Let me get this straight: The sideways dance is a flirt??

[GJE]

... because my 5mo marans has done it twice to me today and it freaked me out. I didnt know how to react, so I just stood there & stared at him until he walked away (and then came inside to google it). I wasnt sure if it was a retaliation for chasing him off of one of my hens this morning.

One of my cockerels have already turned aggressive and I'm on red alert with the others until I figure out what I'm going to do with them. This particular boy (the marans) has definitely been coming into his hormones over the last week or so and I'm worried about him tipping over into aggression:

he crows and paces obsessively in the run until I let him out this morning

he crows and paces obsessively in the run if I lock him up during the day

he's been jumping all over the hens at every opportunity

he routinely has stare-downs with one of my other cockerels (and is always the winner)

one day last week he started pecking at my feet. I had already kicked him away before my brain caught up with my body and he avoided me like the plague ever since (well, until this morning)

this morning, he pecked the hens and chased them away from the food dish (big red flag?)

With all of that going on, is the sideways shuffle dance thing still a flirt? It doesnt "feel" like a flirt, but maybe I'm just being paranoid.

His number is up as soon as I can find someone to do it. I dont want 3 roosters (for my 5 hens) and his obsessive behavior (and sudden rudeness to the hens) really bothers me, as does this new sideways shuffle thing. In the meantime, I'm trying to understand his behavior. I understand that I'm supposed to show dominance by picking him up & carrying him around- but I dont routinely make a habit of picking up any of my birds unless I need to. How exactly do I go about doing that if he runs away the second I reach for him?

The shuffle dance, him dropping his wing to the ground and then walking (shuffling) sideways towards you, is him trying to tell you that he’s the boss. He’ll do the same thing to the hens...who may or may not listen to him.
I would avoid kicking any animal - would you like to be kicked? doubt it- they don’t like it either.
3 Roos to 5 hens, I think you said? Your ratio is totally off and they will start challenging each other to be king of the coop.
Don’t blame your cockerel for being hormone crazy. His body is figuring things out. Separate him for a while if you think he’s being too rough with the pullets. If you truly want to bond with your chickens- you have to put in the work. It’s really not that hard- picking them up and petting them, giving them treats is a good way to earn their trust. Pick them up and do a quick chore with them. Yes- catching them will be difficult at first if you haven’t been handling them since they were babies, but it gets easier to catch them once they start trusting you. Chickens are complex beings. Bonding with them is very beneficial.

 

[Mrs. K]

OP - you know you have too many roosters, and really you don't like this one. Always cull that one first. Then see.

The wing dance does not bother me as much as the incessant crowing when you are down there, and the pacing does. Does he stand up tall when he crows and fluff up his hackers? Not a good sign. IMO he is sizing you up for an attack. People often vastly underestimate a rooster attack if they have never seen one.

If you have small children under the age of 5 I strongly recommend no roosters at all. They tend to attack children first, and roosters have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of kids. Small children can take the attack in the face.

You have years to have this flock, enjoy it without roosters the first year or two, get some experience, then try a rooster. Flockmate roosters in small coops and flocks often do not turn out.

You get the nicest roosters with a sharp knife, as in you do not put up with the not so nice roosters.

Mrs K