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.

 

[Mrs. K]

You know, some roosters do not work out. It was not the crowing at him, it is not he feels threatened. He is 19 weeks old, and coming into his oats, and these are the first signs of aggression.

I used to believe a lot of theories about raising roosters. I do believe that large spaces help a great deal. But in a lot of backyard, less than 6 hens flocks - a rooster is going to tend to be more of a problem than a help. How he behaved a month ago, or even a week ago is not an indicator of how he will behave next week.

I would expect this bird to begin to attack her husband soon. They work up to bigger targets as they become more aggressive. Most experienced people, do not credit training the rooster to be effective, and it is never trustworthy. The moment someone new comes in, or a persons attention wanders, that is when the attack will come.

Inexperienced people vastly underestimate how violent an attack can be. There are countless posts on here, where the darling became the nightmare in an instant. Inexperienced people often do not pick up on cues that the bird is becoming aggressive, or they blame the people interacting with them.

Strongly recommend that they cull the bird. ESPECIALLY if they have children under the age of 6.

Mrs K

 

[Mrs. K]

Don’t turn your back, or bend down to get something.

 

[McChooky]

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!

I deleted my comments about this rooster after reading this again.
I seriously dropped the ball and don't know what I was thinking!
I sincerely apologize because he isn't to be trusted as others warned