Rooster behavior....please explain!

[Malissa]

Our teenage roo is getting aggressive. One of our hens started laying last week. I have not seen him on any of the girls, but then, it may happen so fast that I'm mistaking it at this point (porn stars they are not! hahaha). When I get attacked...it's usually from behind. He stalks me and his neck feathers all puff out and he gives me the hairy eyeball and then he lunges at me flapping his wings. It's very intimidating, but unless I am bare legged and get scratched, it's harmless. He will come at me afew times until he backs away. I was facinated this morning to watch my 8 yr old daughter deal with him. She didn't get all screamy (like I do) when he approaches. She stood still and he walked up to her and stomped his legs afew time and pecked at her one single time, but he didn't come at her with his wings like he does to me. She just stood still and he went away. He did follow her around and repeat this afew times, but never attacked in a full out rage and his neck feathers didn't go all crazy. I told her I think he likes her and he's treating her like a girlfriend. I'm not sure, so if anyone can explain this I'd love to hear your opinions! I will try to keep my screams to myself next time and try to be calm and still like Genny did and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Malissa]

Oh and Genny just told me he holds his wings funny...one kind of up and and the other one down as he approaches her.

 

[azygous]

Yes, you're absolutely correct when you conclude your roo is smitten with your child. For some reason, only he knows, he does not perceive her as a threat.

You, on the other hand, present a big threat to your rooster. He fears you and doesn't trust you. He feels he must dominate you to keep you under control.

The best way to defuse his behavior is to stand your ground, first of all, exactly as your daughter does. When he gets close enough to you to grab, reach down and grab him, bringing him in close to your body. This will require you to master your fear of him. Don't worry, he can't hurt you when he's in your arms close to your body. But to be safe, protect your eyes.

After a period of time, you can begin to stroke his comb, even rub your face against his, which both sooth him as well as teach him you're dominant and, at the same time, no threat to him.

A lot of people advise treating a roo roughly, but in my experience, it just leads to more distrust and fear, on both sides.

 

[Malissa]

Thanks for the info! Genny is quite tickled that she is adored! hahaha She actually picked him up later and he was wonderful for her. Now to get him to like me too!

 

[Rikki]

Thanks Azygous, for the info.

My Ameruacana roo (who we're trying to find a new home since we live in the city) has been doing the same thing with my 5-year-old son (but not me; we've had all of them since they were day-old chicks, so all my girls and Aki the roo know who's Mama Bird around here

). So, we'll go out and try that after lunch. I didn't mind the behavior so much when he was protecting his girls from rough treatment from the Boy, but when it's out of nowhere and for no reason, that's making life with Aki difficult. Every few days I hear, "I HATE Aki! I want you to kill him and I'll eat him!"

 

[azygous]

The best way to hold a rooster, or any chicken, is backwards like a football with their head tucked into your armpit. This will almost always give any chicken a sense of security. After you get them into this position, and they are calm, not struggling, then you can slide the chicken back out from under your armpit so you can rub their comb and stroke their cheeks which they adore.