The nerve of him

[Rebechenson75]

He's my only definite cockerel. I may have a couple in the grow outs still. He's never been one for touches or anything but he's never been aggressive at all. I'm chalking it up to just having an off day.

 

[LaFleche]

He's my only definite cockerel. I may have a couple in the grow outs still. He's never been one for touches or anything but he's never been aggressive at all. I'm chalking it up to just having an off day.

In case you have smaller kids, don't let them get near him.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

It's his first offense. All thr older birds seemed irritated this morning. I think i wasn't prompt enough about letting them out. He gets a defetrd judgement.

I have seen lots of things online about how to “deal” with it-some of which involve picking the rooster up. I don’t agree with this because you never see a dominant rooster or hen picking another chicken up and carrying it around so I’m not sure how that asserts your dominance in chicken language. Some people also swear by hand-raised (ie often handled) rooster raising. I don’t know if there is a definitive method but I am sure someone on BYC will have much more experience with it than I do. In the meantime here is an article that you might find useful:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...-how-to-deal-with-aggression-explained.79900/

 

[Rebechenson75]

In case you have smaller kids, don't let them get near him.

No kids. Just DH and me. I will wait and see if this behavior continues. They were moved into a new coop and run last weekend, could this be causing the older birds to be a bit rowdy?

 

[LaFleche]

No kids. Just DH and me. I will wait and see if this behavior continues. They were moved into a new coop and run last weekend, could this be causing the older birds to be a bit rowdy?

Chickens don't like change and can take some time to adjust to the new surroundings.
So yes, they can get irritated by moving them, but I would not accept it as an excuse to attack the human caregiver.

 

[Rebechenson75]

Chickens don't like change and can take some time to adjust to the new surroundings.
So yes, they can get irritated by moving them, but I would not accept it as an excuse to attack the human caregiver.

I did not acknowledge his behavior. I continued walking and went into the house. I will go out in a little while with some treats and see how things go.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

The author of the article i posted does actually say to pick him up but in a very specific way. Hopefully he is just annoyed with the change and will get over it soon.

 

[Altairsky]

I do not agree with the methods described in the article. Picking up a rooster means nothing to him. A rooster normally does not attack because he thinks you're a threat so showing him you're not a threat does absolutely nothing to correct the behavior. He knows you're not a threat.
Roosters that has been hatched in an incubator are imprinted on humans: they consider humans as part of their flock, therefore they think humans are either a hen they need to submit and mate, or a foreign rooster they need to defeat.
My rooster thinks I'm a very attractive but stubborn hen and whenever he feels like he wants me, he tries to herd me, and if I ignore him, he will eventually "touch" me to make me move, which is something he's not allowed to do.

This is a much better article that explains rooster behavior:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

And this corrective method uses the same language of chickens so the chickens will understand it more clearly. It worked for me.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/rooster-tries-to-attack-husband.1225859/post-19652248

 

[thecatumbrella]

I have seen lots of things online about how to “deal” with it-some of which involve picking the rooster up. I don’t agree with this because you never see a dominant rooster or hen picking another chicken up and carrying it around so I’m not sure how that asserts your dominance in chicken language.

We tried this with an aggressive hen. It definitely broke her spirit to be forced into cuddle time, but she resumed a few minutes after being put down.

 

[Mrs. K]

After belonging to this forum for a long time, I really have come to the conclusion that this is not about how people act. As in, if a person does 'this' and does not do 'that', they will raise up a perfect rooster. Roosters are crap shoot, sometimes you get a great one, (and therefore think you have it right) and sometimes you get a rotten one, (think you must have done something wrong). Truthfully I think it is mostly the luck of the draw.

One should always be aware of a rooster. Roosters are opportunist, I would not think it is a change in surroundings, I would rather expect, that your attention was somewhere else, and he saw an opportunity to get you.

I have lived amongst animals my whole life, wildlife and domesticated. We are cattle ranchers, species of animals tend to hang together and ignore other species unless it is prey and predator. I highly doubt the idea that a rooster thinks a person is a hen.

Generally - people are startled, then horrified, then deny it was the rooster's fault, then with repeated attacks, finally come to the conclusion that they have to do something different, the darling boy is not coming back.

Most of us, have kept a rotten rooster way too long. Beware, I think he will attack again, when you have something in your arms, or are bent over or squatted down to fix something. Or he is behind you, while your attention is somewhere else.

Each of us has a different tolerance of this behavior.

Mrs K