ran away back to the other two. Is he trying to protect his flock? And in the future do you think he might be aggressive towards me? I have hand raised them and every day I give them fruits and veggies so maybe he is thinking I have food? I'm just worried because the other two don't even come near me most of the time. Thank you!


The picture on the left is the rooster (I think) that I am concerned about. The one on the right is another chicken that I am not sure about gender-wise. Thank you for the replies!

 

[sourland]

He may be starting to develop aggressive behavior. Without actually seeing what he is doing, I can't make that judgement. If he starts flaring hackles, side stepping, wing dancing, pecking at the ground or darting towards you he is escalating into aggressive behavior. There are several threads on site about dealing with such behavior. It's best to nip it in the bud. Good luck with him.

 

[donrae]

Post a picture of the bird in question and we can tell you if it's male or female. At this age, it should be pretty apparent.

Regardless, if the bird's making you uncomfortable, start asserting your self. Walk toward the bird, make it move away from you. Coming to you for treats is fine, but touching you without your express invitation is not. Just walk toward it, like you intend to walk right through it, and it should start getting out of your way. Do this pretty much any time you interact with the bird.

 

[speckledhen]

It's hard to say unless it really ramps into actual contact aggression. My very friendly Delaware rooster, who is going on 5 years old now, and is the sweetest thing you could imagine, will chase after me, trying to catch up to me and sometimes, just accidentally run into me, especially if we're going downhill. It's not aggression at all, but then, I know this rooster very well after raising him from hatch.

Yours is at the age where human aggression will start to show itself, if it's going to do so. Rushing you in an attempt to intimidate is what I consider aggression, don't get me wrong, but if he never touches you, you'll have to go with your gut as to whether it feels hostile or not. Any rooster who is human aggressive can pass it on to his sons since temperament is heritable, which is why we do not allow any sort of threatening behavior from our LF males. The wing dance toward a human is aggression. Rushing is aggression. Neither is tolerated. Sometimes a very young male may test the boundaries by biting or something like that, prior to mating age, and that can usually be nipped in the bud, if he is not generally prone to aggression. If he is, it will only escalate. Been there, done that, turned one into stew rather than pass on his genes.