Rooster behavior

[Pork Pie]

I have had a similar experience and the advice i received here on BYC was to give him the chop. Its almost inconceivable that the attacks will stop and if anything, get worse. Photos of injuries caused by cockerels I've seen on BYC can be horrific. For your own safety and that of your family you may wish to considering disposing of him ASAP.

CT

 

[azygous]

The points Grey Mare makes about roosters changing temperament as they come into their hormones are good ones. They are complex critters as they begin to grapple with the sudden influx of hormones.

If you could get into the head of a young cockerel as he emerges from chickhood into a new world of seeing hens in a new and complicated way, it would probably be a lot like what human boys struggle with as they hit puberty. Make no mistake, a lot is going on in their little boy-bird brains.

It would be: Sex, excitement, fear, sex, mistrust, sex, excitement, confusion,sex, food, sex, fear, sex, sex, sex.

A young cockerel is on edge all the time, taking in a lot of new information that is suddenly important, where as a chick, he took it all for granted. Now, everything seems to be HIS problem to deal with. Enter you, one day, into this new world of his. You're just filling the feeder, and you make a sudden move that he wasn't prepared for, and you find your hand now has a hole drilled neatly into it by his powerful beak.

For most cockerels, the next thing happening is he's suddenly dinner.

If the young cockerel who has made a mistake has a patient, understanding care taker, he'll be given another chance, and the caretaker will take into account his edginess when in his vicinity, understanding that this is generally a temporary thing for the next six months to a year, as the hormones level out and the young man learns to deal with his role in the flock and his relationships with his humans.

You can help him get through this rocky period in his life by modifying your own behavior and keeping boisterous, unruly children away from him. It's a good idea to behave with deliberate, slow movements, and try to keep things as calm as possible. When he does misbehave, he needs firm discipline so he comes to know his boundaries. But he needs to know that he can trust you and not be fearful of you. BYC has many excellent tutorials on how to discipline a young cockerel.

If you have a young roo who has suddenly become a problem, instead of asking why he's acting that way, if you can ask yourself what it is about your own behavior that has made him suddenly not trust you, many young cockerels might be able to live beyond that first turbulent year without becoming soup.

 

[Pork Pie]

The points Grey Mare makes about roosters changing temperament as they come into their hormones are good ones. They are complex critters as they begin to grapple with the sudden influx of hormones.

If you could get into the head of a young cockerel as he emerges from chickhood into a new world of seeing hens in a new and complicated way, it would probably be a lot like what human boys struggle with as they hit puberty. Make no mistake, a lot is going on in their little boy-bird brains.

It would be: Sex, excitement, fear, sex, mistrust, sex, excitement, confusion,sex, food, sex, fear, sex, sex, sex.

A young cockerel is on edge all the time, taking in a lot of new information that is suddenly important, where as a chick, he took it all for granted. Now, everything seems to be HIS problem to deal with. Enter you, one day, into this new world of his. You're just filling the feeder, and you make a sudden move that he wasn't prepared for, and you find your hand now has a hole drilled neatly into it by his powerful beak.

For most cockerels, the next thing happening is he's suddenly dinner.

If the young cockerel who has made a mistake has a patient, understanding care taker, he'll be given another chance, and the caretaker will take into account his edginess when in his vicinity, understanding that this is generally a temporary thing for the next six months to a year, as the hormones level out and the young man learns to deal with his role in the flock and his relationships with his humans.

You can help him get through this rocky period in his life by modifying your own behavior and keeping boisterous, unruly children away from him. It's a good idea to behave with deliberate, slow movements, and try to keep things as calm as possible. When he does misbehave, he needs firm discipline so he comes to know his boundaries. But he needs to know that he can trust you and not be fearful of you. BYC has many excellent tutorials on how to discipline a young cockerel.

If you have a young roo who has suddenly become a problem, instead of asking why he's acting that way, if you can ask yourself what it is about your own behavior that has made him suddenly not trust you, many young cockerels might be able to live beyond that first turbulent year without becoming soup.

I totally agree with your sentiments. With my second rooster, i took a totally different approach and followed advice on rooster training. My "weapon of choice" to remind him who was the boss was a pressurised watering can - he couldn't stand the water so i used it to keep him in his place. All was well.

