Sorry..another rooster question :(

I am glad I found this. I don't have a Cockerel problem. He likes me because I give him treats with the pullets and Hens. Ours comes by me all the time but if I try to pet him he walks away, girls let me. He will stand next to me so I can take his picture or I can stand or move through the run and no problem at all.

To the OP, I hope your figure out and fix your problem soon and hope he is not trying to attack you. Our Cockerel is 18 weeks on the 31st of last month.
 
One of the problems with describing animal behavior is the vocabulary used. Many of the descriptions in common usage, both in science and in general discussion today is they were assigned to particular behavior many years ago when our understanding of such behavior and the connotations applicable to the words were rather different.
Many descriptions have not changed since Darwin's time.
Take the term mating dance for example. It doesn't take a great many hours of watching chickens to realise that not only do cockerels and roosters not mate every time they do this dance, they do it to the same sex and even other animals they can't mate with. Already you are left with reasonable doubt that this dance is directly related to mating. If this dance was to do with mating one would expect that after this dance the pair would mate and that would give you a high enough correlation between theory and practice to say with reasonable certainty that this is indeed what the dance is about.
Observation shows that mating doesn't necessarily occur after such a display so one is left with an inaccurate description. If we keep using this description and these words then this misunderstanding gets reinforced and it becomes common knowledge. A great deal of common knowledge is just wrong.
Often the words we use to describe the behavior of other animals is influenced by our own perception of the behavior and our experiences of applying these words to a particular situation.
So, given there is no correlation between the mating dance and mating it would be better to pick a more appropriate word or phrase. This is what I have done in my article. The wing drop and sideways shuffle with the offside leg kicking out does from the many hours of observation I've done get a hen to move from her position in the majority of case. The more senior hens will sometimes completely ignore this shuffle. Hens don't crouch when a male makes this move and they don't go into protective mode either. It seems the hens at least do not consider this shuffle and invitation to mate, nor do they view it as aggressive behavior. Here at least when aggressive intent is displayed both sexes either fight or run.
If there was one word I would like to remove from the common chicken jargon it's dominance. This seems to have for some, a fearful root, and something that is to be avoided, or exhibited depending on the persons view of themselves in the scheme of things. It's an old fashioned word that expresses old fashioned outlooks. The chicken here don't dominated each other; there are more senior and more junior and they have their roles in the group but dominated or dominating (?) not from what I've seen.
If you have a number of children and the eldest child leads the others and seems a bit bossy when trying to keep the rest of the children out of trouble, would you call that child dominant and make cultural inferences about their behavior?
Chickens are cooperative creatures. It's one of the aspects of their behavior that make them so fascinating to watch. If it was all about dominance and outright competition they would be fighting all the time. They don't. They create a hierarchy which keeps conflict to a minimum a bit like having a rule book. The rules do get broken from time to time but generally each individual accepts the arrangement. Dominance is not required in such a hierarchy, cooperation is.
Rather than applying all our preconceptions cultural influences and neuroses to other species, it would be far more productive to try to look at what actually happens when studying behavior.
 
I have a cockerel that 19 weeks. He's the leader. He crows close to me and sometimes when I am stooped down to their level, it feels like he crows in my face. He also does the herding dance around my second cockerel when I'm around but I've seen him do it to the pullets also. He's pretty pushy about food and not too concerned that the pullets eat first, sometimes bumping them out of the way. Yet he knows to make the "I found food" call. They come running but he usually eats whatever it is. :(
I am wondering if he is keeping them from me because I've got food he wants or already seeing me as a threat to his flock? And is the crowing bad?
This will change as he matures. When your pullets are laying eggs and the hens have accepted him as their rooster he will feed them before himself. The junior cockerels will get driven away at meals times, only being allowed to eat after the hens and the senior rooster.
It is also helpful to differentiate between treats (those that the rooster or cockerel find) and normal meal time food. Treats are for trying to persuade the hen that he will be a good provider and that he can find food and will give to them what he finds. The feed you supply is viewed differently.
 
I am glad I found this. I don't have a Cockerel problem. He likes me because I give him treats with the pullets and Hens. Ours comes by me all the time but if I try to pet him he walks away, girls let me. He will stand next to me so I can take his picture or I can stand or move through the run and no problem at all.

To the OP, I hope your figure out and fix your problem soon and hope he is not trying to attack you. Our Cockerel is 18 weeks on the 31st of last month.
This is likely to change as he matures.
 
You mean he will get mean.

Our first Rooster was in 2012 and was just about a year old when we got him. No aggressiveness from him at all either. Everyone got along. Does it depend on the breed of the chicken?
 
You mean he will get mean.

Our first Rooster was in 2012 and was just about a year old when we got him. No aggressiveness from him at all either. Everyone got along. Does it depend on the breed of the chicken?
I don't think it does depend on breed. He will change as all creatures do at maturity.
This doesn't mean the change will necessarily be for the worse.:)
Do you still have the rooster you got in 2012?
If not, do you have a senior rooster?
 
So I got the term herding shuffle from an article @Shadrach wrote about understanding your rooster. He feels the herding shuffle is to move hens or even other cockerels in the group. Not necessarily a mating thing. I don't know how to attach the article or I would. It's a good article. I don't think my leading cockerel wants to mate with the other cockerel. I think he wants to keep them away from me. Either he wants all the food I have to himself or he thinks I might harm them. I have no idea why he thinks I would harm them as I have never done anything close to that. ??
My rooster does the side shuffle when he wants his girls to move out of his way especially his least favourite hen. I have never seen his do the shuffle before mating. My boy always gives all his greets to his girls and never eats any himself. He just holds them in his beak and drops them for his girls. So far he moves out of my way when I walk past but I am careful with my body language as to not directly appear to confront him. I still don’t trust him 100 percent though.
 
I think you are picking up on the bad vibes, but are so hoping you are wrong. Trust your instinct. He is sizing you up, and will try and get you when you least expect it. Does he jump up on stuff to be taller?

Roosters have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of people, because someone did not mate a decision until after the wreck. You are new to this, give yourself sometime to gain the experience. This is a long term hobby, and you have years ahead of you to have a rooster.

Once I was in this very situation with my 8 year old niece. Dillyi dallying on if he was aggressive or not. Worried and assessing every time I went to the coop. Then I thought, WHAT am I waiting for? Do I want him to attack her and scare the bejesus out of her or worse? I harvested him, and it was a very good decision for me. The flock calmed down, I calmed down, because I knew I could make the decision and follow through.

Mrs K
 
Often the words we use to describe the behavior of other animals is influenced by our own perception of the behavior and our experiences of applying these words to a particular situation.
Boy, that's for sure!

Some of the vernacular used in this thread tells a lot about the speaker/writer. SMH.
 
I want to complicate this discussion a bit more. Over generations, and especially (IMO) with so many of our birds grown in hatcheries, where production is most important, and natural behaviors aren't considered, but also when breeder birds anywhere are selected for qualities totally unrelated to what's 'normal' for chickens, aberrations occur.
Sorry, too long a sentence!
Shadrach is raising generations of birds in a more normal flock environment, so extremes in behavior tend to even out or become more manageable. Normal is good!
Newer chicken keepers aren't going to recognize early signs of human aggression, and if birds aren't selected to eliminate that trait at the breeder's, it will crop up. Many of us had a 'first rooster' who was a horrible beast, and we put up with it way too long!
In a 'normal' flock, with several generations of birds, there's experience, chicks are raised by broody hens, roosters manage cockerels as they grow, and predators take the young and unwary (natural, right?) so the group develops towards healthy social behaviors.
Enough for now!
Mary
 
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