Rooster Dance Behavior

[The Dim Side]

The "rooster" dance can mean a couple different things. If they do a half circle with one wing out, usually while stopping to sweep a foot towards the other bird or person, it's a herding gesture.

If they do a full circle with the wing out, it's a mating dance. I've seen hens reciprocate that version of the dance.

If he does a half circle or full circle around you without much of a wing-dip or leg-sweep, it's likely just flock-bonding behavior. I have a blue cuckoo maran rooster that will greet me by walking a circle around me, chattering the whole time. He's over a year old and he has never shown any human-aggressive tendencies.

Borderline-aggressive behavior is things like kicking or stamping a foot in your general direction, or they'll do what sort of looks like a chest-bump (which is him trying to startle you and get you to run away).

They'll also exhibit behaviors like hanging back and glaring at you, other times you'll catch them out of the corner of your eye rushing at you in the "angry turkey" posture (head down, wings low, tail fanned out), but stopping and assuming a normal posture when you turn in their direction. This can be him putting on a show for the hens, or sizing you up for a surprise attack.

Thank you for the info! It's been hard for me to know because my last rooster would slowly get closer, pretending to eat and act like everything was fine, and then he'd jump and attack when close enough, lol. So I think I'm mostly just wary with this one now because I don't know if he's trying to be tricky when he's bending down to pick up stuff on the ground.

This cockerel will also slowly walk behind me, so I'm paranoid that like my last rooster, he might try and sneak attack. He doesn't seem aggressive so far, aside from a couple nips, but I still think it was just that I moved my hand too quickly around him. But it does make me question intentions. If I'm slow though, he lets me pet him and pick him up. But if the partial circling without much wing motion is flock bonding, hopefully that's all he's doing then!

 

[ChicNmom]

What would happen if I accept it? He does keep pretending to find food and stuff when getting close to me, he did pick up a stick and drop it back down just a few minutes ago, lol.

Then he thinks you belong to him. I couldn't find the original (non BYC) article I read about it when I had my first rooster. But I found this:

In the rooster's mind, he MUST be in charge. Until "informed" otherwise, he will want you to be part of his flock, so he can control you. That is just chicken behavior. The dance can be a challenge or a courtship display.

My dominant roo knows *I* am the head of the whole flock, even over him. However, he occasionally tries to "tid-bit" me, which is that growly-cooing call, with the short "Here's a goodie for you" cluck, just like Momma hens do for their chicks. Plus, he'll bring you a present, a twig, a leaf, a pebble, a bug and drop it at your feet. He may pick it up and drop it more than once, reinforcing the "this is for you" message. This is what a good roo does with his hens, but it shouldn't be something YOU accept.

I always thank my rooster for the presents but never, ever collect them. I just walk on by as if it's nothing (even though I think it's adorable).

 

[SamLockwood]

Thank you for the info! It's been hard for me to know because my last rooster would slowly get closer, pretending to eat and act like everything was fine, and then he'd jump and attack when close enough, lol. So I think I'm mostly just wary with this one now because I don't know if he's trying to be tricky when he's bending down to pick up stuff on the ground.

This cockerel will also slowly walk behind me, so I'm paranoid that like my last rooster, he might try and sneak attack. He doesn't seem aggressive so far, aside from a couple nips, but I still think it was just that I moved my hand too quickly around him. But it does make me question intentions. If I'm slow though, he lets me pet him and pick him up. But if the partial circling without much wing motion is flock bonding, hopefully that's all he's doing then!

The best education you can get is to watch your chickens when they think you're not around. Observe all the interactions between them, body langauge, and what noises they make. Try not to anthropomorphize what they're doing, just observe.

You'll find that they actually communicate a LOT, and there's surprisingly subtle distinctions. A couple of my roosters never shut up during the day.

It sounds like you've only ever had one cockerel at a time, so you've missed out on how they act in their "play fights" growing up. This isn't all bad, because you also miss out on when they stop playing with each other.

But that being said, you'll notice that some "nice" sounds they make are actually polite warnings. Some other sounds that are "not nice" to human ears are either neutral or actually friendly.

Learn what agitiated body language is from a rooster: if you see one shaking his head like he's got something in his ear, that's an expression of annoyance. There's also a posture I call the "rigid V" I've seen both hens and roosters adopt when they're agitated: neck and tail held stiff (like a letter "V" if viewd from the side), which is usually followed by chasing and pecking.

There's a sort of gentle cooing sound they'll make while staring at another chicken. This is NOT a friendly noise, but a warning to get out of their personal space NOW.

In general you want your rooster to be friendly, but you don't want him to treat you like a hen, so as others have pointed out if he tidbits you don't accept the gift.

In general my rooster is exhibiting positive behaviors like greetings I'll always acknowledge him, usually with something like "hello sir!" or "good morning sir!" It's like he understands the words at all, the trick is you're setting a pattern where he greets you and you greet him back. I have a couple of roos that have fragile egos and if they greet me and I just blow them off they get put out.

One time I had a rooster greet me when I was heading to the garage to leave for work and I completely ignored him. He ran up behind me and stamped his foot and when I turned around he repeated his greeting, only louder. When I acknowledged him he then walked away muttering.

Another thing that scores favors with roosters is that when you hand treats out, give them to him first so he can tidbit the hens. Tidbitting is one of the primary ways they attract mates, so if you're handing out treats to the hens first you're setting yourself up as a potential rival. If you treat him first and allow him the illusion that he's the one providing the treats, you're no longer a potential rival, you're his "wingman" helping him get laid.

