Rooster behavior

[Goosegrouse]

Hi all,
I gave my neighbour a beautiful friendly rooster for her flock of 6 girls. Rooster was 19 weeks old. He was crowing in the coop and my neighbour gave a little crow back to him - now he feels threatened and bites her hand and attacks her. He won't do it to her husband. She is able to hand feed him treats without issue, thankfully. Is there anything she can do to soften him again?
Thanks for your feedback!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If he's biting I would not continue to try to hand feed him. Personally I would prefer he stays back. There's plenty of ideas of how to stop an aggressive rooster. Most don't work as the rooster is viewing the human as a threat or something to dominate.

I find that handling them when young sometimes cause this type of aggression later as they get too familiar with people and view them differently than those who aren't handled.

Roosters do pick up on fear, so your friend needs to be confident, and not to draw him forward to her. I personally would use a tool to block him like a snow shovel, broom or fishing net to make sure he stays at least 5 feet back. Don't hit or engage him in any sort of aggression, but block him if necessary. Stand square, and don't turn your back on him. Personally I'd put him in the freezer. Too many nice roosters to put up with this type of behavior. As spring approaches and hormones surge it may get worse.