To the debate regarding chicken emotion, and for all of you who have concerns about your young roo becoming aggressive:
I think you guys have brought up a very interesting discussion that relates to my original post. Here are my two cents, as this conversation has sparked some new thoughts for me on the issue... Chickens are simply not capable of complex thoughts, I agree. I wish they were at times, but really they are driven by instinct as all animals are to some degree. Since chickens are not capable of complex thought, I think they are largely driven by instinct alone. This is the reason a chick can stand on it's own two legs, run around, eat, and drink shortly after hatching. Chicks are precocial, which is a biological trait with roots in evolution. We cannot change this fact. This extends to a chicken's behavior as it ages into an adult as well. This means that no matter how hard we try, there are just some tendencies these animals have that we humans cannot change. This is not to say that some behaviors cannot be modified by realizing the basis of a behavior, then making a fundamental change in the environment or our own behavior that will modify the chicken's behavior.
You can't change where a chicken poops, (which is simply a biological process, not so much a behavior like it can be with dogs and cats) but you can install roosts where you want to majority of the poop to go; you can't stop a chicken from eating it's eggs (which is a learned behavior), but you can modify the behavior by adding rocks to the nest so that the outcome is not nearly so satisfying when the "egg" (rock) is pecked, thus diminishing the behavior; you cannot keep a chicken from roaming where it wants to without a physical barrier (instinct), but you can call them with a food reward so they don't stray too far (modified instinct).
Now thinking about my rooster in these terms finally makes sense. Suppose he simply is acting aggressive because he has plenty of testosterone and following his instincts. He is boss, he deals with threats by attacking, and is following his instincts. I made that really easy for him by picking him up, petting him, and feeding him. Clearly, he was still number one. I also became wary of him, walked around him, and kicked at him in self defense. Which is what a lesser rooster would do. I really did put in a good faith effort to consistently pick him up at every single attack, wave him around in the air (to embarrass him), and set him down. Now, he wasn't too fond of the waving around in the air part, but it clearly didn't earn his respect because after what appeared initially to be progress (he would walk away rather than attack), he decided he would rather whip around and attack me again when I set him down. [A side note about embarrassing a rooster. I agree with one of the previous posts, embarrassing a critter who mates, poops, and dust bathes on the front lawn doesn't seem likely. To break it down to it's most basic components, embarrassment requires one to act in a manner that is socially unacceptable, a concept that is beyond the capacity of chickens. Yes, they form a social construct (pecking order), but to say they are able to "judge" each other and determine behaviors which are socially acceptable or not, is a far cry.] Now, I am modifying his behavior by inserting myself into the social construct as dominant rooster. My behavior - chasing away my australorp rooster, not allowing him to eat when I feed the ladies, walking in his path and forcing him to move away, not allowing him to mount the ladies when I am present, and scruffling the hens backs (mating them in front of him). All of these things simply play into his instinct regarding how to treat a dominant rooster. I have not had to use any physically harmful means to get him to comply. Today I went in the run to feed, and he walked calmly to the back of the run and waited while I fed the gals. This is a HUGE change from the last several months, when he would fling himself at the bars as I approached the run.
Since this post has clearly not been long enough - one more thought. I don't think that a relationship with a rooster or any animal amounts to pure trust on either side. Sure, your dog blindly trusts you even when he thinks something is not a good idea, but rarely, or occasionally, or whenever, his instincts will win out under the right circumstances. It is no different with a rooster who is well mannered. This is for all of you who say you trust your rooster, and snuggle him close. I know my rooster experience has not made for trust on either side of the relationship, but I don't think a rooster, like any wild or domestic animal, should be fully trusted. Someday those instincts will kick in, and if your guard is not up anything can happen. I was a single inch from a serious eye injury or worse because I let me guard down. My rooster was "trustworthy" when being carried... ...until he tore into my eyebrow with his beak. Your rooster may not have the level of aggression that mine has, but he will always have his instincts.
I welcome any further thoughts or opposition ( :
