long time chicken owners. Is there any truth to this?....

[chickengeorgeto]

i understand your concerns, do what you feel is best.

However, if one is able to reeducate a rooster that is aggressive to humans, it follows that human actions can also create a man fighting rooster.
I think most man aggressive roos are caused by people frightening or startling the hens, causing them to squawk and scatter or chasing and catching a hen in a rough manner in the presence of a rooster.

In the first example this will cause a rooster to view humans as some kind of clumsy or inept predator. In the second example the roo will view you as his rival for the affections of his hens. Either one will result in roosters that will flog the dickens out of you.

I have been involved with all kinds of chickens both as a hobby and as a lively hood for over 60 years. My very first chicken memory is of "herding" papa's commercial hatching egg hens when I was about 4, and getting flogged by one of my grand-father's roosters for my trouble.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Thanks. do you have any idea how long this lasts in the spring though.

since I'm not planning on hatching any eggs I'm not concerned about keeping roos at all and still will likely cull him.

I'm interested for academic sake only lol. Also, I know in dogs we like to breed for better behaviour. Even a dog who is only aggressive around females in season is generally not bred because his temperament is considered "unacceptable" to pass on. Is this the same with Chickens? Do we breed for "natural" tendencies that propagate the species or do we select specimens that have a better chance of living with us humans? Again...purely academic curiosity here lol.

I cull for temperament, too. Also, I cull roosters that are too aggressive with hens.

Think of it this way--not being aggressive towards people is not "unnatural." It's actually a bird that is more able to discern true threats. A bird that can't discern true threats from all possible threats is a nervous bird, always attacking whatever comes near whether it's a threat or not. That's pretty stressful on an animal. Aggressive roosters that are rough with hens cause lots of stress in the flock which results in lower egg production. So a less aggressive rooster is better for the hens, too--not just the people.

My roosters aren't people-aggressive at all, but I've seen them do a great job of gathering the flock and getting them under cover when a large bird flies overhead. So they do know a threat when they see it.

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

i understand your concerns, do what you feel is best.

However, if one is able to reeducate a rooster that is aggressive to humans, it follows that human actions can also create a man fighting rooster.
I think most man aggressive roos are caused by people frightening or startling the hens, causing them to squawk and scatter or chasing and catching a hen in a rough manner in the presence of a rooster.

In the first example this will cause a rooster to view humans as some kind of clumsy or inept predator. In the second example the roo will view you as his rival for the affections of his hens. Either one will result in roosters that will flog the dickens out of you.

I have been involved with all kinds of chickens both as a hobby and as a lively hood for over 60 years. My very first chicken memory is of "herding" papa's commercial hatching egg hens when I was about 4, and getting flogged by one of my grand-father's roosters for my trouble.

Gotta admit, I catch hens in front of my roosters all the time. And they flap and squawk and fuss, often. We've only had one human-aggressive rooster that we had to cull. My current boys don't even raise a hackle.

I dont' think most people make aggressive roosters. I truly believe that there is a strong genetic component. I'm also not sure I buy the hypothesis that aggressive roosters can be reeducated. Many people have seen that aggression towards humans runs in families with roosters. Here on BYC, I see so many posters upset that their rooster, which was their best friend and sat on their shoulders or laps, is now challenging them. To me, that's because those people are not the Alpha of their flock. Their rooster is just putting them in their place, not protecting the flock.