My rooster suddenly started attacking!!

[L12837H]

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

 

[Aapomp831]

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.

 

[MildlyOffensiveChicken]

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.

 

[L12837H]

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?

 

[L12837H]

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.

Thank you for your advice! I will try this as soon as I can for sure! I’ll try to keep updating

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

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

 

[L12837H]

You never really know 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.

Thank you! I hope this young one doesn’t become a jerk, I really like him because he was born on my birthday I would hate for him to grow up and become aggressive causing me to re home him

 

[kcan2]

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!

 

[L12837H]

This was from an older thread that I found very helpful!

Thank you so much for sending this! I will try all of the advice that is being given to me!

 

[BesideStillWaters]

Thank you! I hope this young one doesn’t become a jerk, I really like him because he was born on my birthday I would hate for him to grow up and become aggressive causing me to re home him

Of my 13 chicks I raised last year, 6 were roosters. Of the six, I only had three come at me with intent to injure. Once, I opened the henhouse door and the neighbor's cats decided to pick that moment to fight. Two roosters thought I was the threat. When they realized it was me, they stopped. Since they aren't aggressive toward me normally, I don't count this against them.

This one though was the most interesting. It was around Christmas. I had on Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer socks. They were brown with a red nose. One rooster I named Jules Verne saw those and went from being a reasonable rooster to puffing himself up and attacking my feet, trying to rip Rudolph's nose off. Apparently, Rudolph is a threat... I stopped wearing those socks, and he still attacked me another time later. I guess once he deemed the socks a threat, the wearer of the socks became a threat too. I sold him at the beginning of the year. I learned to really think about my wardrobe choices after that because I didn't want the roosters I still have (I kept three) to think I was a threat. So one thing I suggest for your new rooster, don't wear red or any clothes that have a face or animal on it.

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.

I know they aren't supposed to be, but I have three boys who are and two who beg to jump to my arm daily for a cuddle. They are nine months old, and I hope they never change.