Rooster Training Advice

[LizzzyJo]

Did you raise him from a chick, like first day?
If you didn't and haven't gently handled him a reasonable amount so he has no doubt you're not a threat he's showing great restraint by just running to see what you're up to.
I'd let sleeping dogs lie and not push him.
Gah, i'm scatterbrained! Didn't answer your question. You can have a rooster and handle your hens just not how you're doing it.
You'll end up getting flogged using your current methods. And even my very trusting rooster would not be o.k with strangers touching the hens.
Please don't try that.

Also, I can start putting him in the coop when people come over and want to handle the hens. The hens like the treats and don't mind being handled, so I don't want to stop it. It makes them super people-friendly. But I understand cooping him up during that time.

 

[Elsveta641]

I'd pick him up. A lot. Every morning push him firmly (but not hard enough to hurt) I to the ground and hold him there until he quits struggling. Pick him up and carry him a while. Only let him go in a moment he is calm, then award some corn or other favorite treat. He should learn no harm comes from being picked up and be less likely to be upset when you handle his hens. It also teaches him you are always in control and are above him in rank, no amount of objection will do him any good.
It is NEVER the correct tact with a rooster to avoid provoking him if your "provocation" is not actually aggressive. The rooster is your subordinate, not the other way around. Sure, if yelling and fast movements set him off then that is reasonable to stop. But you should never be expected to not do simple things like handle your birds, enter the pens etc ro not provoke him. You are his boss, and he needs to know that.

 

[LizzzyJo]

I'd pick him up. A lot. Every morning push him firmly (but not hard enough to hurt) I to the ground and hold him there until he quits struggling. Pick him up and carry him a while. Only let him go in a moment he is calm, then award some corn or other favorite treat. He should learn no harm comes from being picked up and be less likely to be upset when you handle his hens. It also teaches him you are always in control and are above him in rank, no amount of objection will do him any good.
It is NEVER the correct tact with a rooster to avoid provoking him if your "provocation" is not actually aggressive. The rooster is your subordinate, not the other way around. Sure, if yelling and fast movements set him off then that is reasonable to stop. But you should never be expected to not do simple things like handle your birds, enter the pens etc ro not provoke him. You are his boss, and he needs to know that.

Thank you for this response. I do all of this with the exception of holding him down daily - I have only done that if he puffs up and walks toward me or the odd occasion where he jumps at me while handling a hen. But the holding down is my only 'punishment'.

I want everyone's advice on here and i want to follow it, but it can be so contradictory at times that if makes it difficult to know what to do.

 

[Elsveta641]

Thank you for this response. I do all of this with the exception of holding him down daily - I have only done that if he puffs up and walks toward me or the odd occasion where he jumps at me while handling a hen. But the holding down is my only 'punishment'.

I want everyone's advice on here and i want to follow it, but it can be so contradictory at times that if makes it difficult to know what to do.

The important part is asserting your dominance without aggravating the rooster. Stare him down and dont look away until he does. Toss your hair the way a cock fluffs his feathers when he shows off. Things as simple as standing between him and the feed a few moments before allowing him to eat. He just needs to see you as a bigger and stronger rooster above him in rank. The pinning down is basically mimicking what he does to hens and subordinates, jump on and hold down. I only had one rooster this didn't work on and he was a previously well behaved creature who apparently became mentally Ill after another rooster took his place as alpha. Even after the new guy died he was untrainable so he was put down. But besides that it has worked for me on dozens of roosters. You're the real alpha rooster and they all just need to know!

 

[BantyChooks]

I want everyone's advice on here and i want to follow it, but it can be so contradictory at times that if makes it difficult to know what to do.

Ask five different chicken keepers about roosters, you'll get six different answers, most of which are dead opposite to each other. There are so many variables. If someone tells you their way is the only way, they're talking nonsense. For instance, there was something said about feet not being a good way to move a rooster. In my experience, hands actually set them off worse. See what I mean? Body language is so subtle that two people that try to do the same thing may be sending completely disparate signals to the bird.

I threw out the book, after trying and failing to use it. I went by common sense, and if something didn't work, I tried something new with the next bird. I ruined a few roosters along the way, but now every rooster I hatch and raise is respectful and trustworthy around people. Personally, I find that my roosters (Edit: cockerels) do still come investigate when I pick up a hen. Their behaviour does not read as aggression to me, it's concern about their hens. I ignore it or perhaps move into him a step (or maybe just lean towards him) to switch his interest away from the fact I have a hen. It's very subtle movement. Not confrontational at all.

In general, I don't class different behaviours from a rooster as aggressive or not because it's the manner in which it is done that matters, in my experience. A dropped shoulder, for instance, can be innocuous from one bird and signify an imminent attack in another. Look at where he's directing his focus, listen to his vocalizations, and make your descision from there. Roosters are the best and finest teachers in raising chickens that one could ever hope for. Alas, they lack the capability to speak English.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-viewpoint-on-keeping-roosters.74690/
In case you're not confused enough already, here's the post I wrote up for someone else that wanted some input on their cockerel.

