My rooster suddenly started attacking!!

L12837H

Chirping
Mar 3, 2021
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Back in spring 2019, I was gifted a mother hen with four chicks. Later on two chicks (at that time adults) along with the mother died. The two remaining “chicks” grew up into a hen and a rooster. The two were very calm, they were afraid of us so they never were aggressive towards anyone. The rooster was really nice, when the hen was broody he never attacked, I felt confident and safe around him.
Last year around late spring/early summer, we got many more chickens to fill up the coop. The rooster soon made them all his girls and took care of them. He was still the same old nice guy.
This spring, as one of the “new chickens” became broody, he suddenly attacked me. The first time he attacked me, I understood him because that day I fed him late so I just thought that maybe he was mad because he was hungry. A week later he attacked me again, but this time I was just walking next to him. From that moment on I don’t know what happened to me but I suddenly became very afraid of him. (The first attack was worse, lots of bleeding and scratches)
Can someone tell me how I can make him nice again? Or is this just temporary? Also how can I lose my fear? I used to be so close to him, every time I called him he would come towards me to greet me now every time he gets close to me he tries to attack me and I just run away from him.
Please help me how I can get my nice old friend back :(
 
Hormones. It’s not temporary, it only gets worse. You should never accept a rooster being aggressive “because he’s mad bc he was hungry.” That’s silly...Stop running from him - He needs to respect you... move out of the way when you come through. Don’t be intimidated and literally be the bigger cock... stick your arms out, be bigger, don’t get out of his way. There are several threads on here about dealing with roosters; but they don’t change. They only learn to respect and submit to you. Roosters are not supposed to be cuddly.
 
Who got the treats?
When I was in the early days of working with my boy, I gave him all the treats and he gave them to the girls. If you feed HIS hens treats, you are a threat. You are trying to woo his hens.
If you see him coming to attack turn and face him and walk towards him. Remember to come to the battle with your armour on and remember that he's just a 6 or 7 pound bird. If you are properly dressed he can wail away on you and it doesn't hurt a bit. If he's getting close enough to you to flog you, you should be able to grab him. I caught my guy in mid air once. The look on his face was priceless.
If he flogs and backs up, walk towards him. Don't chase. The point you're trying to make is that you are not a threat he needs to defend against, you aren't going to hurt him and that his flogging you makes you come towards him instead of run away.
This is how I worked with my bird. Others use the 'put the fear of god into him' approach. I don't do that. I'd rather work to understand where he's coming from and learn new behaviors.
Lots of people have no interest in working with some of these boys and I'm sure there are some that can't be rehabbed. I've only had one rooster give me hell and I rehabbed him. His sons never showed the same tendencies.
This was from an older thread that I found very helpful!
 
I do the side eye thing and stamp my feet and shuffle towards them. It worked with 4/5 cockerels I had. All four of those were taken by a predator.

The remaining one became quite aggressive after I moved the hens in with him. Pecking me if I came near him and would block me from the hens. I used gloves and long sleeves. Picked him up and kneeled and pushed his head down between two knuckles and held him there for a few minutes. Seemed to calm him down. I am not hurting him while doing this.

There are a couple YouTube videos of this method.
 
Just be the dominant one all the time, and don’t take it personally. Once hormones kick in, all they care about is mating with hens and protecting their territory. Be firm from the beginning and never act scared or intimidated.

I am sorry but they probably will.... just be prepared.
Great advice! I always show am dominant, and when they give me their "I'm a big tough boy" dance routine, I just stand there and no problem. 😁 I have had to do the forcing their heads to the ground thing, but it wasn't because the rooster was aggressive as in protecting the flock - he thought I WAS part of the flock. He was trying to mate with my feet and hands. :he

IMG_6352.JPG


Mating is #1, but so far, I'm not a threat to him. And I'm fine with being #2. Patriot is a sweetheart, and his brothers are the same way. To anyone who doesn't know them, flying up to me might appear like aggression, but so far it's not. They want a perch to crow on, and then a little cuddle and petting before running back to the flock. I realize this could change, and I hope it never does. Patriot is also trained (if you only want to see him fly up to my arm, skip to the 30 second mark):


The reason I kept his brother LeeLee instead of selling him is because I don't want the new owner to turn him into soup because he flies at them. He really isn't being aggressive, but I don't think most people would understand that. He's just a little... needy. 😂
 
Hormones. It’s not temporary, it only gets worse. You should never accept a rooster being aggressive “because he’s mad bc he was hungry.” That’s silly...Stop running from him - He needs to respect you... move out of the way when you come through. Don’t be intimidated and literally be the bigger cock... stick your arms out, be bigger, don’t get out of his way. There are several threads on here about dealing with roosters; but they don’t change. They only learn to respect and submit to you. Roosters are not supposed to be cuddly.
Thanks, I guess I was just used to him being so nice I never expected him to attack me. I’m currently raising another young rooster (9 wks old) what should I do with him so he doesn’t become aggressive? Or is that just a natural thing?
 
Thanks, I guess I was just used to him being so nice I never expected him to attack me. I’m currently raising another young rooster (9 wks old) what should I do with him so he doesn’t become aggressive? Or is that just a natural thing?

You never really know until they become mature. I've had young ones be great but then turn into jerks to everyone and everything when they get their pipes warmed up.

edited because I forgot a word
 
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My main rooster, a big boy,
IMG_20210321_090748813_HDR.jpg
was very aggressive and would always try to sneak attack from the side or behind. I tried the pecking with fingers thing, holding him down to dominate him, spraying him with a spritz bottle, kicking at him, flailing a towel at him... Eventually, I had enough and as he charged me, I decided to kick him. Hard. Part of me thought "it might kill him" while another part said "I hope it DOES". I caught him with a full strength kick like I was trying for a field goal and I thought for sure I'd just sent him to the crock pot.

Not only did he live, he turned into an excellent rooster. He gives ALL humans a 10-foot cushion, points out the tastiest treats to his girls, watches out for hawks and keeps the #2 rooster on his toes.
 

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