Rooster Aggression

CaliChris10

In the Brooder
Aug 16, 2020
24
38
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Looking for a bit of advice...
I have a roo, Diego, that appeared at my house 10 months ago when he was about 4-6 months old. We do not have any other chickens. We kept him and he is a free bird during the day and we put him in a coup at night. We carry him around a few times a day, he comes in the house for short periods of time :) We absolutely love him.
He occasionally walks sideways at me, but until this morning he has never done anything else. Today when I let him out of the coup after I fed him he charged me. I didn't run away and told him no, pushed him back with a bag of sunflower seeds I had in my hand, but he kept coming at me with his head down, until my husband pushed him back. I am afraid to go outside now lol. I have worked with pit bulls but I am afraid of a chicken lol.
What can I do? Is it normal for a roo to be aggressive after all this time when he has been tame? Is he angry because he is alone? Thanks in advance for any advice, it is greatly appreciated.
Christen
 
Looking for a bit of advice...
I have a roo, Diego, that appeared at my house 10 months ago when he was about 4-6 months old. We do not have any other chickens. We kept him and he is a free bird during the day and we put him in a coup at night. We carry him around a few times a day, he comes in the house for short periods of time :) We absolutely love him.
He occasionally walks sideways at me, but until this morning he has never done anything else. Today when I let him out of the coup after I fed him he charged me. I didn't run away and told him no, pushed him back with a bag of sunflower seeds I had in my hand, but he kept coming at me with his head down, until my husband pushed him back. I am afraid to go outside now lol. I have worked with pit bulls but I am afraid of a chicken lol.
What can I do? Is it normal for a roo to be aggressive after all this time when he has been tame? Is he angry because he is alone? Thanks in advance for any advice, it is greatly appreciated.
Christen
He needs some girls. The shuffling he is doing (with his wing dropped likely) is a 'herding' move. He is trying to herd you as you and your husband are his flock. He is getting sexually frustrated.
 
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My boys (who aren’t with their own hens) do the wing dance to me. Although they will sometimes turn and peck my hand or foot, it’s more of a ‘trying to express dominance‘ thing (like DobieLover said 😉).

I personally don’t consider this a sign of problematic aggression since he considers you part of his flock and he isn’t necessarily trying to run you off or kill you, but establish that he’s the head chicken.

My boys who’ll sometimes ‘turn’ on me more often come and sit on my legs and let me hold and pet them. But I’ve been around roosters a lot and their shenanigans don’t scare me in the least - I’m not afraid to let an aggressive roo go to town on my legs so I can swoop in and pick him up and calm him down 🤓.

If you do get him some girls, just be careful he doesn’t decide you and your husband are a threat to them. There was a random EE roo who lived on my street and thought the group of stray cats that hung around the neighborhood were his hens. I guess he terrorized everyone so one day, when I was home from college, I went out there and as he tried to fight me off by gashing up my legs, I did the reach down and pick up thing. I pet him and made it clear I was bigger and stronger than him. The next time he came at me, he stopped short and looked up at me and I said, ‘That’s right. I’m not afraid of you, little dude’. Never had a problem with him after that.

ANYHOO, if your guy acts this way again, hold your ground and see if that helps establish your dominance. Good luck!
 

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