Need Advisement on Rooster Aggression

[aart]

This situation is purely.....situational.
It's the public access that is causing the problem, not the bird so much.
Keep him where he is safe instead of expecting such a bucolic scenario.
Might be a case of Romance meets Reality.

 

[Shadrach]

@Shadrach @Folly's place the bird doesn't officially belong to me he belongs to the organization hosting the apprenticeship program. Luckily we don't see a lot of children (only 1 child has been on the property and he was under very close supervision) come by and for for the most part the residents spend most of their time indoors. But I agree that he will need to be kept away from normal high traffic areas. I guess at this point is figuring out how to best go about doing it.

You'll get lots of advice no doubt about showing whose boss etc etc. A lot of the techniques work in the short term. The rooster will probably end up scared of you and for many that's good enough.
I prefer to have at least some understanding of why a rooster may behave the way.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[Duckfarmer1]

@Shadrach @Folly's place the bird doesn't officially belong to me he belongs to the organization hosting the apprenticeship program. Luckily we don't see a lot of children (only 1 child has been on the property and he was under very close supervision) come by and for for the most part the residents spend most of their time indoors. But I agree that he will need to be kept away from normal high traffic areas. I guess at this point is figuring out how to best go about doing it.

As for catching him...is that your question? It sounds like he’s tame to you? If he’s on to you, because you had to separate him, you could could a chicken hook. It’s basically a long piece of metal with a hook on the end to grab a leg. But, as everyone mentioned, I agree, he needs his own quarters. So, that means building something rather quickly. And, the rotation of girls sounds like a good idea...but, it is a great idea to put something in the run for them to be able to get away from him. We used a piece of plywood, but you could use an old chair, a pallet, etc. I think, like the others, it will give you peace of mind, and no one will get hurt.

 

[Punkybrewster]

I dont have a solution for you now but in the future, as soon as u find out you have a cockerel, totally ignore him. As young as possible.
Never touch, eye contact or give him attention. Walk with authority through the flock in a way that he needs to move out of your way.Even as an adult.
In my experience this has worked well with my flock. Hes happy, im happy.

 

[Folly's place]

This behavior is NOT fixable! He's (so far at least) good with familiar people, and is not good with anyone else. Strangers, especially strangers who don't know how to act around chickens, are at risk, and can''t and shouldn't be responsible for fixing his attitude.
He's likely having a great time chasing people around!
A safe pen for him there will include double fencing, so he doesn't take fingers off when they intrude into his space. He just needs to live elsewhere, and preferably sire no offspring.
That first lawsuit could be a really big one, and insurance may not pay, having a known dangerous animal onsite.
Mary

 

[Trevorusn]

The hard part is he is aggressive with strangers, but not you and those he is use to. You could try a few physical corrective approaches but they may not work as he is not attacking you. The best might be to give him space away from random strangers and only have the folks he is use to interact with him. Sounds like he isn't a monster, just too many strange variables for him to adapt to.

 

[NatJ]

With certain familiar people--the rooster is already fine.
With strangers--the rooster is NOT fine, and almost certainly can NOT be "fixed" or retrained.

So he must be kept away from strangers. That calls for penning him up, rehoming to a location without strangers, or (as OP mentioned in the first post) eating him.

I advise eating him, because it's certain to fix the problem. No pen-building, no chance of someone leaving a door open, etc.

I also advise not getting another rooster to replace him--it's unlikely that any rooster would do well in this situation (free-ranging chickens having regular contact with visitors who don't know chickens.) So either do without roosters, or plan that any rooster must live in a pen.

 

[50-45-1]

quite reasonable behaviour from a rooster to attack people he doesn't know.

this rooster would not last after the first incident on my farm.
i have egg customers. i also have friends , neighbors and co workers what stop by from time to time. I have had roosters for years that never became aggresive to strangers. Even when i had yard sales and hundreds of strangers came through.
Its no excuse...only a forwarning or preview of his worsening upcoming behavior.
I agree with the hands off when upbringing a rooster. Keep a distance and a level of fear in his mind for humans. He will respect that.
This partcular rooster must go!

 

[trudyg]

Do the strangers come around at random times or is it like during business hours? Could you make something like a playpen for him? 4 or 5 fence posts you push into the ground with chicken wire around it to keep him in? Put food and water out during the time he's in there and he'll be kept from attacking. Under a shade tree and he should be okay. Maybe a larger circle for more room?