Rehabilitating an aggressive cockerel

[Pigpye]

I’m not sure how chickens go, since my cockerels are not old enough to mix with my flock, but my ducks..I have wayyyy too many drakes versus hens and I’ve never had an issue..and they’ve all been integrated at different times..so here’s to it!

I think typically ducks are more aggressive when ratios are funky !

 

[Pigpye]

I've had too many drakes vs hens it was challenging to say the least roos and hens not quite as bad as long as the grumpy bird goes should settle down when hes acclimated and learns the ropes!

 

[Skippersnh]

yeah i agree if my hens start loosing feathers or having too many roosters causes problems i would start a bachelor pad too

 

[Skippersnh]

do ducks have a pecking order ive had ducks but never noticed

 

[azygous]

A very strong head roo can do a pretty good job of keeping younger cockerels in line and can even monitor overmating. But he can't be everywhere at once, and eventually, the hens will suffer with an imbalance of roos to hens.

I'm just as concerned about this cockerel being human aggressive. Six months is still just the very early weeks of his maturity. For the next six months, how he's handled and how his humans relate to him will have direct bearing on how manageable he will be when his hormones really start roiling.

Handling a cockerel "a lot" is usually a recipe for misunderstanding and misread cues. Better to ignore him as much as possible, intervening as necessary with discipline on the spot when he gets out of line.

Generally, you want to treat a cockerel as if he's invisible. His behavior shouldn't cause you to pay attention to him as long as he's behaving within his role as a rookie rooster. If he's standing in your path, you walk right over him, forcing him to remove himself, rather that walking around him. If he makes any aggressive moves, dancing, or pecking or coming at you, then restraint is called for until he submits.

It's very important to keep his role and yours separate. You are the flock manager and he is one of the flock protectors. If you interact with him too much, especially in emotional ways, he will get confusing signals, become stressed and unpredictable.

There are good roos and bad ones, usually starting out that way by temperament. But how we relate to a cockerel in his formative months determines very often what sort of rooster we will end up having, a well behaved roo or a demon.

 

[Skippersnh]

Thank you @azygous i will take your advice you may have saved me a few mistakes

 

[ValerieJ]

A very strong head roo can do a pretty good job of keeping younger cockerels in line and can even monitor overmating. But he can't be everywhere at once, and eventually, the hens will suffer with an imbalance of roos to hens.

I'm just as concerned about this cockerel being human aggressive. Six months is still just the very early weeks of his maturity. For the next six months, how he's handled and how his humans relate to him will have direct bearing on how manageable he will be when his hormones really start roiling.

Handling a cockerel "a lot" is usually a recipe for misunderstanding and misread cues. Better to ignore him as much as possible, intervening as necessary with discipline on the spot when he gets out of line.

Generally, you want to treat a cockerel as if he's invisible. His behavior shouldn't cause you to pay attention to him as long as he's behaving within his role as a rookie rooster. If he's standing in your path, you walk right over him, forcing him to remove himself, rather that walking around him. If he makes any aggressive moves, dancing, or pecking or coming at you, then restraint is called for until he submits.

It's very important to keep his role and yours separate. You are the flock manager and he is one of the flock protectors. If you interact with him too much, especially in emotional ways, he will get confusing signals, become stressed and unpredictable.

There are good roos and bad ones, usually starting out that way by temperament. But how we relate to a cockerel in his formative months determines very often what sort of rooster we will end up having, a well behaved roo or a demon.

That is really great advice. My two 12 week cockerels are very sweet right now, and I've spent some time with them, but I think I'll stop that. I don't pick them up, but I do hold out a handful of treats to them, and the two pullets with them, and they eat out of my gloved hand. I think I'll just toss a few like I do for my hens. I really want to keep these cockerels, so I want to get it right this time.

 

[mandelyn]

Over-handling of males can be disastrous, you have to learn their temperament and respond accordingly. Some of my favorite roosters have been toted around until submission for being too randy. Some have been pinned to the ground until they squatted and gave up. I do what the dominant roos do and I let go of them when I see that submission. If one is feeling extra territorial, I'll wear gloves and long sleeves the next time I see him, prepared to snatch him out of thin air if he comes at me. I ignore them unless they're trying to interact with me, then we play that by ear.

The result is that I get mature roosters who sit still on the roost if I come into the pen. They let me grab a hen if I need to. They give me 3 feet of space if I'm walking through. They go to bed when they're told to and they come when called.

Since starting up rooster coop with 10-25 in there at any given time, with their 3rd acre field, I've learned a lot about raising roosters. Their social dynamic is very specific. They'll give you a spot in that dynamic but sometimes you need to tell them where that is.

I watch how they treat each other and sometimes there is one who is just TOO much. Worse if he has a gang to back him. When an aggressive dominant is removed from the group, there is almost an audible relaxation to the rest of the flock on that next morning.

Some young cockerels need a "reality check" and a change in flock can do/be that. For others they come in like they have something to prove. Human aggression means he has no fear of humans and thinks that he should be dominant to them on top of it. If a cockerel pecks me, I respond quick and either snatch him or pin him down, hand over his back. Kicking or pushing or trying to force him away opens the door for him to come back again. Stop him there, firm but gentle, no escape. Escape can translate to "victory" in their small brains. Sometimes I grab their head and hold their beak and tell them the story of the crockpot.

Since getting my timing on all this better I've been getting faster results. I have a young 6 month old now, he was pulled for bullying but has since become a bit of a pet. Got himself off of the cull list at least.

 

[azygous]

 

[ValerieJ]

That is a lot of great info on the roosters. What does it mean when you say your young cockerel has "become a bit of a pet"? Do you handle him differently? Does he come up for treats or sit on your lap? Or do you just hang out together?

My two cockerels are so sweet right now, I can't imagine them being aggressive. But I have had a cockerel before that was sweet until he wasn't. But he wasn't aggressive to me, just to a couple of the pullets. I wish I understood cockerels better in those days. I might have kept him separate for a while until he matured.