Rooster Training Advice

[jolenesdad]

Advertise on craigslist, your local farm store, local poultry facebook groups.
Or the BST forum here on BYC.
Not asking for a 'good home' will get him gone quicker.

Fastest way is always a pair. Plus, it’s exponentially easier on the chickens to integrate as a pair over a single. I don’t rehome a single bird anymore, it can be unbelievably stressful on them. Do you have a hen you could “package” him with???

 

[LizzzyJo]

Fastest way is always a pair. Plus, it’s exponentially easier on the chickens to integrate as a pair over a single. I don’t rehome a single bird anymore, it can be unbelievably stressful on them. Do you have a hen you could “package” him with???

Unfortunately, no, I don't have a hen that I can part with. I only have 7.

 

[LizzzyJo]

He has been rehomed!

 

[Fowl Out]

Hi All,
I have a 6 month old Buff Brahma rooster (Cameron). I am devoted to proper training and am always seeking advice on best practices. His last remaining unruly behavior is to run toward me when I pick up a hen. I can pick him up and do anything else around him without issue. He does not bite or jump at me. When he runs toward me (when grabbing hens) I push him over with my foot, then grab him and hold him to the ground until he submits. I try to do this every few days. Sometimes 3 times in a row. He eventually wonders off (free rangers).

I would like for him to not mind when I pick up the hens and never run at me or any other human (obviously). I got him because I heard his breed makes docile, beautiful roos - which he is! When I'm not picking up hens, he is very sweet and mellow.

Will this training method ever work? Will he ever ignore me when I pick up hens? Will he ever ignore 'strange' humans when they pick up hens?

Thanks!View attachment 1853958

My cock of the walk, Rusty, is a big beautiful Welsummer which I raised from a 2 day chick. He gives imposing cockerels the bum's rush, is an insatiable Don Juan who treats the hens quite good. He survived attack from coyotes last year, and a stray dog this year, so one would think he would be reclusive or aggressive. He is very gentle around people and will come over when I handle the hens, but never acts aggressive. He will readily eat out of hand with the hens but objects at first when I pick him up. So, I handle him at night when he is on the roost and less likely to bolt. Mrs. Welsummer, the only other of the breed, is not so eager to be around people.
I also read that Buff Orps are docile, which is why I have 4 hens. I don't think you have much to worry about with an Orp rooster.
The finest rooster I've had, Blue Boy was a Splash Blue Red Laced Wyandotte. He was gorgeous, robust, gentle, easy to pick up and very attentive to his 2 hens. I did isolate him from Rusty. the stray dog got him.
I have a young Bresse rooster, Isolated from Rusty, which is just starting to breed. The breed is docile but skittish.
A rooster I had to get rid of due to aggression was Trump, an Indian Red Jungle Fowl. He strutted around, tried to bully humans and was abusive to the hens. He was impeached then sent away to another farm's maximum security facility.

 

[BecciB]

Unless he's coming at you feet first, his behavior sounds normal. He's running towards you to check on his hen, claim her and get her back in line. "Get thee behind me, woman!" This is not usually aggressive although he is trying to claim ownership of your hen. If you put down the hen, he should dance around her with a wing dropped and mostly ignore you or put himself between you and the hen. Try holding the hen firmly about the wings with both hands so she is calm and hold her toward him - in his face. He should back off. He should be OK with you picking up hens around him; once he trusts you not to hurt them or steal them, and he respects your personal space most of the time, he will react less to your picking them up.

Well, said. good advice. Most of my hens would allow me to pick them up, until I got a roo, now they listen to him...LOL...even though some of them still allow me to pet them, when he's not around of course.

 

[BecciB]

My cock of the walk, Rusty, is a big beautiful Welsummer which I raised from a 2 day chick. He gives imposing cockerels the bum's rush, is an insatiable Don Juan who treats the hens quite good. He survived attack from coyotes last year, and a stray dog this year, so one would think he would be reclusive or aggressive. He is very gentle around people and will come over when I handle the hens, but never acts aggressive. He will readily eat out of hand with the hens but objects at first when I pick him up. So, I handle him at night when he is on the roost and less likely to bolt. Mrs. Welsummer, the only other of the breed, is not so eager to be around people.
I also read that Buff Orps are docile, which is why I have 4 hens. I don't think you have much to worry about with an Orp rooster.
The finest rooster I've had, Blue Boy was a Splash Blue Red Laced Wyandotte. He was gorgeous, robust, gentle, easy to pick up and very attentive to his 2 hens. I did isolate him from Rusty. the stray dog got him.
I have a young Bresse rooster, Isolated from Rusty, which is just starting to breed. The breed is docile but skittish.
A rooster I had to get rid of due to aggression was Trump, an Indian Red Jungle Fowl. He strutted around, tried to bully humans and was abusive to the hens. He was impeached then sent away to another farm's maximum security facility.

Thank you for this....I got a good laugh from it....

 

[Shadrach]

Much as I hate to disillusion some people the reason a rooster attacks you when you pick up his hens has very little to do with protecting the hen from some perceived predator.
If he thought you were a predator he would give the predator alarm call; they don't, they attack much as they would another rooster.
What the rooster is concerned about is furthering his genes and if you handle his hens as far as he is concerned you are mating his hens. This is often reinforced by handling the rooster as a chick and cockerel. All that handling means mating to the cockerel. He doesn't let you pick him up because he likes you, he does it because he believes this is how he mates with you.
Correctly managed you can get a rooster to accept you are of such a position in the hierarchy that you have the right to mate his hens but it helps to be absolutely clear that this is what he thinks you are doing.
I wrote a rather long article about understanding a rooster. It's based on my experiences, some science and a lot of observation.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[Chickengene]

If he is not pecking at you or clawing at you, I am not sure I would be concerned with him running up to check on the hen.
I also have a BB cockeral. He is very docile and loves to sit in my lap as well.
Especially if his favorite girl is in my lap or on my leg.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Unless he's coming at you feet first, his behavior sounds normal. He's running towards you to check on his hen, claim her and get her back in line. "Get thee behind me, woman!" This is not usually aggressive although he is trying to claim ownership of your hen. If you put down the hen, he should dance around her with a wing dropped and mostly ignore you or put himself between you and the hen. Try holding the hen firmly about the wings with both hands so she is calm and hold her toward him - in his face. He should back off. He should be OK with you picking up hens around him; once he trusts you not to hurt them or steal them, and he respects your personal space most of the time, he will react less to your picking them up.

That's what my cockerel does, not aggressive in any other way. So when he does this wing dance, is he showing aggression toward you? And is this a serious problem.

 

[LizzzyJo]

If he is not pecking at you or clawing at you, I am not sure I would be concerned with him running up to check on the hen.
I also have a BB cockeral. He is very docile and loves to sit in my lap as well.
Especially if his favorite girl is in my lap or on my leg.

He began to jump up at children playing in the garden. He got a few feet first with his claws and did some damage they weren’t going after hens, the hens were just near by. He has a happy child free home now