Rooster Behavior

[Smileybans]

So this morning no dance. I know it’s only been one day but I realized that after I opened their coop door I was stepping aside to tie it open. I modified a wooden playhouse for their coop and I use a rope to keep the door open. This morning I didn’t step asside and even reached down to touch him a bit. He backed away from my hands but that’s might have been because it was my hand.
In one of the articles on here I read not to feed him treats first. But somewhere on google I had read to give the top chicken treats first. If he’s top chicken wouldn’t I give them to him first? He just likes to jump on my lap for corn and the ladies follow him.

 

[SueT]

I always follow the rule 'no hand feeding the rooster. ' I toss his on the ground. And the BYC pundits also say don't let him on your lap either. Consider it a good thing if he backs away. That's what you want.

 

[Smileybans]

I always follow the rule 'no hand feeding the rooster. ' I toss his on the ground. And the BYC pundits also say don't let him on your lap either. Consider it a good thing if he backs away. That's what you want.

My husband started the lap stuff when he was a chick and I thought it was okay. But if it makes him more aggressive I’ll stop. He only does it if I’m sitting. The hens will only come up occasionally if he isn’t up on my lap. Does having him sit on me make him think he’s higher on the pecking order?

 

[SBFChickenGirl]

My husband started the lap stuff when he was a chick and I thought it was okay. But if it makes him more aggressive I’ll stop. He only does it if I’m sitting. The hens will only come up occasionally if he isn’t up on my lap. Does having him sit on me make him think he’s higher on the pecking order?

Exactly. When he gets his huge hormone rush, he'll view this as you submitting and you allowing him to take advantage of getting in your space. Don't let him up on your lap, and don't hand feed him. He needs to respect your space, not be invited into it.

 

[Smileybans]

Exactly. When he gets his huge hormone rush, he'll view this as you submitting and you allowing him to take advantage of getting in your space. Don't let him up on your lap, and don't hand feed him. He needs to respect your space, not be invited into it.

No more hand feeding and laps then. I usually use that time to pet him and invade his space but I can see how things could change when he becomes a full rooster. I would rather have a nice rooster than an aggressive one. And if lap time has to go then so be it.

 

[Smileybans]

Kind of a follow up question, and I can start a new thread if needed, but we have a silkie that I think is a rooster. We call her a she in hopes for a hen since she’s my husbands pet and not going anywhere either way. Her name is Lil Chi. But is it okay for my husband to hold Lil Chi and have her sit on his lap even if Lil Chi ends up being a rooster? Lil Chi is only 4 weeks old but has a big straight comb. I don’t have any good pictures of her in natural light. I don’t want my husband to worry that he can’t hold his pet chicken even if she ends up being a he.

 

[SerrarGett]

My rooster is about 14 weeks old and just started doing this weird dance when I let him out of his coop in the morning. He kind of puffs up his shoulder feathers, to make himself look bigger(?), and stomps his feet. He knows me and I talk to him to let him know it’s me before I open the door but he still does it. He shares a coop with two girls, 4 weeks younger than him, and a run with six olive eggers. The olive eggers are in a different coop and I let them out after him. I thought maybe he was doing it because there’s potential males in the olive eggers, who are 8 weeks old. But they’re out after him. They don’t see the dance. Is it for the ladies? Here is a picture of him. I can try to get a video of him dancing but it’s pretty brief. View attachment 2412599

Beautiful Boy!

 

[bobbi-j]

Kind of a follow up question, and I can start a new thread if needed, but we have a silkie that I think is a rooster. We call her a she in hopes for a hen since she’s my husbands pet and not going anywhere either way. Her name is Lil Chi. But is it okay for my husband to hold Lil Chi and have her sit on his lap even if Lil Chi ends up being a rooster? Lil Chi is only 4 weeks old but has a big straight comb. I don’t have any good pictures of her in natural light. I don’t want my husband to worry that he can’t hold his pet chicken even if she ends up being a he.

The only way to know is to give it a try. There are no one-size-fits-all answers to chicken keeping. There are many people here on BYC who have “lap roosters” and it works out just fine. (I’d be more concerned about how your two roosters are going to act together when they both reach maturity.) I believe @centrarchid has roosters that are handled often, (and maybe used for educational purposes?) and they are well behaved.

Just like people, every chicken has its own personality. Some are more snuggly than others. I would just caution you to learn what signs of aggression to look for so you can recognize them if they happen.

 

[Smileybans]

I’m definitely worried about how they will get along together. I’m hoping if I can take the introductions slow they will learn to get along. I’ll figure when the silkies are ready to be outside I’ll keep Lil Chi and her/his friends separated from the others until everyone is ready to play nice. Lil Chi is in with five other silkies so she/he wouldn’t get lonely.
But I’m new to all of this and may be dreaming about them getting along and it going well. Right now they haven’t met each other at all because Lil Chi is too little to be outside the brooder.
I’m just glad there’s hope that my husband can keep his pet chicken. Because he is attached.

 

[bobbi-j]

The reality is, without enough space, two mature roosters will likely end up fighting. If you really want to keep him, I’d suggest building another coop and run to keep them in if you have the room to do so. If not, have a Plan B ready to use before putting them together because when it gets ugly, it often happens fast.