Need Rooster Advice

[NorthernHomestead]

The friend is 100% aware of his behavior. He would likely not be there to stay. Which is why I have a hard time with the decision. Its like sending him to death row (but with actual death). But I know you don't want to have chicks from him because it can carry to them.



I won't lie I have sparred with him, ignored him, clapped, yelled, puffed up, tried treat training, etc. You name it I probably tried it.

Did you grab him and throw him? They're not humans, they're chickens. Not terribly smart. He needs to know the pecking order and that humans get the top roost. You feed him and take care of him. He may be testing boundaries. Rightfully so, we're bigger and may eat him (you don't, but I have). Let him know you get the top roost. If that doesn't work, rehome him.

 

[NorthernHomestead]

If you know his fate at the new home, just ask the general public if anyone would like a rooster. 99.99999% chance he'll have the same fate, but at least they didn't tell you? :-/

 

[NorthernHomestead]

To me, them being RIR's is just clutter. They could be any breed. You have mentioned how different they are.


He is a living animal. You do not get guarantees one way or the other. Anything can happen. I think it is extremely unlikely that he will change for the better, just like I'd not expect a dangerous dog to change.

Can you neuter him? At his age that is dangerous to him but possible. You can find techniques online or try to find a vet that will attempt it. Even if surgery is successful I can't guarantee that his behaviors will change that much but I can't think of anything else.

Neutering a chicken sounds so very needlessly expensive for someone who may have a good heart and just wanted backyard chickens. Doing all the research to see they're oe of the easiest homestead animals and the starting costs involved. Try some things to get your young roo to act right and then if he can't respect your home say goodbye. Most people won't think you're a horrible person. Honestly? Most roos are killed as soon as they're born. You've given him a long life.

 

[nuthatched]

Do you have anyone that wouldn't mind sparring with him to get his energy out? ........Had my husband and one of my sons spar it out with him.

That's horrible advice, it dose nothing but cement the fear in your flock, and would count as animal cruelty in most places.

 

[FrostRanger]

Once a roo starts attacking, it's usually too late to correct the behavior. A rooster's gonads are literally much larger than their brain so you are fighting against serious hormones and you won't likely win. You did pretty much all you can do and more, it is definitely time to let him go

 

[NorthernHomestead]

That's horrible advice, it dose nothing but cement the fear in your flock, and would count as animal cruelty in most places.

It worked. Not saying to spar as if your fighting a bear. Just to the point of showing dominance/pecking order. BTW, there were six roos in my straight run when they got to the age of scaring my hens. We kept the nicest two and the rest went to the freezer. If I hadn't purchased a straight run, four of them would have been executed at birth. Gave four roos five months of living free in the country. One followed the rules. The second didn't and had to be taught in the only way he could understand. He's living happy with the flock. I have zero regrets.

 

[shelabobby]

It worked. Not saying to spar as if your fighting a bear. Just to the point of showing dominance/pecking order. BTW, there were six roos in my straight run when they got to the age of scaring my hens. We kept the nicest two and the rest went to the freezer. If I hadn't purchased a straight run, four of them would have been executed at birth. Gave four roos five months of living free in the country. One followed the rules. The second didn't and had to be taught in the only way he could understand. He's living happy with the flock. I have zero regrets.

I totallyunderstood it as more of a playful spar or pecking order spar like they would with other roosters. Like Norris and Kluck do. They are not drawing blood just seeing who is top dog. Not fighting for your life.

 

[Mrs. K]

I realize they are pets. It constantly amazes me when people take an ongoing aggressive bird. In every relationship it is a two way street. You have kept your end, the cockerel has not, for whatever reason. It is not working, and it will not change, and is very apt to get much worse.

Send him ASAP.

 

[SamLockwood]

Alright y'all.... I am a new chicken owner. We are at about 8 months into our first flock of 6. We have 2 unintentional Cockerels from Tractor Supply, Lord Kluck and Cluck Norris. The boys are in a separate pen because we don't have enough girls to prevent over breeding.

