maturing rooster

[divediva]

Hi all
I have two golden comets aged 24 weeks, that I've had from 10 days old. They have a coop and run, but they free range in the day. I adopted an orphan feral chick at a day old and he's now 16 weeks old. He's my baby and watches TV with me at night. He is completely free range and shares the same space with the girls. They wanted to kill him when he was younger, but are more tolerant now and he's smart enough to get out of the way when they challenge him as he's half their size. Everything has been going great, but yesterday Smudge (roo) ran up to my foot grabbed my achilles in his beak and tried to mate my foot. I've heard so many different responses on how to deal with this I'm very confused. I'm not someone who believes in bullying, hitting and negative reinforcement. Smudge sits on me and nestles in my hair, he has never tried to bite me, but clearly this mating is not acceptable. He did it again this morning and I shouted at him, when he approached the next time I raised my foot and this scared him away.
I wondered what is the best way to deal with this, and also if this is just frustration that the ladies are dominating him. He is probably not going to get much bigger and I heard that GC are aggressive by nature to other birds. As he matures will the testosterone kick in, and make him the boss or will they always be in charge like it is now.
These are my first ever chickens and every day is a school day for me.
Thanks everyone who's helped me so far, it's much appreciated.

 

[Folly's place]

My cockerels aren't treated as 'pets'; they grow into roosters who have a job, which is watching out for their hens and being polite to all humans.
Your boy may think that you are somebody to push around, and that's not your role either. He should be out there in the coop 24/7, and not nestled in your hair!!!
I do hope that you chased him around, at least, when he attacked you.
This will be harder for you than for him, but you are the giant who brings food, not a flockmate to push around, much less a possible breeding opportunity!
Beekissed has an excellent article about managing roosters who think bad thoughts; look it up please.
Also, it's probably hot out there, but shoes or boots and jeans are more protection than shorts and sandals, at least for now.
In general, walk 'through' him, not around, and make him move away from your space at all times. Carry a bucket, or a stick, or something, to extend your reach. It's not about causing harm, it's about respect. I think no hand feeding at all, rather toss treats on the ground only.
Mary

 

[Roo5]

You can do any and everything and nothing may work, you can raise a bird any typa way whether it’s as a pet or no pet, and it could still turn out nuts.Have been raising roosters for a few years now and still have yet to have one go nuts, their always great at their job and great pets.However,I don’t believe in having a rooster in my hands 24/7 as he is here for a reason and can’t do his job if he’s laying on my lap relaxing!
You can try to rehabilitate him,sounds like he hasn’t shown any actual Attack behaviors.Id consider him breeding you a bad habit,push him, and keep him at a distance, then you go and coddle him once he learns respect.Id purchase more hens, that may help.

 

[Folly's place]

Some cockerels are fine, and others just aren't, no matter what. But, you can try to rearrange his thinking. Realize that he's got a small brain and will have very large
'boy parts', and hormones to burn, very soon.
Mary

 

[Biddybot]

He's just being a typical sex-crazed teenage roo. Golden Comets are pretty feisty, in my experience, and your hens are likely putting the boots to him when he tries his moves on them. You, on the other hand, are the softer, easy touch, so...from his perspective...why not give it a try, right? I don't believe in antagonizing animals either, but I do believe in teaching them what's acceptable behaviour.

My feeling is that roosters in general never do well with any sort of confrontational behaviour aimed at them from humans. I don't believe they really understand being 'warded off' for something they MIGHT do, for example--raising a foot to them would likely be interpreted more as a challenge than a caution. Try instead continuing to treat your mostly good boy as you always have, but be ready to move like lightning now to distract and discipline him if he acts obnoxiously ever again. Next time he tries to grab you, for example? Just 'grab' him right back--taking hold of his neck feathers right behind his head with a couple of fingers and your thumb works well to make a chicken let go (it's what cockerals do to each other)--and interrupt his train of thought by lifting him up and then sitting with him for a while as per usual. Personally, I like to sit and put the guys on my knee. It keeps them where you can see them, naturally restricts their movement, and puts them in a good position so you can inspect them closely and give them a nice skritch about the wattles and gently pet them. If they're the cuddly sort, you can let them sit in your lap, too, or hold them up to stretch their heads out on one of your shoulders. The thing is, you're the one who determines when any of this happens from now on. Your guy doesn't get to jump up on you any more whenever he pleases. YOU'RE the one who ALLOWS him to jump up now, or you can even make a trick of it by teaching him a command or gesture as to when your lap or knee is fair game. It's a subtle difference, but starts establishing you as a 'boss hen' in a kind, positive-reinforcement kinda way. Chickens can learn fast, too. Even sex-crazed cockerals. And don't worry about him being 'frustrated'. Not your problem. If he's that driven, he'll find some other, non-living outlet once you've made it clear that you don't want him romancing any part of your person.

