One of the best resources I've found on dealing with roosters

[SarahGfa]

In my actual first hand experience gamefowl are very docile towards people. Can they have a rogue man fighter, sure.

Gamefowl are selectively singly bred and still carry the characteristics of chickens 2000 years ago.

Also in my actual first hand experience human aggression is not hereditary. Mean ones can have nice ones and vice versa.

These are contradictory statements. If aggression is not hereditary then how can gamefowl be selectively bred to be docile?

 

[MysteryChicken]

Very beautiful pullet. I think genetics are the most important part of chicken behavior, followed by imprinting

In other words, whether or not a chicken will be human aggressive is first determined by genetics. Gamefowl for example are not human aggressive regardless of how they're raised. It's just not in their blood

However if someone gets a breed with the capacity for human aggression and they raise it from a small chick, then that bird will both have the capacity for violence and they'll think it's okay to direct that violence at humans

Genetics are most of the equation followed by imprinting, in my experience anyways

Thanks.

Yes, exactly .
Though imprinting is what done the opposite for me, at least.

 

[Apis mellifera]

People shouldn't speak on th8ngs they know nothing about.

These are contradictory statements. If aggression is not hereditary then how can gamefowl be selectively bred to be docile?

When you're an expert you can be contradictory, tell others to shut up, and still be right.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Threads on rooster behavior always seem prone to getting spicey. Different things work for different people with different birds in different situations.

I've got 3 roos and 3 cockerels right now. 5 are directly related, one is unrelated. All are rather different; remember they inherit from the hen's side too, not just dad's. Personality and behavior inheritance can be kind of weird even if you take a purely genetic view of it. It's often not the smooth blend of things you might expect. I have two full brother roos where it's like dad's personality was split down the middle and half given to each. One got all the calm and chill, and the other got none of that and all the stubborn pusiness. As adults you'd never guess they came from the same parents, same broody mom, etc.

The article is very similar to how I've interacted with my birds. I definitely use the "tree" method described in the article and it's effective for the behaviors I've had to deal with, sometimes in combination with pushing a bird down or a very light tap on the back of the head (like the mostly symbolic pecks that they do to each other to assert rank). However, I don't think the tree method would be wise at all with a bird coming up from behind, flying up, and trying to have a go at head/neck level...fortunately none of my birds do that but I did start with docile stock.

I don't think hand raising is the same thing as imprinting.

There is a difference, but it can be rather small in the long run, particularly if the hand-raising beings early enough and assuming the birds are raised with other chickens to look at in both cases (thereby avoiding what happens with some parrots where they are imprinted and raised as a single bird only seeing humans and then reject interaction with other birds as an adult). A bird is most likely to be imprinted if you are the first thing the bird sees and touches. The timespan for imprinting supposedly lasts a couple days not just right on hatch, so I assume it's possible with chicks purchased post-hatch, but the effect I've seen has absolutely been strongest in few assisted hatches I've done where my face was the first thing they saw, one of which was then broody raised and the others hand-raised. Day-old chicks I've gotten have been more of a mixed bag; some with obvious signs of imprinting within 24h of interaction and others being so slow to warm up I think it's safe to say they weren't imprinted on me. As adults though...every single one of my birds is a hug addict. The effect of long-term interactions can outweigh initial things like imprinting.

Of my 3 roos and 3 cockerels, one roo is imprinted, the other two roos are not, and the three cockerels are not. Only major difference with the imprinted one is he will follow me around much more than the others. That could also be personality; hard to tell.

 

[triciayoung]

I agree no one should ever hit or strike a rooster. IMO it is more humane to euthanize a man-fighter.

I don't really agree with your linked article about rooster socialization. Chickens don't have big brains and 99% of their behavior is from genetics or imprinting. I have not heard of anyone successfully training a mean rooster to be nice.

I have experience training two mean roosters to be nice and this training has lasted over a year thus far. That are many people here as well that have done the same.

 

[triciayoung]

Understanding Roosters

The above web page has been one of the best resources I've ever had on how to manage a rooster. The problem I found with most of the online forms whether it be backyard chickens or another one is that so often the advice on dealing with the natural aggression of a rooster tends to land of Grog the caveman.

I'm sure you know what I mean- someone will ask on a forum what to do with their adolescent rooster who's being aggressive. Unfortunately most of the so-called advice, devolves into caveman speak. Like, you got to show them your boss and rough them up if they come for you. The latter is such crappy advice cuz all it does is escalate the situation and before you know it this person who has followed that poorly considered advice is now asking about where they can rehome their rooster or dispatch it- read kill the rooster.

I'm definitely a guy guy- I'm a flight instructor and pilot for over 24 years and even I knew when I read such advice about 'showing them who's boss' that was just going to be a recipe for failure.

Absolutely love my rooster and he was definitely an accident he was supposed to be a hen. Having never had a rooster before there was a big learning curve and the preponderance of bad advice on many of the online chicken forums definitely wasn't resonating with me.

The odd thing about some of the advice is it always sounded like some advisors were proud of getting rough with a rooster which is a creature great many times smaller than you. It always struck me as some miscreant adult being proud that they could knock out a 5 year old child with a punch? I mean geez in both cases you're so many times stronger and larger what do you think your rate of success is going to be? So suffice it to say that I decided to put away Notions of grunting and responding to the name of Grog to prove myself over a rooster.?!?

The above shared link is one of a couple of web resources that I found which I found very very helpful and forging a reasonable and respectful relationship with my rooster.

Anyway hope some others find it helpful that may not be aware of the link.

Thank you so much for sharing the truth about roosters. I love my roosters so much and we have a relationship that is much like my relationship with my dog. I know roosters have more depth and breadth than hens. I am pretty certain some here will really get on me for this but I really believe there are not bad roosters - only bad rooster handlers. Like you, I tire of the advice of "off with his head" or "send him to the freezer", simply because people want their roosters to protect the hens and to help feed them, but don't realize what it means when a rooster is willing to give his life - freely, to protect hens - this means he is wired differently and this needs to be understood and respected. And those who give advice of beating down a rooster to gain dominance. How ridiculous is that?

 

[triciayoung]

Here is another article you may enjoy: https://www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/taming-aggressive-roosters

 

[triciayoung]

When you're an expert you can be contradictory, tell others to shut up, and still be right.

I have some birds that were hand raised to be tame. You could say they imprinted on me. What age should I expect my roosters to attack me?

Don't expect your roosters to attack you. My two that I needed to redefine my relationship with I can honestly say I screwed up - not intentionally, but, this made them mean. Then, I had to fix what I did. Now they sit on my lap, eat walnuts and pecans from my hands and let me pet their bellies and ears - everyday.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Here is another article you may enjoy: https://www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/taming-aggressive-roosters

This article is about wearing armor and then bowing submissively on a regular basis. To quote-

I would initially squat down to get eye contact with Quiggles, and he would immediately calm down and act normal. When I stood up and tried to walk, he’d go for my boots again. I’d squat down, get eye contact and he’d stop… It takes some time...

She even admits in the article that he continues to attack her from time to time

 

[triciayoung]

This article is about wearing armor and then bowing submissively on a regular basis. To quote-

She even admits in the article that he continues to attack her from time to time

It has nothing to do with submission. Being eye level with a rooster is the same level. You just don’t get it.