Rooster behavior

I am not a flock member, I am the giant who brings food!!!

Our roosters also don't attack the horses or cattle they contact when free ranging, obviously not considering them anything to worry about. The same should apply to humans in their path.

I have learned from you in this and have made use of the tactic of "walking through" my boys. So far, so good. :)
 
I would not have any rooster, no matter how good tempered, roaming a yard that has young children. I always confine mine to the run when children or adults, are visiting.
That said, I have had a rooster come at me and even bite me, when I caught an injured hen. We came to an understanding, and he never did that again. I'm not sorry that he is still living, he is a very good rooster.
 
When is a rooster protecting its flock an ok thing? Should the rooster get a little aggressive if it thinks one of the hens is in danger. I have a coronation Sussex that just came at me after I was trying to shoo away the hens from my flowers. I was making a lot of noise and jogging at them. We tangled a bit and he got kicked and now if keeping his distance. Should I let this go or what should I do. I have a 4 year old that runs in the yard. They are free range and he has never done this before.
Id say if u weren't hurt and he's respecting u just keep an eye out for now. Even one of my porcelain bantam roo's grabbed my leg and rode me around for 5 minutes once. and they are calm little boys. hes never done it again. If it becomes a regular occurance or he does it to visitors or the kid id start looking for a home for him. I personally dont want my roos chasing people, since they are exposed to dozens of strangers daily.

I hope ur boy just had a strange vibe that day. GL
 
With a 4 year old child and the chickens all in the same place, he needs to go immediately. He will attack the child at head level, possibly knocking him down, his feet and beak can leave vicious scratches.

The rooster has given you his warning that he is becoming aggressive
. Most inexperienced people vastly underestimate the violence of an attack. They often times try to make excuses for the aggressive behavior. He may back off from you for a while, but he will be watching your child to get a lick in, and more than likely he will attack you again.

Most 4 year olds do run around, that is normal, natural, and healthy behavior, the very behavior that triggered his attack.

If you have kids visit your house, you could be liable for an attack.

I just cannot emphasize enough, that the rooster needs to be contained immediately and culled in whatever way you can do it.

Mrs K

No, I am NOT part of the pecking order. :)

I am The Giant Who Brings Food. I do not want the birds treating me like another bird. I want them to treat me like a horse or a cow or some other irresistible force of nature that has nothing to do with chicken society.
I love that mine follow me, makes me feel like im the Head mfic.
 
I would not have any rooster, no matter how good tempered, roaming a yard that has young children. I always confine mine to the run when children or adults, are visiting.
That said, I have had a rooster come at me and even bite me, when I caught an injured hen. We came to an understanding, and he never did that again. I'm not sorry that he is still living, he is a very good rooster.
My little porclains will come to save my hens if they get spooked when im inspecting them lol. my big silkie male red.... that dude wouldnt risk his self to sve any of my hens. Im glad the porclains are tiny. cus they 3 or 4 times they "saved" a hen i found their tiny bites crazyness. Luckily for me I have got it where most of the hens are calm to be handled now that they are laying.
 
I booted mine a few times. He soon learned to jump back. One day he put a spur to me, so I shot him on the spot. This behavior won't stop. I'm 6' 4", 240 lbs. If he doesn't care about me, he won't care about a small child.
my silkie roos getting spurs now. finnaly seeing the bumps. I doubt he would use them for anything but to save his own butt. the giant egg head.
My little porclains will come to save my hens if they get spooked when im inspecting them lol. my big silkie male red.... that dude wouldnt risk his self to sve any of my hens. Im glad the porclains are tiny. cus they 3 or 4 times they "saved" a hen i found their tiny bites crazyness. Luckily for me I have got it where most of the hens are calm to be handled now that they are laying.
and for context they only times my roo nipped me i was removing zip ties from hens that had got to big. so the hens really did sound like they were in trouble lol.
 
I have learned from you in this and have made use of the tactic of "walking through" my boys. So far, so good. :)
Same lesson learned, same teacher ( :bow @Folly's place )
Walk through with cautious indifference. Recognize precursor to aggressive behavior and interrupt it with a walk through maneuver.
I don't cuddle my boy but I do say good morning, good evening to him and the girls, and offer treats for him to show the hens.
 
Roosters get a bad rap and are often culled needlessly, their behavior towards people is often due to the chicken keeper. Roosters are naturally protective of their flock, that's what they do....it's a natural calling. An owner has to establish trust with the rooster. From the time they are cockerels, you need to show them you are important and trustworthy. Hand feed roosters a treat every day to get them to realize you are a safe friend. When they feel comfortable eating from your hand then start to pet them. At night go out to the coop every evening when they are roosting and talk to the rooster, give him some friendly pats or rub his comb and say good night. He will come to like you just like a pet dog. You will become a member of the flock and he'll leave you alone. Never show any fear around your rooster, even if you're not sure about his behavior, rather..... walk behind him shooing him in front of you so he knows you are the boss. As far as little children in a rooster's territory, I would not advise it. They get agitated seeing small people running. If you do allow a small child in his area, take a garden rake as protection to stop any attack if he comes at the child. Don't blame the rooster, he does not know the child well, he trusts you but anyone else the old urge to protect his hens will take charge of his head. Never be mean to a rooster who is protecting his flock, if you do that he will lose trust in you. Remember roosters are born with a job to do and a good one will protect his hens to the death from predators on the ground, and he will always watch the sky for predators in the sky. He will feed his hens and show them where tasty food is. He will break up fights among the hens, he'll make sure they have nice nest boxes, etc. Just have some patience with roosters. :)
We've been in contact with chickens and roosters just very little (three years) and we have game chickens (or fighting chickens as they call them in our country; something I personally hate to see) which are, I've heard, more temperamental than other chickens breeds, and I have to say that I agree with Cackel Shack. I wouldn't blame our rooster for the only time he spurred (a few years back), two of the chickens we're fighting and I came to separate them, bent down and grabbed one and he hadn't seen exactly what was going on so the spurred my leg thinking I was the one causing the distress. Never again has he done that and he's never been aggressive towards us and we walk real close by him all the time. We have a trust relationship with him I'd say because we've helped scare of eagles, hawks and even the odd dog that goes through the fence or comes too close to it; he calls for our help. That being said when he's chased other younger cockrells that he fathers, we chase him away, so he knows now what we like and what we don't. We just have to come out and call "Champion, no!" and he'll stop.
Having said that, kids shouldn't be trusted to be around chickens alone any second of the day, just as I wouldn't leave them alone with cats or dogs. They have their naturally hyperactive playful nature and unless they are taught to develop care and be gentle with animals they might hurt or upset them accidentally.
My advice is to keep children indoors or make them a play pen. And on the other hand make chickens a run where they will also be safe from predators and never pose a threat to children (space enough so that they will be comfortable, or make them a chicken tractor).
When our rooster spurred me it was my fault and he never again has done anything like that, I didn't know how to behave with him at all times. I do agree that you become part of the flock because you learn their behaviors and know what to do and what to expect.
I've caught chickens that don't like to be caught in front of our rooster and her knows now well enough that we're always there to help, never has attacked again.
And I'm sure there are "bad" territorial rooster and some that might just be confused because they are young. I think that just comes out with time.
 
Never try to catch the roosters hens. He will try to protect them. That being said if he is attacking for no good reason pull his head off and enjoy every minute of it as you are doing the world a favor. Never settle for human aggression in a rooster. When you have owned good well bred calm good disposition roosters u won't settle for culls anymore
 

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