My own latest young cockerals, seven of them, just became proper roosters a couple of months ago. They all turned out to be good pets, sassy and personable yet well-behaved, and they all deserve to live out their lives. Most will be nice bachelor pets for me first, a couple will be flock roosters first and pets second. Either way, I plan on keeping 'em all. Unless your own boy has an absolute screw loose, there's no reason you can't wind up with a nice pet too...you just have to put a little time and work into him while he's in his naughty randy phase. And don't be surprised if he even wins over your hens once he's older. Hens have a habit of changing their minds about cockerals once they've turned into proper roosters!

 

[Shadrach]

Hi all
I have two golden comets aged 24 weeks, that I've had from 10 days old. They have a coop and run, but they free range in the day. I adopted an orphan feral chick at a day old and he's now 16 weeks old. He's my baby and watches TV with me at night. He is completely free range and shares the same space with the girls. They wanted to kill him when he was younger, but are more tolerant now and he's smart enough to get out of the way when they challenge him as he's half their size. Everything has been going great, but yesterday Smudge (roo) ran up to my foot grabbed my achilles in his beak and tried to mate my foot. I've heard so many different responses on how to deal with this I'm very confused. I'm not someone who believes in bullying, hitting and negative reinforcement. Smudge sits on me and nestles in my hair, he has never tried to bite me, but clearly this mating is not acceptable. He did it again this morning and I shouted at him, when he approached the next time I raised my foot and this scared him away.
I wondered what is the best way to deal with this, and also if this is just frustration that the ladies are dominating him. He is probably not going to get much bigger and I heard that GC are aggressive by nature to other birds. As he matures will the testosterone kick in, and make him the boss or will they always be in charge like it is now.
These are my first ever chickens and every day is a school day for me.
Thanks everyone who's helped me so far, it's much appreciated.

I wrote this article so I didn't have to type the same stuff over and over again.
I hope it will give you some ideas.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[divediva]

Thank you all for your responses, I do sense some judgement from some members and just want to make it clear that smudge is an orphaned feral roo that I've had from a day old. There is a large feral population on island and some people have a very low opinion of them. My little boy was not purchased to breed, and I would have treated him very differently if this had been the case. He would certainly have died had I not adopted him. When I brought him home my girls were already living out, so he had no siblings and no mom. Yes I let him nestle in my hair because it felt secure for him and he was a day old chick. He wandered round the house with me and watched TV. When he got bigger I did the 'look don't touch' for 3 weeks with the girls and they still wanted to kill him. He's now 16 weeks old and completely free range 24/7. He is in the same space as my girls, who tolerate him at best. I'm hopeful this will change. I have a green towel I put on my knee and call him. This is my signal that he can come up. My only pets are my 2 hens and Smudge so yes he's a little spoiled, but aggressive no. He's never tried to bite me, fly at me, or challenge me in any way. I realise he's just dealing with adolescence, which we all did. It's a tough time and given they are way less intelligent than us it must be harder to do the right thing when hormones take over. I'm not over the moon with it obviously, and will try to discourage it in a non confrontation way. I hope the girls will soften towards him as he matures and they can all live happily together.

 

[Possum chicken farm]

Thank you all for your responses, I do sense some judgement from some members and just want to make it clear that smudge is an orphaned feral roo that I've had from a day old. There is a large feral population on island and some people have a very low opinion of them. My little boy was not purchased to breed, and I would have treated him very differently if this had been the case. He would certainly have died had I not adopted him. When I brought him home my girls were already living out, so he had no siblings and no mom. Yes I let him nestle in my hair because it felt secure for him and he was a day old chick. He wandered round the house with me and watched TV. When he got bigger I did the 'look don't touch' for 3 weeks with the girls and they still wanted to kill him. He's now 16 weeks old and completely free range 24/7. He is in the same space as my girls, who tolerate him at best. I'm hopeful this will change. I have a green towel I put on my knee and call him. This is my signal that he can come up. My only pets are my 2 hens and Smudge so yes he's a little spoiled, but aggressive no. He's never tried to bite me, fly at me, or challenge me in any way. I realise he's just dealing with adolescence, which we all did. It's a tough time and given they are way less intelligent than us it must be harder to do the right thing when hormones take over. I'm not over the moon with it obviously, and will try to discourage it in a non confrontation way. I hope the girls will soften towards him as he matures and they can all live happily together.

Ignore the judgmental ones, DiveDiva. We're all just finding our way through chickendom. Do your best with your obviously good intentions and heart, and all will work out in the end. Good luck to you and Smudge.

 

[CheerioTheBuffRooster]

There is a type of way you can hold your roo if he is being aggressive towards you-
Bring him to a quiet spot in the yard and put him down. Press firmly but not too forcefully on his back until he is in a laying position. Put your index finger and middle finger on either sides of his comb and gently press his head down toward the ground so that his head is almost laying on the ground. Keep him in that position for about half a minute then let him go. If he goes back to attack you, repeat it.
Hope this helps (;