In the past i have reflected on disposing of my first cockerel and i am sure, that with hindsight, a more educated approach from the start would have probably spared his life. Ho hum, onwards and upwards, as they say. Life, as keeping chickens, is a learning curve!

 

[shelbyw]

I have had  a similar experience and the advice i received here on BYC was to give him the chop. Its almost inconceivable that the attacks will stop and if anything, get worse. Photos of injuries caused by cockerels I've seen on BYC can be horrific. For your own safety and that of your family you may wish to considering disposing of him ASAP.

CT

I am going to feed them this afternoon sometime, so I will also monitor him and make sure he doesn't do it again for right now. He will most likely go away if he continues.

 

[shelbyw]

I totally agree with your sentiments. With my second rooster, i took a totally different approach and followed advice on rooster training. My "weapon of choice" to remind him who was the boss was a pressurised watering can - he couldn't stand the water so i used it to keep him in his place. All was well.

In the past i have reflected on disposing of my first cockerel and i am sure, that with hindsight, a more educated approach from the start would have probably spared his life. Ho hum, onwards and upwards, as they say. Life, as keeping chickens, is a learning curve!

My rooster doesn't like lids for Tupperware and that is how I got him back in the pen. I guess I should just keep watching his attitude for a few days...

 

[shelbyw]

The points Grey Mare makes about roosters changing temperament as they come into their hormones are good ones. They are complex critters as they begin to grapple with the sudden influx of hormones.

If you could get into the head of a young cockerel as he emerges from chickhood into a new world of seeing hens in a new and complicated way, it would probably be a lot like what human boys struggle with as they hit puberty. Make no mistake, a lot is going on in their little boy-bird brains.

It would be: Sex, excitement, fear, sex, mistrust, sex, excitement, confusion,sex, food, sex, fear, sex, sex, sex.

A young cockerel is on edge all the time, taking in a lot of new information that is suddenly important, where as a chick, he took it all for granted. Now, everything seems to be HIS problem to deal with. Enter you, one day, into this new world of his. You're just filling the feeder, and you make a sudden move that he wasn't prepared for, and you find your hand now has a hole drilled neatly into it by his powerful beak.

For most cockerels, the next thing happening is he's suddenly dinner.

If the young cockerel who has made a mistake has a patient, understanding care taker, he'll be given another chance, and the caretaker will take into account his edginess when in his vicinity, understanding that this is generally a temporary thing for the next six months to a year, as the hormones level out and the young man learns to deal with his role in the flock and his relationships with his humans.

You can help him get through this rocky period in his life by modifying your own behavior and keeping boisterous, unruly children away from him. It's a good idea to behave with deliberate, slow movements, and try to keep things as calm as possible. When he does misbehave, he needs firm discipline so he comes to know his boundaries. But he needs to know that he can trust you and not be fearful of you. BYC has many excellent tutorials on how to discipline a young cockerel.

If you have a young roo who has suddenly become a problem, instead of asking why he's acting that way, if you can ask yourself what it is about your own behavior that has made him suddenly not trust you, many young cockerels might be able to live beyond that first turbulent year without becoming soup.

I don't want to chop him up right away, I am going to watch him for a little bit more I would like to know how long will he do this or is this just a short stage? im still new to having a rooster around

 

[pooh731]

i have a rooster that has been a little aggressive will this make my hens stop laying eggs and get a little shy or want to hide

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

i have a rooster that has been a little aggressive will this make my hens stop laying eggs and get a little shy or want to hide

is her being adhesive to you or the hens? Can you better explain what he is doing that is aggressive? There is no way to predict the likely effect on your hens without a better understanding of what is going on. There are circumstances where a roo's behavior can impact production and stress the hens.

 

[pooh731]

he chase's my hens like he wants to try and breed them, but the girls run and make a noise like they are crying. i have three hens that was laying eggs but they haven't laid an egg in about a week. Could this be because of my rooster, he is not aggressive towards us just my hens.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

he chase's my hens like he wants to try and breed them, but the girls run and make a noise like they are crying. i have three hens that was laying eggs but they haven't laid an egg in about a week. Could this be because of my rooster, he is not aggressive towards us just my hens.

How old are your hens? How long has the rooster been part of the flock and how old is he?
Some chasing and running is not necessarily out of line, but it's hard to judge just how much is taking place in your situation and whether it has crossed the line to being a stressor or just being normal roo/hen interaction