taming sleepy rooster

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Does anyone know if chickens retain much of what happens to them when they are sleepy? Our rooster has been jumping on me lately and we're trying to get him to stop. I use a spray bottle when needed (sometimes just the sight of it seems to be enough) and I've also been bringing him inside at night after the chickens have gone to roost, holding him and feeding him treats. I wonder how much of this he will internalize though, given how sleepy he is during these nighttime sessions. I'm guessing it would be better to do this during the day but he's very hard to catch when he's out and about. He'll come eat treats out of my hand in the daytime but backs away quickly when I try to reach out and pick him up.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Why are you bringing him "inside" at nights? You need to read up on Raising a Rooster. Bringing him in & feeding him treats will NOT make him nicer to you or anyone else. That's going to lead to alot of aggressive issues and sounds like it's started.

How old is he? What breed?

Roosters can be very nasty/aggressive all caused by hormones and some are just MEAN. Stop bringing him in to cuddly & feed treats. Keep up with the spray bottle but make sure it's got a far reaching stream, soon as you see him approaching you, shoot him. It's good that he backs away from you, stop feeding treats from your hand ... Just my opinion from what I've read about Roos.

 

[HuskerHens18]

I raise a lot of roosters. If all you are bringing him in for is to feed him treats, stop! It won't work. Roosters don't care about kindness, they want to control you.
I use a hose on jet setting, obviously you can't use that in the house. It's stronger and really gets them away from you. If you let this behavior continue, it could be irreversible.
Part of loving your roosters is understanding they can't be cuddly pets. They'll turn on you in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately your rooster's jumping behavior means he won't ever be a cuddly, inside pet. You now have to establish respect. Don't let him control you, make him get out of your way and give you space.

If you want to try and get a cuddly chicken, I suggest a silkie. I hear they can be really sweet.

 

[NewFlockOnTheBlock]

Thanks all for the advice.

To answer some questions, he is a Buff Orpington, almost 11 months old. We bring him inside at night for about 15 minutes to feed him treats and get him used to being handled, then we put him back on the roost. He's easy to handle when he's sleepy which is why we're doing this at night.

The aggression started a month or two ago. He doesn't jump on me every time I come outside, more like 1-3 times a day (I'm in and out of the house a lot). It's worse first thing in the morning when I let them out of the coop and all he wants to do is mount the hens; he probably sees me as an obstacle. He also hates it when I give treats to his offspring, three juvenile cockerels whom we are rehoming this weekend. Even if I feed lots of treats to him and his hens first, he still goes after me if he sees me sharing any with the juveniles.

We picked a Buff Orpington rooster because it is supposed to be a mellow, docile breed. We don't need him to be cuddly or an indoor pet but we'd like him to be able to hang out nearby while we're using the back yard or taking care of the flock. It would be sad if we had to train him to stay away. He does not attack my husband but jumps on me and our roommate, even though our roommate walks in the same fast, assertive manner as my husband does. Interestingly, the rooster does not touch our little dog, even though she will occasionally snap at or chase a hen.

It sounds like there are different approaches to preventing and addressing aggression in roosters. I've read a lot of advice about picking them up and carrying them around under your arm, especially when the hens are around, to humiliate him and show your dominance. Then feed him treats, let him go, and give him more treats to share with the hens so he sees you as the source of good things both for him and for his girls. I've also read that consistently handling roosters as much as possible from a young age can help prevent aggression and get them acclimated to friendly interaction with humans.

Getting back to my original question, does anyone know whether chickens retain much of what happens when they're sleepy? Occasionally we'll do the same thing as I described initially with some of our more skittish hens, bringing them into the house for 10-15 minutes at night, to get them used to being held and feed them treats. If nothing else, I feel like getting both hens and roosters used to being picked up and handled should make it easier in the future should we need to provide medical care - and that time always seems to come sooner or later.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Cull him and keep an offspring.

It's too late for retraining IMHO... NO way is it acceptable to be jumped on 1-3 times per day. That boy that you raised is a STEW PIDASSO.. with attitude issues who is attacking the giant who brings him feed everyday. He doesn't see you as a threat, he see you as competition.