The current alpha rooster in my flock will see me and gather up a couple of his favorite hens and greet me, and if he sees I have treats he'll shoo the hens in my direction while making the tidbitting noise.

Another behavior to avoid with roosters is never lean forward in their direction and make eye contact (like the way some people talk to little kids). If you do that you're unconsciously mimicking the "challenge" pose, and if you do it fast enough they may reflexively react by pecking or spurring you in the face.

If you feel your rooster is doing something untoward: getting into your personal space and acting like you're either a rival or one of his hens, I tend to try dealing with it this way: First thing is I stand up straight with my hands on my hips, elbows out. Then I shake my head (mimcing the head-shake gesture, only slower). If the rooster persists, I'll move them out of my personal space gently but firmly with the bottom of my foot. Most times I don't have to contact them, and if he takes a swipe at you out of instinct or to save face and you're wearing proper footwear he has zero chance of hurting you through a the sole of a work-boot.

 

[The Dim Side]

Then he thinks you belong to him. I couldn't find the original (non BYC) article I read about it when I had my first rooster. But I found this:

In the rooster's mind, he MUST be in charge. Until "informed" otherwise, he will want you to be part of his flock, so he can control you. That is just chicken behavior. The dance can be a challenge or a courtship display.

My dominant roo knows *I* am the head of the whole flock, even over him. However, he occasionally tries to "tid-bit" me, which is that growly-cooing call, with the short "Here's a goodie for you" cluck, just like Momma hens do for their chicks. Plus, he'll bring you a present, a twig, a leaf, a pebble, a bug and drop it at your feet. He may pick it up and drop it more than once, reinforcing the "this is for you" message. This is what a good roo does with his hens, but it shouldn't be something YOU accept.

I always thank my rooster for the presents but never, ever collect them. I just walk on by as if it's nothing (even though I think it's adorable).

Thanks! I definitely started noticing him picking up twigs and things whenever I'm nearby. He's not bringing them up to me, but he's definitely doing it intentionally when I come up, lol. So I've been greeting him and thanking him but not actually taking the offerings, haha.

 

[The Dim Side]

The best education you can get is to watch your chickens when they think you're not around. Observe all the interactions between them, body langauge, and what noises they make. Try not to anthropomorphize what they're doing, just observe.

You'll find that they actually communicate a LOT, and there's surprisingly subtle distinctions. A couple of my roosters never shut up during the day.

It sounds like you've only ever had one cockerel at a time, so you've missed out on how they act in their "play fights" growing up. This isn't all bad, because you also miss out on when they stop playing with each other.

But that being said, you'll notice that some "nice" sounds they make are actually polite warnings. Some other sounds that are "not nice" to human ears are either neutral or actually friendly.

Learn what agitiated body language is from a rooster: if you see one shaking his head like he's got something in his ear, that's an expression of annoyance. There's also a posture I call the "rigid V" I've seen both hens and roosters adopt when they're agitated: neck and tail held stiff (like a letter "V" if viewd from the side), which is usually followed by chasing and pecking.

There's a sort of gentle cooing sound they'll make while staring at another chicken. This is NOT a friendly noise, but a warning to get out of their personal space NOW.

In general you want your rooster to be friendly, but you don't want him to treat you like a hen, so as others have pointed out if he tidbits you don't accept the gift.

In general my rooster is exhibiting positive behaviors like greetings I'll always acknowledge him, usually with something like "hello sir!" or "good morning sir!" It's like he understands the words at all, the trick is you're setting a pattern where he greets you and you greet him back. I have a couple of roos that have fragile egos and if they greet me and I just blow them off they get put out.

One time I had a rooster greet me when I was heading to the garage to leave for work and I completely ignored him. He ran up behind me and stamped his foot and when I turned around he repeated his greeting, only louder. When I acknowledged him he then walked away muttering.

Another thing that scores favors with roosters is that when you hand treats out, give them to him first so he can tidbit the hens. Tidbitting is one of the primary ways they attract mates, so if you're handing out treats to the hens first you're setting yourself up as a potential rival. If you treat him first and allow him the illusion that he's the one providing the treats, you're no longer a potential rival, you're his "wingman" helping him get laid.

The current alpha rooster in my flock will see me and gather up a couple of his favorite hens and greet me, and if he sees I have treats he'll shoo the hens in my direction while making the tidbitting noise.

Another behavior to avoid with roosters is never lean forward in their direction and make eye contact (like the way some people talk to little kids). If you do that you're unconsciously mimicking the "challenge" pose, and if you do it fast enough they may reflexively react by pecking or spurring you in the face.

If you feel your rooster is doing something untoward: getting into your personal space and acting like you're either a rival or one of his hens, I tend to try dealing with it this way: First thing is I stand up straight with my hands on my hips, elbows out. Then I shake my head (mimcing the head-shake gesture, only slower). If the rooster persists, I'll move them out of my personal space gently but firmly with the bottom of my foot. Most times I don't have to contact them, and if he takes a swipe at you out of instinct or to save face and you're wearing proper footwear he has zero chance of hurting you through a the sole of a work-boot.

Thank you for such a thorough reply! And yeah, I've only ever had one cockerel at a time, both were accidents since they were all supposed to be girls, lol.

The offended rooster who you ignored made me laugh, too. I'll try and keep wary of his behavior and use your advice depending on how he gets as he grows older. He's definitely trying to get me to be one of his flock. I keep assuming at some point my rejections will offend him into seeing me as an enemy, haha. So hopefully he and I will be able to come to an understanding though!