Tips on working with a mean 2 year old rooster?

[hysop]

One of my roosters advances to me for any reason they get punted with a size 13. When i enter the run and I'm working the flock those hens belong to me and he is no longer flock alpha. I am. It doesnt matter which animal that is being intetacted with we must communicate in their language. All this rooster physchology is insane. We can not transfer human emotions and reasoning ability to an animal with a brain pan not much larger than a fat lima bean. I dont care weather they respect me of fear me. Either one is equally acceptable. When i enter the run i want them to shy away from me not confront me.

And to those that favor rehabbing this rooster and giving it another chance in the presence of small children when there are 3 other roosters that have good personalities I have one thing in response. Stupid can't always be fixed.

I hope the OP doesnt have to be reminded of her poor judgement every morning when she sees her child.

We’ve done the aggressive approach in the past and although it “worked” it wasn’t permanent and it instilled fear more than domesticate the rooster. My husband and I differ on what to do with this rooster, but I want to at least try a different approach before calling it quits. For sure I will not be letting this rooster free range while my kids are outside. And even if I manage to domesticate him I will most likely continue to keep him in his run on days my kids are outside.

 

[hysop]

IF he's really that aggressive, and you really want to work with him, get a long handled fish net, and a cage. When you go in the coop, catch him. For me, it worked best if I got him near a corner, and swooped downward with the net, covering him. Do this carefully, and don't wield it with the force of a baseball bat. Now that he's caught, he should settle down, or wait a minute until he does. Slide your hand under the net, while pressing down on his back. Now, extricate him from the net, scoop him up, and deposit him in the cage. Work your coop, with him in the cage, where he can see you. He may get flustered when you are working with the hens. That's ok. Once he's caged, if you want to let the kids in, that's fine. For a couple weeks, let him see you, and the kids working the coop, while he's caged.

After a couple weeks, go catch him with the net, but don't cage him. Keep the net in your hand, as you lightly work your coop. Don't fluster the hens too much today. I usually designate about a 3 foot circle around me, that is my safe space. He is NOT to come into your safe space. If he tries, catch him in the net, move him away from where you're working, out of your safe space. Do this for a couple weeks, until he is always moving away from you when you enter the pen, staying out of your safe space, and staying away as you water, feed, and collect eggs.

When things are going a bit smoothly, catch him, cage him, pick up a hen, and check her over. Let him see you do it. When she settles down, make sure he's watching. Keep a watch on how he's reacting. Is he giving you stink eye? Is he leaning on one shoulder? Do this for a few days, then for a couple days, go back to just catching, and releasing him. After a couple days of catch, and release, cage him, and work with the hens again. When he gets to the point that he looks at you when a hen squawks, but is not flustered, and goes back to minding his own business, eating, scratching, then begin entering the coop with the net in your hand, walking straight up to him, let him move out of your way, and proceed doing coop chores, etc. BE AWARE that there are times, when a rooster has been allowed to remain aggressive to people for too long, and while this method, over time does work, the only time they will continue to be aggressive, is when you try to pick up a hen, and they are loose. I had one that was fine, as long as I was not picking up the hens to check them over. That's the only time, I had to catch him, and put him in the cage. Once I was done checking the hens over, or dusting them for pests, or worming them, I could release him, and he was fine. It was totally do-able. He did continue to improve over time. He was a good rooster, and I had him for many years. We worked out our system, and all was good.

Thank you! I will probably catch him tomorrow or Saturday and put him in a cage for a few days and see if he’s a bit more calm. I do think he’s just protecting his flock because all my birds associate bad feelings with my net since I’ve had to catch them all at least once. I don’t know if my husband is exaggerating but he said our Black Jersey Giant is like 2.5 to 3 feet high. I’ll have to go measure him tomorrow and see. I’m bad at estimating height.

 

[hysop]

I isolate many roosters in relatively small pens without hens. Place high and make so they are not distracted by using covers of some sort. When feeding, do not do it all at once. Do not apply feed immediately after he gets sassy. Move slowly and do not react if he shows aggression. Move real slow.