Check post 18. Training didn't work for my guy and I don't buy into all of it... BUT teaching a rooster to respect YOUR space is essential. Good roosters who don't attack ANYONE are many, they should NOT see you as part of the pecking order...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/aggressive-rooster.1149551/

Please note certain breeds may be known for certain things... but ALL are individuals... My BEST boys are my Marans!

Good luck!

ETA: ALL chickens are easier to handle at roost time... and yes they will remember the handling, doesn't mean they will perceive it the way you intend.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Doesn’t matter too much of how it is raised,whether he is a pet,raised ina brooder,raised by a hen.Actually ,Feeding him treats and cuddling him isn’t the issue,your issue is your not making him respect you,you can keep a pet rooster,he just needs to know your in charge.Simply making him move out of your way is enough to show your the dominant one.All my roosters are pets.They move out my way,and have never had an issue with them attacking me.You cannot just cuddle a rooster,there are going to have to be soem sort of pecking order between the both of you,but since the line is drawn you will just have to use the spray bottle to rehabilitate him and chase him away also.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Chickens sleep in spurts,yes they will remember the handling.And holding him infont if the hens isn’t humiliating to them,these are not little kids.And they don’t get sleepy,the moment the bird is picked up it is extremely active,escpecially a rooster.

Thanks all for the advice.

To answer some questions, he is a Buff Orpington, almost 11 months old. We bring him inside at night for about 15 minutes to feed him treats and get him used to being handled, then we put him back on the roost. He's easy to handle when he's sleepy which is why we're doing this at night.

The aggression started a month or two ago. He doesn't jump on me every time I come outside, more like 1-3 times a day (I'm in and out of the house a lot). It's worse first thing in the morning when I let them out of the coop and all he wants to do is mount the hens; he probably sees me as an obstacle. He also hates it when I give treats to his offspring, three juvenile cockerels whom we are rehoming this weekend. Even if I feed lots of treats to him and his hens first, he still goes after me if he sees me sharing any with the juveniles.

We picked a Buff Orpington rooster because it is supposed to be a mellow, docile breed. We don't need him to be cuddly or an indoor pet but we'd like him to be able to hang out nearby while we're using the back yard or taking care of the flock. It would be sad if we had to train him to stay away. He does not attack my husband but jumps on me and our roommate, even though our roommate walks in the same fast, assertive manner as my husband does. Interestingly, the rooster does not touch our little dog, even though she will occasionally snap at or chase a hen.

It sounds like there are different approaches to preventing and addressing aggression in roosters. I've read a lot of advice about picking them up and carrying them around under your arm, especially when the hens are around, to humiliate him and show your dominance. Then feed him treats, let him go, and give him more treats to share with the hens so he sees you as the source of good things both for him and for his girls. I've also read that consistently handling roosters as much as possible from a young age can help prevent aggression and get them acclimated to friendly interaction with humans.

Getting back to my original question, does anyone know whether chickens retain much of what happens when they're sleepy? Occasionally we'll do the same thing as I described initially with some of our more skittish hens, bringing them into the house for 10-15 minutes at night, to get them used to being held and feed them treats. If nothing else, I feel like getting both hens and roosters used to being picked up and handled should make it easier in the future should we need to provide medical care - and that time always seems to come sooner or later.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

Personally I would do what Egg sighted suggested and get rid of him and keep one of the sons and start over.It sounds like this behavior cane on late,most people see these signs at 4,5,6 months old.So hopefully it isn’t hereditary.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

That away you can make him a friendly guy.

 

[Shorty22366]

I raise a lot of roosters. If all you are bringing him in for is to feed him treats, stop! It won't work. Roosters don't care about kindness, they want to control you.
I use a hose on jet setting, obviously you can't use that in the house. It's stronger and really gets them away from you. If you let this behavior continue, it could be irreversible.
Part of loving your roosters is understanding they can't be cuddly pets. They'll turn on you in the blink of an eye.
Unfortunately your rooster's jumping behavior means he won't ever be a cuddly, inside pet. You now have to establish respect. Don't let him control you, make him get out of your way and give you space.

If you want to try and get a cuddly chicken, I suggest a silkie. I hear they can be really sweet.

I have two silkie roosters and they are sneaky, mean buttheads. I am still trying to get them to respect me
It will either happen or they will be going somewhere else. Too many nice roosters out there to deal with buttheads.