side stepping roo

[simplysophie]

Ive noticed that whenever im holding a certain hen, a certain roo named hagrid sidesteps towards me, what does this mean? And what am i doing that is causing this?

 

[ReikiStar]

Does he open/drop one wing as well? He's trying to entice her with his "love" dance. Common rooster mating dance. That hen must be a favorite of his.

 

[suzettex5]

Sounds like t he mating dance. However....it is NOT acceptable behavior from a rooster if he is doing it to you or at you, even if you are holding his hen. It can end up that he will escalate his behavior until he begins to attack you. I know its cute at first, but its a sign that he does NOT see you as a superior being in his flock. And he should.

An agressive roo can make catching a hen a traumatic experience for you. He should be watchful and curious as to what you are doing, but never come at you or show any aggression. That includes the mating dance.

You might want to shoo him away when he does that, or push him down to the ground for a moment to teach him his behavior is not ok and that YOU are the head roo. If he shows any more aggression when you shoo him, like coming at your foot or hand, or attacking, you may need to look up how to tame a roo.

A good thing to do is to not let him mate any hens while you are around- just push him off her with your foot till he walks away. Thats what a head roo would do.

 

[simplysophie]

He does not open/drop one wing and is not aggressive. But maybe I should have mentioned that we are trying to move her into the flock? She is new so maybe that's it.

God in his goodness gave us chickens

 

[SycolinWoodsChickens]

That's what the roo I had last year did to me every time I held a hen. Then he escalated to attacking me. Then he went into the crockpot.

So, I would recommend - like others have said - treat it as the first sign of him not respecting you as the flock leader and stop it before it escalates.

 

[donrae]

No roo comes sideways at me. If he tries, I just walk towards him, or give a stamp of my foot toward him to chase him off. I don't care why he does it or what I'm doing that may make him want to do it, it's not acceptable to me and I'm the boss.

 

[Two Creeks Farm]

Quote:
Ditto. They end up simmering on the stove if they do it more then once.

 

[openheartnp]

He is definitely interested in HIS hen being carried in YOUR arms. There are numerous threads and articles on rooster behavior you can read through. The big point is that YOU ARE CHICKEN GOD. You need to let him and the flock know that. And you need to maintain your standing, which means acting like a chicken sometimes.

Try this article: https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2588-Roo_behavior

 

[sourland]

He does it because you are holding the hen, and it is an aggressive move on his part. Watch him. His behavior will escalate.