The business of attacking ankles does not provide enough information to address. Some of mine go through a stage where they have similar inclinations. For a few days I walk more slowly than usual making no adjustments for where the rooster is located. Move slow enough so he can get out of way without feeling threatened. Do not kick or feign a kick, nor use objects like brooms.

I will be isolating him either tomorrow or Saturday. I’ll come back and report anything new. The ankle thing was a one time thing, I think it was just what he could get at the time, not that he only attacks ankles.

 

[IamRainey]

I had a French Black Copper Marans who was flat out gorgeous. I was genuinely excited to have a bird that was such a archetypical example of a rooster. That, plus the fact that I'm a weenie and wouldn't want to hurt a fly, made me try very hard to put up with the threat that Maurice might fly at me and my husband any time we took an eye off him. I tried any suggestion I read about here.

In the end we were never successful. If we went in the run we had to do it with stick or a golf club to ward him away. And, even if we had been successful in getting him to respect us enough to avoid us, how could we know that he could be trusted not to go at our grandson or someone else? Not acceptable.

Maurice now resides in the compost pile. Much to our regret but I'd do it again. It isn't responsible to have a dangerous animal and don't mistake that even a 3 or 4 pound rooster can be genuinely dangerous to a kid.

Happily, at least so far, his progeny Rocky (by our Cream Legbar, Lavinia) has not shown Maurice's aggressive tendencies. I keep watch but nothing has happened yet and I'll hope to get at least one more clutch of hatching eggs in case I eventually I have to let him go.

 

[hysop]

I haven’t caught or caged my Black Jersey Giant. I have decided to do the stern approach of just walking into his run with a stick in hand (not to swing at him but for me to appear larger and stronger). He will not ever free range while my kids are outside even if I ever manage to domesticate him. He has shown progress. If I see that his mind is contemplating attacking or strategizing I just beat my stick slowly on the ground, no more than an inch off the ground. He doesn’t buff up his feathers trying to look larger than he already is anymore. He doesn’t try to charge me or anything. So, I have hope, but I also know that my kids’ safety is important so he and his flock will have limited days on when they’ll be allowed to free range. Although we have a lot of land, all my birds free range in just a small part of it like 2-5 acres, they like familiarity I guess, so if they ever free range they’ll have plenty of space.

 

[Marieaa70]

Get rid of him, Or carry a hand held water pistol an squirt him they hate water, try not to let him see your gun, Yes do keep small kids away they go for the eyes, Some you can not train to leave every one alone, Dinner is better them a blind child,

 

[Littlecoop]

I know there are many articles on how to tame a rooster online. We got ours as a chick from TSC back in March of 2018. So he’s getting close to 2 years old.

Since he was part of our first ever flock and we didn’t know much about caring for chickens then, we made the mistake of not really handling them as chicks. I love my rooster despite him having attacked both of my kids and me and my husband and my mother in law! (My husband is the only one that has been attacked more than once).

My husband wants to cook him, but I keep wanting to give him a chance because he’s our first ever rooster and he’s done an awesome job at protecting his flock.

Does anyone have tips or stories of mean roosters being tamed? Or am I going to have to put him on the chopping block by (next) winter (gonna try to see if I can hatch a rooster from his line)?

I catch my roosters when they act up and carry them around upside down for awhile. They don't like it and after they realize whos in charge, they begin to avoid challenging me.

 

[MysteryChicken]

I turn human aggressive roosters into soup. Don't want them around.

 

[Ila88]

I had a brute that my husband hatched. He attacked us, visitors and kids. I tried EVERYTHING. Finally when we got a new puppy I put my foot down and he was gone. I think once they attack you just can't get it out of them. I hated being scared to walk around my yard and having to carry an umbrella or net to ward him off. There are so many sweet roosters out there who need homes. Don't put up with a bad one.

 

[Ila88]

I catch my roosters when they act up and carry them around upside down for awhile. They don't like it and after they realize whos in charge, they begin to avoid challenging me.

Didn't work for me.