My rooster is being aggressive towards me for no apparent reason?

[Liz Birdlover]

I have loved a variety of roosters & they do all have different personalities. Getting to know them is key. My 1st rooster was an aggressive type personality & was very protective & possessive of hens. I discovered he enjoyed putting on a tough act for them. Knowing that allowed me to avoid getting between him & any hen, thus avoiding his temper. He had a phase at 1 yr of age to about 3 yrs of age, where he just did not like the sight of human feet & legs walking, so I wore my muck boots & jeans, never shorts. If I was carrying a bucket, feeder, whatever, I'd use that to keep my legs protected if he ran at me. Brat liked to run up behind me quietly, kick the back of my calf, then run away laughing. If I saw him run towards me, I promptly dropped whatever I carried, reached towards him (which he never expected...I'm supposed to run From him, in which his chase of those legs became great fun for him). No, I came Towards him & quickly scooped him up & tucked him under my arm with such speed, he was shocked & had a surprised expression. Yeah...That wasn't supposed to happen! Lol.

Then, I'd sit down in a chair or on a step with that stinker on my lap & force him to endure some affection & be pet. He'd try to peck, grumble, then he'd start to relax, making sweet sounds, actually enjoy being preened. Then once calm, I'd tuck him under my arm again & resume my coop chores in his area, one handed. I'd need to be done chores prior to letting him go, since the second he was free, he'd turn around & try to ninja kick me, so the hens would admire their tough guy. I could stick out my boot, which if he spurred, didn't affect me at all. He'd give the end of my boot a kick then laugh...I kid you not, he'd go "Ha, Ha, Ha" & it sounded like an ornery teenage kid. It actually became a sort of game we'd play. He got to look like the Big Man in front of his hens & I got a chance to handle the big oaf, check him over for mites & pet the meanie, calm him, while I held him.

I guess most would've made soup out of Rocky, but he lived to a ripe old age & he did mellow out when he turned 4. He would just shoot a stink eye glance at me, but he stopped rushing me. Oh, & whenever I had chickweed, mealworms or any veggies, he'd do his sweet sounds & eat from my hand! 2 faced stinker!

I'm not saying all Roosters can be mellowed out, but I figure give it a chance. Tucking Rocky under my arm (Not upside down) & carrying him like a football seemed to work fine. I used the kindness approach, he never experienced any aggression from me, only sweetness, from how I spoke to him & gently preened & pet him. If you try to sweep them away with a broom, even gently, that will only create more aggression. Calm & kind, or an obstacle in the way, not swung at him, just in the way. It worked for me.

RIP Rocky, miss you Dude. Passed on 2024 at 9 yrs of age.

 

[Exspiravit]

I wouldn't give up on him, though it may take 6 months for him to adapt.

I had a #2 rooster, a Brahma, that was "promoted" when the #1 (a Bantam) was killed by a hawk/ falcon.

From that point on, he started attacking me, when I came near the hens. Not casually, serious and semi-entertaining - enough to make me bleed, with cuts on my leg. So I made a bunch of "Kung Fu Roo" slow motion videos & some of them were pretty good.

Sometimes I picked him up and walked around with him upside down. This seemed to slow him down.

After about 9 months he stopped attacking me. He may have been sick at that point, not sure if there was a connection.

He developed a problem with his crop, and died indoors with us humans.

Then one of his sons, probably a Brahma-Americauna cross, became #1 rooster.

Yeah for sure I'm not planning on giving up on him but aggressive rooster of this breed are viscous the previous aggressive rooster was a nightmare and he was so quick and agile even after clipping his wings he could scale 8 feet fencing despite being as big he was. And you know what he did? He used to attack peoples face he almost took my little cousins eye out just barely missing but still left a scar from his spurs.

That's why at the start I said he's the absolute last rooster I wished turn aggressive because I can't handle that by myself. And I don't wish to let it get that bad.

I don't think it will get that bad tho. Because we have another rooster who attacks him if he sees him fighting, so every time I felt he was in that mood I would call the other rooster and the tension would halt. But that's also why I'm not too keen on keeping him because I already have an amazing rooster of the same breed so i don't really need him hope he reads this reply too!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Young rooster makes good soup.

 

[Exspiravit]

I have loved a variety of roosters & they do all have different personalities. Getting to know them is key. My 1st rooster was an aggressive type personality & was very protective & possessive of hens. I discovered he enjoyed putting on a tough act for them. Knowing that allowed me to avoid getting between him & any hen, thus avoiding his temper. He had a phase at 1 yr of age to about 3 yrs of age, where he just did not like the sight of human feet & legs walking, so I wore my muck boots & jeans, never shorts. If I was carrying a bucket, feeder, whatever, I'd use that to keep my legs protected if he ran at me. Brat liked to run up behind me quietly, kick the back of my calf, then run away laughing. If I saw him run towards me, I promptly dropped whatever I carried, reached towards him (which he never expected...I'm supposed to run From him, in which his chase of those legs became great fun for him). No, I came Towards him & quickly scooped him up & tucked him under my arm with such speed, he was shocked & had a surprised expression. Yeah...That wasn't supposed to happen! Lol.

Then, I'd sit down in a chair or on a step with that stinker on my lap & force him to endure some affection & be pet. He'd try to peck, grumble, then he'd start to relax, making sweet sounds, actually enjoy being preened. Then once calm, I'd tuck him under my arm again & resume my coop chores in his area, one handed. I'd need to be done chores prior to letting him go, since the second he was free, he'd turn around & try to ninja kick me, so the hens would admire their tough guy. I could stick out my boot, which if he spurred, didn't affect me at all. He'd give the end of my boot a kick then laugh...I kid you not, he'd go "Ha, Ha, Ha" & it sounded like an ornery teenage kid. It actually became a sort of game we'd play. He got to look like the Big Man in front of his hens & I got a chance to handle the big oaf, check him over for mites & pet the meanie, calm him, while I held him.

