Roo' Behavor

[CrookedWarden]

Y'all have gotten me a bit paranoid with the stories of rooster behavior on here.
My Orpintons are now 17 weeks old & my Wyandottes are 13 weeks.
I have 8 boys free ranging in the yard & have no real issues with them. They come running over when I come out, one Orpington will walk with me, just off my left side. They all seem to like hanging around me when I'm working outside.

Now, I have noticed the Orpington dip his shoulder at me when I'm squatting down. I usually respond to it by standing up & stepping toward him (he backs off). But sometimes I'm just enjoying petting them. Some are more open to it than others. The Orp' who dips at me also likes to take clover flowers from my hand. Sometimes, when I stop, he'll pick one & just drop it, if I pick it up he'll eat it. The Orp's do not like me petting them & will run away, except on rare occasions (usually after they had treats).

Should I be cautious about this behavior? I realize the dipping is flirting but, I don't care. He's clucking up the wrong tree.

Also, I notice one of the free-range Orp's likes to hang out near the enclosed run where all the ladies are. I do have one roo in there with them. Should I worry about the fella gazing longingly at the girls through the hardware cloth?

Thanks in advance!

 

[sourland]

Just keep an eye on the cockerels that are wing dancing you. This can escalate to aggressive behavior. Wouldn't worry about the bird that has 'girls' on his mind. That's pretty natural.

 

[Mrs. K]

Well what seems friendly is often not. When you stand up and he backs off tells me he is eyeing his chances. They start out as opportunists. I would expect his first attack will come when you are not paying attention and maybe are carrying something or bent down looking at something else.

The extra space and the bachelors separated from the laying flock is good. I have heard of roosters fighting through a fence. Time will tell.

What are your long term plans? If meat is the plan, do not wait too much longer. They just get tougher. If it is a permanent bachelor pad, I would move it out of sight of the girls, but every time you let them out they will head to the girls.

Mrs K

 

[CrookedWarden]

Thanks for the input folks.
My standing up is absolutely me exerting aggressive behavior. I'm making my dominance very clear & infighting I see I usually met with me pushing the aggressor into the ground & holding him there until he gives up. So we don't have much except at bedtime when the roosts are being sorted out. Which takes about 5 minutes. My boys like to roost on top of the coop so when it gets dark I put them all in & it makes a couple of them grouchy.

Long-term plans...
Well originally it was to eat all the boys but I'm outnumbered by the ladies in the human coop. So, they are now free-range birds. I have made it clear that the first chicken that attacks any non-fowl is being marched "straight to the chopping block".

I'm certainly more worried about one of the girls in my house getting attacked than me.
My wife has been dubbed the "meal-worm mama" & the birds looooove to see her coming.
(OK to be fair, she calls me the "chicken-legged chicken farmer")
One of the kids is obviously scared of the Orps though. I keep telling her to march at them, not away, & don't turn her back.

 

[Mrs. K]

Just know, they are opportunist. So they tend to attack children first, women second and then men. Your standing up is exerting dominance, but it is only at that moment. If you kneel down, or bend over, you are exhibiting submission, and he will be primed for the attack. Be especially careful if he starts sneaking around behind you. Some people believe in the training techniques that you describe, but often times, while the bird will respect your space, he will not transfer that to other people.

If the child is afraid, keep her out of the way of the cockerels, being attacked and flogged will do nothing for her confidence. If she is under the age of six, she could take it to the face or head. If she is young, the normal motions of a child can be a trigger to roosters, especially if they are sharing the yard.

Consider advertising at where you buy feed, contact the county extension agency for a poultry club, maybe you can find someone to take a few of them. The more that you have, the more likely it is going to go wrong. Have they started the crowing contests yet? Sometimes that will drive people nuts, and they are easier about giving them away.

Don't wait too long. You really can only keep 8 cockerels in a confined area so that you can control them and often times that won't work either. 8 cockerels is a lot of roosters in a backyard set up.

Mrs K

 

[CrookedWarden]

Just know, they are opportunist. So they tend to attack children first, women second and then men. Your standing up is exerting dominance, but it is only at that moment. If you kneel down, or bend over, you are exhibiting submission, and he will be primed for the attack. Be especially careful if he starts sneaking around behind you. Some people believe in the training techniques that you describe, but often times, while the bird will respect your space, he will not transfer that to other people.

If the child is afraid, keep her out of the way of the cockerels, being attacked and flogged will do nothing for her confidence. If she is under the age of six, she could take it to the face or head. If she is young, the normal motions of a child can be a trigger to roosters, especially if they are sharing the yard.

Consider advertising at where you buy feed, contact the county extension agency for a poultry club, maybe you can find someone to take a few of them. The more that you have, the more likely it is going to go wrong. Have they started the crowing contests yet? Sometimes that will drive people nuts, and they are easier about giving them away.

Don't wait too long. You really can only keep 8 cockerels in a confined area so that you can control them and often times that won't work either. 8 cockerels is a lot of roosters in a backyard set up.

Mrs K

Great input! Luckily the youngest child is 15; I'd be a lot more "Father Bear" if the grandkids were over or the children were younger.

They absolutely have started crowing contests! My 3 Orpington Boys all crow & talk to the roo's next door & across the way. We find it hilarious. It does get a bit loud if we are in chairs in the yard, the roos are around us & they start crowing. I've joked, imagine all 8 of them.
I'll talk to the Mrs & see if she wants to find some new homes. I'm in a very rural area so there is no shortage of venues to get rid of a rooster.

I never considered squatting down to chill out with the chickies as being submissive. It's something I've done since we got them at 2 weeks old.
One of the many reasons I enjoy hearing others' input; you get those "Hey I didn't think of that" moments.

 

[Red Mangrove]

Sometimes I'm just enjoying petting them. Some are more open to it than others. The Orp' who dips at me also likes to take clover flowers from my hand. Sometimes, when I stop, he'll pick one & just drop it, if I pick it up he'll eat it.

Hand feeding roosters is considered submissive behavior in the minds of chickens. This results in human directed aggression the majority of the time, when the rooster starts trying to control your behavior

 

[Shadrach]

Hand feeding roosters is considered submissive behavior in the minds of chickens. This results in human directed aggression the majority of the time, when the rooster starts trying to control your behavior

I've hand fed every rooster I've known and have never had issues because of it.
I've know a lot of roosters and cockerels.

 

[Shadrach]

Y'all have gotten me a bit paranoid with the stories of rooster behavior on here.

Don't believe the hype.

 

[Red Mangrove]

I've hand fed every rooster I've known and have never had issues because of it.
I've know a lot of roosters and cockerels.

Interesting. I never hand feed and I've never encountered aggression. However I do regularly see many people on BYC that hand feed roosters and then start getting attacked shortly thereafter