Rooster trouble

[Mimi13]

And some breeders don't care to select out that trait, so it goes on and on. Like the guy who wanted your aggressive bird!
Mary

See, that’s what I’ve always wondered. Why would anyone in their right mind want an aggressive bird, especially knowing it up front? Unless they were using it in an inappropriate way. I just don’t understand.

 

[Folly's place]

Every chick he produces won't have a problem, and so careful selection, moving forward, can eliminate this trait. If the breeder cares!
Our first chickens, long ago, were some cute Belgian d'Uccles from a neighbor. The rooster was a horrible attack bird! He weighed less that two pounds, but went for every person in his path, daily, and we put up with it for months. I'd carry a weapon to swat him away in mid-flight. After moving him on (and yes, he went to another home with full disclosure) his offspring were managed and only good boys stayed.
Today I'd have handled things differently!
25 years later, this flock continues, with occasional outside birds added, and no male aggression shows up.
Mary

 

[CannedMonster]

Chickens can be extremely humorous. And even though Frodo (love his name) is much smaller, it sounds as he is the one terrorizing Angus. You might need to carefully watch their relationship. I do feel so bad for the one being bullied.

Yeah Angus was always last in the “boy” pecking order. Actually, that’s not true. I recently found out that my Silkie is a male and I know Angus is higher than him.
Frodo was fine until I got an adult bantam hen for him.
The rest of my bantam pullets are too young for breeding yet.
The hen, Birdie, gets relentlessly chased by Angus if I let her free range. Angus tries to breed her but she’s too small and screams bloody murder.
Angus does this because she’s “easier” than the LF hens because she just runs and doesn’t fight back.
Frodo will kick Angus off of her and so do I.
I keep Birdie separate now and let her be in the grass in a dog play yard where the boys can’t get her.
Frodo is extremely respectful of me and always moves away from me.
Loki, also, has never been a problem.
Though I know that could change.

I think things would be a lot easier if I could just separate Angus and Loki until they mature more.
We don’t have anywhere to put them currently.
I’m going to talk to my husband about it and see if we can come up with a solution.
Maybe we’ll have to get another prefab coop/run with the credit card.
I have 13 sexed female chicks but they won’t be ready for male attention for 5 months or so.

 

[Folly's place]

Frodo sounds like the winner in this group so far! He's spending his time with the birds, and isn't interested in following you. This is good, IMO.
Your less mature cockerels need more time to develop into who they are, but there's now a lot of pressure on your pullets, so at least give everyone lots of space, separate waterers, and feeders, and shady spots. You might have to separate the two big boys from the pullets, or eliminate at least one of them soon.
Mary

 

[CannedMonster]

Your cockerels need to move off, not stare at you, or 'get close'. Make a point of walking 'through' them at least daily. You aren't actually chasing, you just happen to need to go over there, and the bird is in the way. Never walk around one of them! These two big boys ARE being aggressive, they are sizing you up! Carry a stick or something, and move them away from you, just because you can.
There are no excuses to be made for bad thoughts or actions!
Some stupid behavior towards the pullets is normal, but there should be no injuries.
The more time you can allow, the clearer the picture you will have and the better your decisions can be.
Beekissed's article about managing roosters is excellent!
Mary

Thanks so much Mary.
I do realize that I have been lax sometimes in insisting they keep their distance.
They will often approach me when I’m sitting in a chair, etc.
I have used any item I have available to shoo them when they’re misbehaving.
I’ll use the hose, a plastic bin, rake, broom, fly swatter and even snap a towel at them (extremely effective by the way ).
I think I need to always carry something because it seems as though they’ve figured out when I’m not carrying something.
If I pick up the broom or something they’ll loudly “BA-GOK!!” and some of the others will do it too.
Frodo does that and sometimes the hens.
I’m afraid my hens are becoming more skittish of me because I’m always chasing cockerels with something.

 

[Folly's place]

It's not about 'chasing' unless you've really been attacked, rather you are walking through the group, and through them.
It shouldn't be dramatic at all.
Mary

 

[CannedMonster]

Frodo sounds like the winner in this group so far! He's spending his time with the birds, and isn't interested in following you. This is good, IMO.
Your less mature cockerels need more time to develop into who they are, but there's now a lot of pressure on your pullets, so at least give everyone lots of space, separate waterers, and feeders, and shady spots. You might have to separate the tow big boys from the pullets, or eliminate at least one of them soon.
Mary

Yes Frodo even puts himself between the small bantam pullets and the other birds.
He stays nearby them and keeps an eye on them.
My Silkie was trying to dance for the first time this morning to my NN pullets lol.
He seemed to watch them to see if they might be interested. Then he moved on.
I hope that Frodo won’t start bullying Silkie though.
He sometimes grabs Silkie but only occasionally.
Silkie doesn’t follow me either but he does let me pick him up (I thought he was a pullet until two days ago).
Yep I think we’ll work on separating my two big boys.
I’d like to see them actually dance and tidbit and work for the girls attention instead of just jumping on them.
But I guess that comes with maturity.
Thanks again Mary!
You’re always are so helpful and encouraging with these things for us newbies.

 

[CannedMonster]

And some breeders don't care to select out that trait, so it goes on and on. Like the guy who wanted your aggressive bird!
Mary

I don’t want man or dog aggressive birds!
I’ve always felt that we have so many aggressive roosters because breeders are so much more concerned with confirmation, colors, patterns than behavior.
Behavior is number one!
Sure, it might take you longer to get good confirmation or color but it’s worth it to make behavior a priority.

 

[Folly's place]

It's all about selecting for traits that make sense to you, and for the breed/ species involved. And it's tricky! Overemphasizing one trait, at the expense of all the others, is a bad plan too; there needs to be a balanced approach. That's also why sometimes a poor trait will be ignored, because everything else is really good.
I don't show my birds, but do want individuals who are close to breed standards, and also with good production values, and good temperaments! And because it's a family farm, temperament is on top of the list, for me.
Mary

 

[Mimi13]

Thanks so much Mary.
I do realize that I have been lax sometimes in insisting they keep their distance.
They will often approach me when I’m sitting in a chair, etc.
I have used any item I have available to shoo them when they’re misbehaving.
I’ll use the hose, a plastic bin, rake, broom, fly swatter and even snap a towel at them (extremely effective by the way ).
I think I need to always carry something because it seems as though they’ve figured out when I’m not carrying something.
If I pick up the broom or something they’ll loudly “BA-GOK!!” and some of the others will do it too.
Frodo does that and sometimes the hens.
I’m afraid my hens are becoming more skittish of me because I’m always chasing cockerels with something.

What is really freaky is I think these birds have reasoning sense (I also think they’re dumb as dirt other times). My cockerel KNEW when I had something to protect myself and depending on what he saw acted accordingly.
I also feared how my other flock members would start acting based on my running around like a fool chasing that dang bird. And why I was chasing him is unknown. I was never gonna catch him. For reals, who was the dumb one anyway? I can only hope that my little birds will forget all that someday. LOL, my luck they’ve got the memory of an elephant.