rooster chases daughter, lays flat near me?

[cursichella]

Hi, my daughter raised our chickens from chicks, and the rooster is ok around her in the run, but he escapes often, comes to the front door wanting treats. If he sees her when he's out, he chases her like a maniac...for acres! He pecks at her if he catches up! When I go near him, he lays flat until I pass, then follows me. If I turn around or stop, he goes flat again. Why such different behavior shown towards us? P.s. if my husband or son are near, he completely ignores them. Thank you for any thoughts on this! Oh! Our rooster is an Americauna (sp?), 20 weeks old and we have 6 hens, same age (still no eggs), mixed black sexlinks and americaunas.

 

[Wyandottes7]

It sounds like he is submissive to you, but not to your daughter. He must think that you are more like a dominant rooster, and your daughter is not very high ranking. Roosters, like dogs, have to be taught who is dominant to them. Here are some tips:

• When giving him treats, give the hens treats first. If he comes to get them, shove him away. By doing this, you're showing him that they are YOUR hens, not his.
• If he chases you or attacks, speed walk towards him. He'll quickly learn that fighting is not a good idea, and that running away is a much better idea. You have to make him get out of your way.
• Carry him around with you every so often. This lets him know that you can do whatever you want with him, and can help him feel a little less afraid (its good for a rooster to be submissive, but you don't want him to be terrified of you).
• Every so often, if he's sitting on a roost, go over and shove him off. A dominant rooster would do the same thing.
• If he attacks or acts agressive, pin him to the ground until he stops struggling. Try "pecking" him on his head with a finger, too.

Hope this helps!

 

[donrae]

You don't say how old your daughter is, and that will make a huge difference in my response.

If she's young, cull the rooster.

If she's older and able to help re-train him, you can try. but the fact that she's already run from him multiple times from the sound of it, and let him peck her means his behavior could be pretty ingrained and he will literally die before becoming submissive to her. Wyandottes7 has some good tips for your daughter, it's just going to depend on if she can do them or not. If not, please do NOT keep a bird that attacks humans, especially children! That's exactly what crock pots are for.

 

[cursichella]

Hello everyone! Thank you all. My daughter is 13 years old.

 

[cursichella]

Oops p.s. At 13, my daughter should be able to handle the retraining. (I'll work with her...) Thank you for your advice and we'll report back!

 

[cursichella]

Update: the situation has changed. We tried the suggestions for letting him know who is boss (thank you!), and he stopped chasing my daughter. Now he has started getting belligerent with the chickens; like he is picking fights without any reason (from our perspective, a way!) How can I tell if this is out of hand or okay? Thanks!

 

[MzPlacedHippie]

Sounds like he feels the need to re-establish within the ranks. Perhaps he suffered a rooster ego blow? Glad he stopped being ugly to your girl. I'll scoop up my specked roo in a heartbeat if he so much as sidesteps at me.