Newbie needs help! My sweet little roo is going nuts!

[cafarmgirl]

He has been through a lot of disruptions in his daily life lately not to mention the hormones have kicked in. I'm not surprised he's acting a little crazy. Give him some time and space and let him settle down. I would not mess with him other then normal day to day care of the flock. Just let him be for a while. Although if he advances and wants to challenge or flog you then you need to put a stop to it, then carry on with what you were doing. I realize you were lucky enough to have a very docile rooster in the past but the truth is that many, many roosters just are not like that once they mature. Most of us are happy with our roo's if we can raise them up to be respectful of us and keep their distance. That's about all I expect from mine other then treating their hens well of course. I don't expect them to be pets in the way my dogs and cats are, it's just not their nature.

As far as treats...I don't hand feed to him, I toss out treats for the hens and he stands back and watches them or he "helps" by picking some up and feeding it to the nearest hens. When they have all had some he will clean up any leftovers.

In regards to handling roo's a lot. I've always had much better success with roo's that I did NOT handle and coddle a lot as youngsters. My first ones, I handled all the time and they were the worst as far as aggession when they hit maturity. They had no natural fear or respect at all. The ones that I handled only as needed for normal care were much, much better.

 

[Muffin14143]

Thank you so much for the help! I would be lost without you guys! I will try these methods and keep you posted. I'm going to handle him a lot and see how he does, and then try some other methods if he doesn't respond well. Thank you, you were all very knowledgeable and to-the-point. Hopefully, I'll have Guy back to his old self in time.

 

[gimmie birdies]

If you lose a breeding rooster you like, grab some eggs up to two weeks later they will still be fertile from him. I have even yanked eggs from the fridge and hatched out the eggs I needed.

 

[DraigAthar]

In regards to handling roo's a lot. I've always had much better success with roo's that I did NOT handle and coddle a lot as youngsters. My first ones, I handled all the time and they were the worst as far as aggession when they hit maturity. They had no natural fear or respect at all. The ones that I handled only as needed for normal care were much, much better.

This has been my experience, too. The roos that I handled and coddled a lot as youngsters are always the ones that turn out to be complete buttheads, lol. I don't need my roosters to trust me. I need them to respect me. I will never mistreat one or be mean in any way, but nor will I ever try to treat one like a pet.

That said, azygous is completely right that it is a personal choice as to how to deal with your own animals. To many people, chickens are pets, not livestock. So Muffin, you must do whatever works for you and your rooster, in the end. I think folks will give you enough different approaches to try that you'll eventually settle on the best way for you! Let us know how it turns out!

 

[Muffin14143]

Thanks you guys, I will! Obviously, you have different views on how to socialize/maintain a rooster, but you all take great care your roos and treat them kindly, whether they are cuddled or not. I'll keep you posted!

 

[gimmie birdies]

Coddling works for me, but since yours is already older I would hold him at night try putting him in an old kitchen cabinet at night, then take him out in the morning hold him and YOU set him on the ground when you are ready. then he will know you are boss and don't let him mate in front of you. to make him feel you are head rooster. Head roosters don't let underlings mate in front of them.

 

[nok13]

hmmmmmmm... seems that all this happend just when he was becoming, well, the equivalent of a pubescent teenager age...
i also agree. the first thing to get animals back on even keel (also kids) is a regulated schedule of known factors like feeding times, etc.. also repetitive actions. like, always come in to offer a bit of whatever at the same time, BUT preferably when he is being quiet and not showing fear or aggression. *(therefore he gets rewarded for good behavior. ignore him as much as possible when he is being nuts, keep on guard but sometimes this helps extinguish the behavior, since there is no response to it. sometimes this doesnt work and being held down until quiet and THEN GIVE A TREAT immediately will work) most humans have a tendency to pet and coddle a pet when it is frightened by that just reinforces the fear. the best way is to just be quiet and firm and regular, not extra cautious but not ignoring also.

it only takes once to ruin behavior but takes months to repair it unfortunately. i know because ihave a male lhasa dog that took almost a year to change his fear/defense/guard reactions towards us. fortunately we have patience and arent afraid (and can suffer a bite here and there) whereas most families would have had to put him down ...

the person who said only one handler for themoment is absolutely correct. there has to be one person who is the main leader. all others will be perceived as invadoers of territory etc, so you may have to rethink about this rooster as your pet and definatley not with children who are unpredictable (and often too submissive or react with fear, jerky movements etc, even the best of children with animals )... you are lucky he is small...
this is called behavior modelling. its like clicker training without the clicker... google if u want more info but that is one of the best methods for dealing with traumatized or aggressive animals.

one other factor: physical health... dogs become aggressive due to pain, or hormonal changes...

remember, YOU were traumatized by what happend to your house, and u for sure are projecting it on to the animals. u have move the switch in your brain from 'we were traumatized and it was horrible' to ' i am in control and everything is good' , at least when u are with the animals... it gives them a sense of security. animals absolutely cannot deal with situations that go topsy turvy.

we see it here often after our many 'mini wars': we have the sirens, the booms, the reactions of the people, then everyone gets all upset. the dogs , horses ,all the animals hear the sirens and get stressed out because they have learned to associate the sirens with people running and moving fast, and booms, ... its a whole long term can of worms.
actually, we use RESCUE homepathic drops for animals and some people claim they see a difference... who knows..........

 

[azygous]

What they said x 2!

 

[Muffin14143]

Very interesting and informative posts. You guys all seem to do what your doing here, so I'm going to remember this. Guy was very sweet, so I'm sure deeply buried inside, he's still sweet. I don't know if he will go back to being a sweet little pet again, but either way, I love him and will respect him, whether he is cuddly or protective. He may have been sweet when he was a baby, but I understand that he is now a rooster who thinks he has a job to do. Thank you all very much for the helpful advice!!

 

[gimmie birdies]

I had a hen once who I though was a rooster, and she would attack my leg, I didn't even know she was a hen til she laid an egg. I was sooo happy she was a hen I hugged her and she loved it. I realized then she just wanted love so every time I saw her I hugged her, now she doesn't attack she just yanks on my pant leg to get me to notice her. but if another hen wants attention she chases them off.