I want to preface this by saying that my chickens are pets for me. If you don't consider yours pets, thats cool but think of it like I am talking about a dog or cat here.

Lord Kluck has always been a stand off, protective, but never mean. A gentle giant as he is a big bird. He is excited to get hand fed and loves to see what I bring him each day. He has protected me on occasion and I think he would follow me around the yard like a cat if we were able to free range.

Cluck Norris, well.....he's not any of that. He is the smaller of the 2 and makes up for it in aggression. He is always picking a fight with Lord Kluck (and always loses). On Thanksgiving day I was in the run cleaning their water bowl and he began attempting to spur my shins and pecking really hard. I got bigger boots but now he has learned he can reach above the boot (just at my knee) and get me. So every time I go in there hes doing the "dance" and pecking and jumping up at me claws out.

He might calm down, or he might actually get worse. You don't really know what you've got in a rooster until they're at least a year old.

There's three levels of aggression with roosters (or chickens in general):

The first level is posturing and verbal: they'll snap their wings, stand as tall as they can. Roosters will crow or they'll do this weird little head waggle that means they're annoyed.

Level 2 is where they try to chase, herd, or even peck you. I've even had hens do aggressive pecking, usually from behind. Roosters will either run at you from behind (and if you turn around they'll stop and act like they weren't doing anything) or they'll try to get you to back off or run by doing the "herding dance" (one wing down and they either walk a half-circle around you or shuffle at you sideways), or he'll stamp a foot or try to "chest bump" you.

Level 3 is what you're experiencing: they take the fighting stance with the hackles raised, wings spread, and tail fanned out and are actively attacking you.


Level 1 you can safely ignore and it usually doesn't escalate: Out of my current 3 roosters two of them are level 1's, especially the beta rooster. He rarely shuts up and he'll follow me around muttering constantly and if he thinks treats are around he gets rather noisy. He likes to crow a lot, too.

Level 2 you never want to ingore. He's trying to take you down a peg in the pecking order. There's lots of theories on how train them out if it, I prefer the ones that are the least dramatic. Just remember rule #1 of dealing with tetchy roosters: never bend forward and look him in the eye. You're mimicing the fighting stance and he'll likely just automatically trigger his fighting instincts. Plus, all you're doing is bringing your eyes that much closer to his face.

I have a level 2 roostser that I was on the verge of culling until he seemed to be responding to training, then he got injured in a hawk attack and almost died from the resulting infection. Either that or the age he hit calmed him down a bit, but he still likes to "test" me from time to time. As I don't have any children or nearby neighbors and he isn't terrorizing the rest of the flock (he's the "bottom" rooster in the triumvurate) I let him stay.

Level 3 is where your Chuck Norris is at. He's flat out trying to drive you off or injure you. Even if there's some small chance you could reform him, you have to ask yourself if it's really worth it?

He might get lucky and get one of your eyes or nick an artery and send you to the emergency room. He might injure or kill your Lord Kluck. Some roosters are rather devious and they'll deliberatey back off or run after starting fights because they're either looking for weaknesses or trying to just wear their opponent down.

If he manages to get out, he might injure someone else or a neighbor. Are there any children around your property?

The problem with chickens is they aren't dogs, cats, or people. They have a much simpler brain structure and much more of their behavior is hard-wired than in mammals or primates. They really don't even have the neural architecture to process complex emotions like love or empathy or engage in abstract reasoning.

This means if your rooster is flat-out attacking you his brain has put you in the box reserved for rival roosters and predators. He's trying to either kill you or drive you away from his territory. You're not going to be able to reason with him and teach him the error of his ways.

The best you can hope for is to terrorize him enough that he's too scared to mess with you any more. And even then he may just decide to try taking you on again when you're bending over to pick something up.

 

[shelabobby]

I realize they are pets. It constantly amazes me when people take an ongoing aggressive bird. In every relationship it is a two way street. You have kept your end, the cockerel has not, for whatever reason. It is not working, and it will not change, and is very apt to get much worse.

Send him ASAP.

I think it is just the emotional connection I have with him. Its love hate. We have made connection with the friend to come get him. While hard its the right thing.