I guess most would've made soup out of Rocky, but he lived to a ripe old age & he did mellow out when he turned 4. He would just shoot a stink eye glance at me, but he stopped rushing me. Oh, & whenever I had chickweed, mealworms or any veggies, he'd do his sweet sounds & eat from my hand! 2 faced stinker!

I'm not saying all Roosters can be mellowed out, but I figure give it a chance. Tucking Rocky under my arm (Not upside down) & carrying him like a football seemed to work fine. I used the kindness approach, he never experienced any aggression from me, only sweetness, from how I spoke to him & gently preened & pet him. If you try to sweep them away with a broom, even gently, that will only create more aggression. Calm & kind, or an obstacle in the way, not swung at him, just in the way. It worked for me.

RIP Rocky, miss you Dude. Passed on 2024 at 9 yrs of age.
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These recent replies have definitely given me more hope in that it could be possible. I dont mind trying whatever worked for you guys.
You're amazing to have this much patience, I could not handle being attacked and charged at every time I went out.
And another thing I get service users now that come and interact with my flock so I would have to lock him very frequently to protect them.

I'll see how it goes and I do already pick him up alot and interact with my chicken. I spend almost majority of my free time with my chickens so I'll see how it goes for sure I'm hoping I can correct him .

 

[Exspiravit]

Yessir they do

 

[LBL]

Yeah for sure I'm not planning on giving up on him but aggressive rooster of this breed are viscous the previous aggressive rooster was a nightmare and he was so quick and agile even after clipping his wings he could scale 8 feet fencing despite being as big he was. And you know what he did? He used to attack peoples face he almost took my little cousins eye out just barely missing but still left a scar from his spurs.

That's why at the start I said he's the absolute last rooster I wished turn aggressive because I can't handle that by myself. And I don't wish to let it get that bad.

I don't think it will get that bad tho. Because we have another rooster who attacks him if he sees him fighting, so every time I felt he was in that mood I would call the other rooster and the tension would halt. But that's also why I'm not too keen on keeping him because I already have an amazing rooster of the same breed so i don't really need him hope he reads this reply too!

I always treat them with respect, and if they are standing in an area of the driveway, I try to go around them.

Yes they do seem to go for the eye, of both birds and people.

I had a Bird Social Order established for about 2 years, with 1 couple in the front yard and 6 birds in the backyard.

Now 2 of the backyard roosters have ganged up on the front yard rooster - their father - who I hope is hiding in the blackberry.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

always treat them with respect, and if they are standing in an area of the driveway, I try to go around them.

I think the rooster should treat ME with respect, and if he's in my path, he's the one who should move out of my way. I am not submissive to the rooster in any way. At the moment I have an amazing rooster who definitely knows his place and respects me. I did not have to teach him this. He rules the roost - and I rule the rooster.

 

[Exspiravit]

I always treat them with respect, and if they are standing in an area of the driveway, I try to go around them.

Yes they do seem to go for the eye, of both birds and people.

I had a Bird Social Order established for about 2 years, with 1 couple in the front yard and 6 birds in the backyard.

Now 2 of the backyard roosters have ganged up on the front yard rooster - their father - who I hope is hiding in the blackberry.

No absolutely I treat them with love and respect my chicken are spoilt.

But he still needs to respect me back. Iev hand rased this particular flock. so it genuinely didn't make sense To Me for him to be aggressive towards me it was absolutely out of nowhere. I gave him benefit of doubt that oh it's spring he's being more protective and it's resulting in this behaviour but I have 2 other roosters in the same flock they haven't made this change. And 3 other rooster in another flock they're still ok. So it just comes down to his personality. From what people have told me you can't change that, this is just how he is.

We do have workers coming in I'm gonna see how that goes. He'll get to stay if he doesn't attack them.

 

[LBL]

No absolutely I treat them with love and respect my chicken are spoilt.

But he still needs to respect me back. Iev hand rased this particular flock. so it genuinely didn't make sense To Me for him to be aggressive towards me it was absolutely out of nowhere.

It's not out of nowhere. It is the genetic machinery of the Jungle Fowl and other birds that chickens are descended from.

Millions of years of breeding.

What seems violent is often a function of the animal's size.

I have 2 cats, one 9 pounds and 1, 18 pounds.

They both play scratch and play bite.

But when the 18 pounder plays, he leaves a trail of bleeding humans.

 

[Exspiravit]

It's not out of nowhere. It is the genetic machinery of the Jungle Fowl and other birds that chickens are descended from.

Millions of years of breeding.

What seems violent is often a function of the animal's size.

I have 2 cats, one 9 pounds and 1, 18 pounds.

They both play scratch and play bite.

But when the 18 pounder plays, he leaves a trail of bleeding humans.

Yes it's genetics that's just his personality. And yes it is out of nowhere iev had him for 15months and I feed them like iev done almost every day for the past 15months and then I just sit in the garden for an hour depending on the weather and leave. Let me paint a picture. One day I go to feed my chickens he does too eats out of my hand! Normal! Its a nice day sun is out I sit for about 30mins all chickens come say hi including him I give them a few more treats for coming to me. I get up and start walking away I get attacked!?? Woah he's just attacked me out of nowhere. what's going on? BYC help!