Rooster Attack

[jjdent]

It's my first time with chickens. I've got a mating pair of Black Australorps. For the first month I had them, they were perfectly docile, would follow me around and let me guide them with a staff to where I want them to go. Then one morning, I was out there pulling up a tarp off a couple rows I was covering for the first frost, and the rooster started attacking me, time and again, and would not stop. I kicked him away 7 or 8 times and he just kept coming back for more. Now, every morning, he flies up onto the porch, where typically I would gently guide him back down into the yard before he craps all over the porch. But now, he attacks me every morning, whether or not I have the staff in my hand (which he has usually respected). Help! I think the hen is just about laying age, at least that's what her previous owner said, and she's been showing a couple of the signs (really red comb and waddles, and the squatting behavior). The rooster doesn't seem to know what to do yet, though, as I have not yet seen them mating. I wonder if their coming of age has anything to do with his increase in aggressiveness? Help!

 

[narutat]

Do you have picture ?
I may help you if watch it.

 

[jjdent]

I can do a picture, but not a video.

 

[jjdent]

It seems to be usually when he thinks one of us is coming between him and the hen.

 

[jjdent]

 

[aart]

Only those two chickens...if just coming to maturity, rooster is feeling his oats....he also probably needs more hens.

 

[Judy]

He is doing his job. He sees you as a competitor or threat and is protecting his hen. That said, the world is full of roosters who are not people aggressive, who generally simply avoid people, or ma even be friendly, and this is commonly felt to be an inherited trait, so most people here will not breed a people aggressive rooster.

If you choose to keep and breed him, there are lots of threads and some articles here on rooster management. The simplest technique is to look directly at him and walk toward him til he backs down, pushing him away from you if necessary. if you can catch him, you can also walk aorund for several minutes with him tucked under our arm like a football. The idea is to show him you are the dominant roster in the flock, not him, so he will avoid you.

 

[goodb]

I had a similar issue with my BA rooster. I tried avoiding him and he avoided me until Monday he ran across the pen and jumped at me as if he was spurring me. That was preceded with charges and his crouching was all I could take. He is now sitting in my refrigerator "cooling off."

 

[jjdent]

Haha, well, thanks, all. Let's just say it's bringing to life the metaphors of farmers and story-books about the farmer finally having his ultimate revenge when the rooster ends up on the dining room table. We have little boys very active around the yard, too, who probably make the chickens nervous. I think he was probably threatened by my waving around that tarp a bit, and I won't do that again with him in there. I have a front lot and a back lot and can move them around as I need to not have them in an area in which I'm working. I've also re-arranged my fence-line so that it does not border the porch anymore, as they seem to have taken a liking to that area, and I'd rather they not. He's kinda hard to get ahold of. His previous owner was real soft on him, so I'll have to see about the hands-on approach. He does avoid me, for the most part, but in the mornings particularly will now come at me regularly. I'll see if keeping him from having access to the porch will prevent that. Thanks a bunch.

P.S. The funny thing is, he'll attack big-ole me, but fly away from the medium-sized dog we have. And I don't exactly take it easy on him when he attacks. It's either my foot or a large staff. He just gets it into him.

 

[donrae]

Invite him to dinner. Seriously. why keep an animal that attacks you? And you have kids, right? Don't put them at risk, or risk giving them a lifelong fear of chickens from getting attacked.

Yes, he's doing this because he's coming of age and the testosterone is kicking in. Still no excuse. As previously stated, there are lots of roosters that show no aggression to humans. Get one of them.