My pet rooster is becoming aggressive, causes and solutions please?

[kpiddy]

Hi, thanks everyone. My pet bantam rooster is 11 months old and never showed any signs of aggression.
He follows me everywhere, dances around me till I pick him up. One month ago we got him 2 hens
and just this week he started being aggressive toward me and my husband. Now every time we go out there he runs at our feet. If we feed him from our hands he eats for a bit then bites us.

Is this just normal because he's protecting his hens? Or could there be something else going on?
What is the best way to get him to calm down?

I've been picking him up whenever he does this and holding him, he's perfectly calm. Right now he's just hanging out inside my sweatshirt.

But I want to be able to hang out with him and the hens in the backyard again? Please help!

 

[kpiddy]

 

[Reurra]

Im sorry to say this, but hes a rooster and roosters protect their girls. At this age he is full of hormones and "love" for his girls. his instincts are to be a rooster. There isnt much you can do about it, but one thing I did to show my rooster who is boss, is this: When he showed dominance, I would press him down to the floor and lay his head out in front of him so he is submissive to me. I would also tap him gently on the back of the head until he lowered his head down or I would gently pinch the back of his head like a dominant rooster would do. All of this would be while he is laying on the ground.

Sometimes I would pick him up and make him lower his head to the level of his chest. I would never cause pain or be mean, just hold him like this for about 45 seconds, (if I ahve him in my arms, it would be more like 5-10 minutes). After doing this, I would tap him and let him up and he would walk away. I have had no problems with him attacking, he is not aggressive toward us either. Sometimes he will let out warning clucks when i handle the girls, but when he does I look directly at him and take a step toward him, in this way he knows I am boss and Im not afraid.

However, i am aware he is a rooster and he may one day try and attack. If he does, its the end for him. They have dangerous spurs and I know he is acting on instict, but this kind of behaviro cannot be allowed to continue. Horses are the same way, once they learn they can break their ties or get away with bad behavior they will continue unless the behavior is corrected immediately. With any animal, dog, cat, horse, cow, pig, whatever, there can be no slack. Rules must be enforced and kept. If they learn you fear them, they will use that against you. You dont ahve to be mean to enforce rules, and try your best to not cause pain if never, but remember, they have to see you as firm, strong and unafraid before they respect you, and then again, they may never get the gist.

 

[kpiddy]

Ok great thanks. I'll try the lowering his head to the ground and slight pinching along with picking him up and carrying him around.
He's so tiny he can't hurt us but it's just strange to go from him wanting to be held all the time to him running at my feet!
But like you said, he's a rooster and I know he's protecting his girls. Thanks very much!

 

[JERRY1952]

I had this problem last week; it was the first time that Ron (a Barred Rock) showed agression. He is the only rooster in a flock of about 10 hens. (We got them when they were a day old last spring; so we handled them many times a day) He was close enough to me where I could lean over and smack him, then I sternly told him NO!! and warned him that if he did it again that he would become Sunday dinner!! I think the problem was fixed. Ron is a very mellow, sweet boy that likes his ladies!

 

[Reurra]

I understand you love him very much and he seems like a beautiful boy, but he is becoming a "man" now. He is spoiled to boot!

Have patience, Im sure once he figures out you are not after his girls, he may mellow out the older he gets.

I had a horse I spoiled to a fault. I had her under a trainer, but she quit training because my Sheba just would not listen to a think the trainer told her when i was around. She had learned, and I was young and naive, that I was a groomer and treat giver and that with me she could do no wrong. I basically ruined her. The only way to fix it was to send her to a new home. After that, when she was treated like a horse and not a princess, she became a great barrel racer.

 

[lahowardjr]

If you have small children at home this problem rooster could become the rooster that blinded one of your kids. If he'll flog you, he'll flog neighbors, visitors and the kids. Don't think too long on taming your rooster. Pen him up or make dumplings.

 

[missnu01]

I would say a bantam rooster is little threat even to children...not to mention a young bird as this guy is, doesn't even have spurs.
I have a silkie roo that attacks me whenever I talk on my cell phone near him. Issue being that if I get a call on my cellphone I have to go outside to get reception, and there is crazy cellphone hating roo flapping all around my knees until my big White rock roo comes over and holds him to the ground...All I have to do is keep pushing the silkie away with one of my feet. Not kick him, but just keep pushing him away til the big rooster comes and helps me out.

 

[kpiddy]

That's great this worked for you. My rooster used to be mellow until this week, it's very strange. He does listen to the word no and will back off but only after he runs at me a couple times. And if I pick him up he bites me! It's so weird to go from the mellow sit on my desk rooster to this crazy biting one! But we'll keep working on him, hopefully once he gets used to his ladies he'll mellow. Thanks!

 

[kpiddy]

The bantam can't hurt us, at most it's a fingernail type scratch. When we do have children around, if he hasn't mellowed, then we'll keep him pinned up. Thanks everyone!