Rooster aggression

[LCsAChickenLover]

Hello fellow chicken enthusiasts,
I am a fairly new chicken keeper and probably have zero business getting involved with a rooster, but here we are, so..Back in mid October I adopted a 5.5 month old Black Australorp from a friend of mine who got him in a straight run. When he came to me I of course quarantined him for about 2 weeks in a sectioned off area inside the chicken run before introducing him to the ladies, but they could see each other. Apart from being young and hasty with the girls and having to learn to woo them properly, he’s been great with the hens. Me, not so much..
The first 2 days being here he was okay with me but by day three, he bit me on my hand and I chalked it up to new home anxiety/stress or maybe I was being too touchy for him. Then the next day he got me on the top of my arm as I offered treats and thought maybe he was just excited about the treats and it was an accident. Then a few days later he bit the top of my foot hard and I realized nope, not an accident, he’s a meanie. He would charge toward me when I would go into the yard, puff up and kick dirt at me. But I stood my ground with him and never stepped backwards away but would walk towards him slowly and that seemed to work, slowing down his out bursts. He only displayed this kind of behavior with me, no one else in the family, so I figured he just didn’t like me for whatever reason or maybe he felt threatened some how. So over the next few months he kept a close eye on me from a distance and I on him when in the yard and all seemed good
Fast forward to about 2 weeks ago when my younger pullets started to lay, his aggression returned and is worse than it was before. I am no longer his only target, it’s anyone that goes into the backyard, treats or no treats. He even chases my Rottweiler who is now terrified of him
Sorry this is so long, but what can I do to get this guy to stop this aggressive behavior? Or is he just maturing into a jerk? He’s only 8 months old so I’m hopeful someone out there has a magic trick for me to try out on him!?
I’d really love to keep him, he’s such a handsome guy and good with his girls, but unless I can stop his naughty behavior, I don’t see how it would work out. Again sorry about the novel..

 

[333113]

Young cockerels/roosters can be jerks. They are just exactly like extremely hormonal human young men.

Many males (chickens and humans included) learn to moderate their behavior by the time they are young adults, which for chickens is around two years old.

If you search this site, you will find that very few humans are willing to wait a year for the hormone flare to abate, and re-home or otherwise cull their young rooster. You have to decide for yourself whether you want to tread lightly around him for a year or so, knowing that this may be his permanent disposition.

 

[Nor-Cal Chickens]

Pick him up and carry him for a while like a football. Do this on a fairly regular basis and it should break him down

 

[LCsAChickenLover]

Young cockerels/roosters can be jerks. They are just exactly like extremely hormonal human young men.

Many males (chickens and humans included) learn to moderate their behavior by the time they are young adults, which for chickens is around two years old.

If you search this site, you will find that very few humans are willing to wait a year for the hormone flare to abate, and re-home or otherwise cull their young rooster. You have to decide for yourself whether you want to tread lightly around him for a year or so, knowing that this may be his permanent disposition.

Thank you, this gives me some hope we can work through this!! I am willing to tread lightly around him until he’s matured, and hopefully he will settle down some or I can figure out a way to safely keep him. I do not want to rehome or cull him

 

[My2butterflies]

Like you I’m trying to learn ways to deal with a young roo. Mine is 7months old.
Standing my ground, holding him while doing chores in the coop, or just placing him outside while I work in the coop. All those things have helped, the last two being the most effective and efficient for me to get work done. He still has “off” days that he feels the need to stalk me. Always keeping me on guard, but no major attacks. Just pecked the back of my calf a few times before I realized it was him and not a curious hen.

I hope he will mellow out eventually. Haha.

Best of luck with your boy!

 

[Ryguy3684]

From 7-11 months old, my rooster was a bit of a jerk to my wife. Never to me, but I think he looked at me as the boss. Aside from that, he is a great rooster. Not aggressive towards the kids, and very good to the hens. There was one thing my wife would do during this time. When she went into the back yard, she'd walk straight at him and make him back down. Keep walking like he's not there. He would keep backing up until he eventually submitted, turning around to disengage. Good luck.

 

[Craig Cowan]

Some good info on this was here about a week ago,
I believe from Azyagous - sorry for spelling

 

[Sally PB]

There are lots of threads and articles on BYC about dealing with aggressive cockerels/roosters. I'm working through this myself. I have never done the "pick him up and carry him around" tactic. Mine has been to hold him down to the ground if he gets out of line. Another thing I've tried to do is show him that the treats I'm bringing are for him to give to his ladies. I'm not trying to woo his ladies away from him with treats. I'm not sure how well I'm doing.

I really want this relationship to work out. I culled the other two cockerels I got last spring for being unholy terrors to the pullets and to me.

 

[arishoks]

A lot of people have recommended carrying him around and I would absolutely suggest that. They hate it. He will squirm and cry, but stay strong. You are the boss and he needs to understand this. Embarrassing him in front of his ladies a few times will help. He's also still pretty young, and like others said, hormonal. He will most likely mellow out with age, but carrying him around could help. It also helps to carry a big stick too, and to "gently" push him away if he's getting a little too aggressive. By gently I mean as hard as it takes to get him to leave you alone without hurting him. Name him golf ball or something.

 

[Mya05]

Thank you, this gives me some hope we can work through this!! I am willing to tread lightly around him until he’s matured, and hopefully he will settle down some or I can figure out a way to safely keep him. I do not want to rehome or cull him

We also have a Black Australorp. When his hormones first started raging, he would occasionally peck me, or my daughter in the leg. We had to be quick, and it took a little while to catch him, but we scooped him up, pecked him with our fingers, and carried him around in front of his ladies. I made sure myself and my kids did this a few times, and our cockerel quickly got the message. He is amazing now! When we added another cockerel from a flock we rescued, we did the same to him. Everyone is co-existing peacefully, and our cockerels know where they stand in the pecking order.