Rooster acting up

[Meri Maura]

He is exactly at the age where the darling chick turns into the hormonal nightmare.

I have followed this advice and it's worked so far:

• No handling/petting of the males except for nighttime, off-the-roost health checks.
• Walk through them regularly -- never aggressively chasing them, but accidentally-on-purpose passing through the space they occupy in the normal course of things while tending the coop and run. (I have a couple buckets and other loose pieces of equipment to rearrange when I need an excuse).
• Keeping the attitude that I am not part of the flock, not even top bird. I am The Giant Who Brings Food -- a force of nature outside the realm of chicken comprehension like a horse or a cow.
• Keeping the attitude that there are many roosters in the world and that I have a crockpot and know how to use it.

There are no guarantees.

Much of what I've learned has come from @Mrs. K and @Folly's place as well as many others over the years.

I pet my roosters all of the time and they have never tried to be mean
I had one that I didn't pet much and he became a bad boy.

 

[Meri Maura]

There are several U Tube videos on this topic Search for "Aggressive Roosters" and several will be listed. My take is that you put the rooster in a submissive hold much like with the hens as they "assume the position" and press down hard enough to let him know who is boss. Repeat over several days and that may help. I haven't tried it so I can't speak from experience. Here is one video:

I tried that with my roo and it only made him worse. I found that the best way to handle that is to ignore him.

 

[Mrs. K]

Really I think it is the luck of the draw. Some are sweet, some have a questionable moment and straighten out, and some are awful, and it really has little to do with the human interactions.

 

[Folly's place]

Genetics matter in this! Some cockerels will be fine with humans, and some will be miserable wretches, regardless of how they are handled.
I think that cockerels raised in flocks with mature hens and a rooster, and who are not 'babied' by humans, tend to grow up better than petted cockerels raise with hatchmates only. Is there actual research on this? Only discussions with people who have raised a lot of cockerels. And selecting for breeding birds with temperaments that work, not obnoxious individuals for any reason.
Fighting cock people have managed to develop roosters who want to kill each other, and who are not human aggressive. This makes the case for these behaviors being separate genetically.
Mary

 

[Clodill4rel]

Genetics matter in this! Some cockerels will be fine with humans, and some will be miserable wretches, regardless of how they are handled.
I think that cockerels raised in flocks with mature hens and a rooster, and who are not 'babied' by humans, tend to grow up better than petted cockerels raise with hatchmates only. Is there actual research on this? Only discussions with people who have raised a lot of cockerels. And selecting for breeding birds with temperaments that work, not obnoxious individuals for any reason.
Fighting cock people have managed to develop roosters who want to kill each other, and who are not human aggressive. This makes the case for these behaviors being separate genetically.
Mary

Totally must be genetic I’d love more information on this topic. Thank you for posting I always learn so much in these threads

 

[burt4750]

I have a white rather large silkie that became the devil incarnate! I had to resort to carrying a stick with me when I would go in the run. This started just as he neared sexual maturity. I was ready to execute him but to my surprise, like overnight, he became as tame as all of the other chickens. No problems since. I also have a bantam rooster that will come when called and let me pick him up and love on him. But.....on days that I have to wear boots because of weather, I become open game for him. He comes at me with a fury. I just kick him away and ignore him. The next day, with normal shoes on, he is back to his loveable self!! Weird!!

 

[Owl Creek]

My previous rooster got aggressive on me one good time. He lunged and I caught him in mid air and held him down the ground with his face in the dirt for a few minutes until he stopped screaming. I let him up and started paying attention to his behavior and what things were taking place.

Come to find out; bright colors and the color red absolutely made him act different than anything else. That time he lunged at me when seemingly fine otherwise; I was wearing a red hoody. When I wore dark neutral or jeans, he was a different rooster.

He is gone now as he got sick and I have one of his offspring. Raised by a broody. I let her hatch 2 eggs. One was a rooster and the other a hen. This little guy has learned who I am and what role I play. I am sure he will test the waters. However; I remember not to wear red or bright colors. I tested that theory actually the other day. I wore a red hat. He was visibly less comfortable. So; I am going to make sure I just take a little more time to understand how he reacts when I do things.

 

[3KillerBs]

My previous rooster got aggressive on me one good time. He lunged and I caught him in mid air and held him down the ground with his face in the dirt for a few minutes until he stopped screaming. I let him up and started paying attention to his behavior and what things were taking place.

Come to find out; bright colors and the color red absolutely made him act different than anything else. That time he lunged at me when seemingly fine otherwise; I was wearing a red hoody. When I wore dark neutral or jeans, he was a different rooster.

He is gone now as he got sick and I have one of his offspring. Raised by a broody. I let her hatch 2 eggs. One was a rooster and the other a hen. This little guy has learned who I am and what role I play. I am sure he will test the waters. However; I remember not to wear red or bright colors. I tested that theory actually the other day. I wore a red hat. He was visibly less comfortable. So; I am going to make sure I just take a little more time to understand how he reacts when I do things.

Personally, I deliberately wear different colors and styles of clothing while around my flock on the theory that they need to get used to me in all aspects rather than me catering to chickens' whims.

I do make sure to talk to them as I approach so that they understand that I'm still me even if I do change my feathers every day.

 

[Owl Creek]

Personally, I deliberately wear different colors and styles of clothing while around my flock on the theory that they need to get used to me in all aspects rather than me catering to chickens' whims.

I do make sure to talk to them as I approach so that they understand that I'm still me even if I do change my feathers every day.

Right? HAHA!

There is a fine line between a mean rooster and one that is just doing his job and acting upon instincts. Unlike us, they don't have the ability to strike up a conversation and ask us what we plan on doing with that "thing I have never seen you with before" or "why do you smell like cheese; are you threatening me?"

 

[3KillerBs]

Right? HAHA!

There is a fine line between a mean rooster and one that is just doing his job and acting upon instincts. Unlike us, they don't have the ability to strike up a conversation and ask us what we plan on doing with that "thing I have never seen you with before" or "why do you smell like cheese; are you threatening me?"

Personally, I figure that whatever his instincts might be saying, a rooster has no business attacking any of the Giants Who Bring Food no matter what we're wearing.

By habituating my flock to the idea that the Giant Who Brings Food changes it's feathers often but still Brings Food I believe that I am teaching them to remain calm in the presence of humans so that they can focus on actual dangers.