Rooster Theory

[CityGirlintheCountry]

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Wasn't sure if anyone would catch that one.

 

[CityGirlintheCountry]

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If this is correct I wont know for sure until the middle of September. Wish me luck.

Any ideas of how I can help them on their way to the nice list?

Just make sure that you are the boss. If one of them charges at you or acts even remotely agressively, pick him up. Tuck him up under one arm and carry him around for a bit. I have also had luck holding them to the ground in a squat like roosters do when they mount the girls. My dominant roos do that to the young boys to establish dominance.

Feed treats to the girls first. Don't let the boys get pushy. Some say if you see them mounting the girls in your presence make them stop. Technically all the hens belong to YOU the alpha rooster. They understand rooster. Treat them like the head rooster treats his underlings and you should be okay.

I don't know about brown leghorns or the banty, but dominiques are supposed to be really mellow chickens. Banty roos sometimes suffer from "little man syndrome", but some are actually pretty sweet. You'll know once those hormones kick in!

Good luck! I love having roosters around the farm. They are usually full of personality and a hoot! You just don't want a hateful roo. I have the scars to prove it.

 

[gritsar]

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I agree, 110%! I have never had a human aggressive rooster. I have culled for being too hard on my girls, the ones paying the feed bill around here, but never had to cull for human aggression because it's never been an issue. I don't baby them. Hens are for cuddling. Roosters are for protection, procreation and peacekeeping (amongst the hens).

I don't have a rooster that would come within 3 ft. of me. I like it that way. When I need to handle them, I do it at night after they've gone to roost. A quick health check and then back on the roost they go.

 

[PhilErvin]

I had a beautiful Ameracana Roo whom I raised from an egg. When he was about a year old he started with the aggressive behavior toward humans. He would attack us savagely. We finally gave him away to the boy who works at the feed store. I was in the feed store recently and the boy told me that the roo was aggressive when he first took him home but settled down and no longer attacks. I asked him how many hens he has and he said none. I said "AhHa!!" There you have it!!!! He was only aggressive because he thought he was protecting his hens. No hens=No fight.

 

[FeistyChikin]

Wow, really interesting stuff. I am hoping my roosters will be nice too. Of course, I wasn't planning on having any, but you know how that goes. Now I have two of them. At the moment all is well. One is 22 wks old and the other is 16 wks and both are Blue Copper Marans. Neither have started crowing yet. Is that weird?

 

[darkmatter]

I have been hatching my own eggs for a couple decades now and only occasionally bring in pullets to add characteristics I want to my chicken gene pool. Some of my first Roosters exhibited aggressive behavior. They went to Camp Kenmore. All my chickens are now descended from the nice Roosters and I haven't had a problem Rooster for years. I manage them by having several Roosters of different ages. I think the oldest maintains the younger ones in line. Eventually he passes on and the next one assumes the mantle of "Cock-O-the-Walk". I cull the surplus Roosters to maintain the traits I'm striving for in my flock.

Note: Some of my chicken friends report problems with their Roosters when they are all of the same age-----battle for top Roo I think, when there is already a supreme Roo, there's minimum aggression.

 

[donrae]

If you've had several roos get aggressive with you, I'm gonna say it's YOUR behavior that needs to change. You must be the dominant one, period. You say you're waiting for your young roos to attack you. Take the initiave! I'm not saying to attack them, but start now being the absolute boss. Walk toward them, make them move out of your way. Probably someone else can describe how to be dominate better, apparently it's just natural for me with animals. It doesn't matter if it's a thousand pound horse or a ten pound rooster, you have to make them think you're the boss. Make them move away from the food, don't let them eat until you allow it. For no reason, chase a roo a little bit, just enough to make him run away from you. Show's you're dominant.

 

[stcroixusvi]

I am in a similar boat, and I am glad you asked the question. We have 3, maybe 4 roosters, and right now, two of them are angels, one is a PIA - even the hens pick on him. I do worry about him.

 

[allpeepedout]

I used the several techniques that other posters mention to nip my young rooster's aggression in the bud before it became a habit. He was raised in the house and handled a lot but got nasty when the hormones kicked in. Seems natural. He was also violent to the pullets until he figured it out and now he is a gentleman. Do some searches to find many more threads about training roosters. I'm sure it's individual but many people seem to succeed if they care to try. My theory is you have to train them BEFORE being mean becomes a habit. That means knowing what to do from day one.

My roo is really great with the exception of when he sees toes sticking out of sandals! Those he simply must have a taste.

 

[mikensara]

our ee roo is so far a pretty decent guy we will see in the next couple months if he stays that way