 

[Chickassan]

Ok you have lap hens correct? They come to you for attention yes?
Sit down and handle the hens in that position if you must handle them "at least for now".
Don't go pick them up unless there is a reason and even then immediately sit down with her.
Use a normal chair, don't squat on his level don't want you losing an eye.
He will still come see what you're doing, but he should be much less agro.
When you stand you tower over him and that causes a response you don't want right now.
In a few weeks he should get it.
You have been putting your feet in his face "mom" so it might take a little longer for him to forgive and forget.

I did have him from day one. I handle him and pick him up everyday. He lets me pet him and handle him without issues. This issue of not letting me pick up the hens is relatively new. I'm just trying to follow the advice from a bunch of people at once. How should I train him to let me pick them up?

 

[centrarchid]

OK, i'd certainly like to do things right. It can be hard when I get 5 different and opposing suggestions from 5 different people I'd appreciate any suggestions!

How should I go about training him to let me handle the hens in front of him? He takes treats from my hand, no problem. I've had him since he was a day old. This issue is pretty new.

For the most part when I handle hens, it involves taking them gently off the roost after dark. I do have a couple social groups that handled extensively. With those, the birds are in fact trained when called and all, including rooster will come to hand when it is presented. There is likely a breed issue enabling that and I set out to train those birds from a very early age. Birds in that latter group are exceptionally tame as used for public display with audiences including individuals that are naive to handling chickens.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Ask five different chicken keepers about roosters, you'll get six different answers, most of which are dead opposite to each other. There are so many variables. If someone tells you their way is the only way, they're talking nonsense. For instance, there was something said about feet not being a good way to move a rooster. In my experience, hands actually set them off worse. See what I mean? Body language is so subtle that two people that try to do the same thing may be sending completely disparate signals to the bird.

I threw out the book, after trying and failing to use it. I went by common sense, and if something didn't work, I tried something new with the next bird. I ruined a few roosters along the way, but now every rooster I hatch and raise is respectful and trustworthy around people. Personally, I find that my roosters do still come investigate when I pick up a hen. Their behaviour does not read as aggression to me, it's concern about their hens. I ignore it or perhaps move into him a step (or maybe just lean towards him) to switch his interest away from the fact I have a hen. It's very subtle movement. Not confrontational at all.

In general, I don't class different behaviours from a rooster as aggressive or not because it's the manner in which it is done that matters, in my experience. A dropped shoulder, for instance, can be innocuous from one bird and signify an imminent attack in another. Look at where he's directing his focus, listen to his vocalizations, and make your descision from there. Roosters are the best and finest teachers in raising chickens that one could ever hope for. Alas, they lack the capability to speak English.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-viewpoint-on-keeping-roosters.74690/
In case you're not confused enough already, here's the post I wrote up for someone else that wanted some input on their cockerel.

Thank you so much for the info!!

 

[BantyChooks]

Thank you so much for the info!!

Good luck. It's a confusing thing to read others' advice on.

 

[FowlWitch]

Ask five different chicken keepers about roosters, you'll get six different answers, most of which are dead opposite to each other. There are so many variables. If someone tells you their way is the only way, they're talking nonsense. For instance, there was something said about feet not being a good way to move a rooster. In my experience, hands actually set them off worse. See what I mean? Body language is so subtle that two people that try to do the same thing may be sending completely disparate signals to the bird.

I threw out the book, after trying and failing to use it. I went by common sense, and if something didn't work, I tried something new with the next bird. I ruined a few roosters along the way, but now every rooster I hatch and raise is respectful and trustworthy around people. Personally, I find that my roosters do still come investigate when I pick up a hen. Their behaviour does not read as aggression to me, it's concern about their hens. I ignore it or perhaps move into him a step (or maybe just lean towards him) to switch his interest away from the fact I have a hen. It's very subtle movement. Not confrontational at all.

In general, I don't class different behaviours from a rooster as aggressive or not because it's the manner in which it is done that matters, in my experience. A dropped shoulder, for instance, can be innocuous from one bird and signify an imminent attack in another. Look at where he's directing his focus, listen to his vocalizations, and make your descision from there. Roosters are the best and finest teachers in raising chickens that one could ever hope for. Alas, they lack the capability to speak English.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-viewpoint-on-keeping-roosters.74690/
In case you're not confused enough already, here's the post I wrote up for someone else that wanted some input on their cockerel.

Roosters sure are interesting. Mine was rushing up over the past week when I was wrangling chicks (rehoming them) to see why they were hollering so much. I figured he was backing off once her saw me because he knew I wasn't hurting them, but today he tried to mate with my leg, so I guess he just thinks I'm one of his hens lol