Topic of the Week - Aggressive Roosters: What is the best way to handle them?

[ShrekDawg]

That roo sounds particularly bad!! However I think with full disclosure rehoming might be okay. It's different if someone doesn't tell you he's aggressive but if you someone provides full disclosure and warning that he is aggressive then they should know and be prepared that he is. However that said, I don't think a rooster as extreme as you described should EVER be rehomed. Dinner it is. Going for the face is EXTREMELY dangerous and not to be tolerated. I would only do it with s more mild rooster

 

[ShrekDawg]

Also is hens pecking bad?

Mine used to climb on my shoulders or fly on my back, when i crouched over or go on roof of coop, etc. But after i got pecked in the eye and the gums 2 separate times by one i stopped allowing shoulder climbing. At the time i thought she was very mean and was going to cull but i realized it was an accident, chickens like shiny stuff, and she was also a hormonal teenager. People told me that didn't exist but you know, after she had been laying a while she calmed right down. Stopped attacking the other girls too.

But anyway, i used to stop and say hi to everyone and they would peck me so i stopped allowing that routine and just keep walking straight through the run and remove or replace food, etc. They don't peck as much now.

But anyway, they still do when I stop. They also peck my dad and brothers and anyone who goes in the run. Now the difference is I don't think it's malicious, i think they're curious, but I would like it to stop. Also some of them do peck me from behind which i hate. When i see anyone pecking me i make them squat or chase them off but it doesn't seme to work.

I think they may have developed some bad habits from bad overcrowding as chicks (they outgrew their brooder way fast before i had another set up, my fault) but I'm not sure.

Anyway, is there any way to prevent this or do chickens just naturally peck things? Because sometimes it seems to be buttons or patterns, etc. Even freckles And sometimes it's skin. And some of them are very friendly so I'm not sure if it's malicious or not but family hates going in there.

The coop and run is aslo a little small atm but we are almost done with a new much bigger one so maybe it's boredom?

Anyhow i guess my point is can hens be mean or have issues with pecking too?

 

[centrarchid]

This below is something posted in a thread about two years ago.

To give credibility to what I write. Much of my background involves gamefowl (fighting chickens) but I also keep at least fifty American Dominiques and as a kid my family commercially produced hatching eggs for a chicken hatchery that sold to just about everyone interested in backyard / farmyard chickens. I likely have more roosters than most backyard people have chickens in total and that is when my flock size is at its lowest in early spring. My games need to be easy to handle because it is done a lot. My Dominiques need to be easy to because they are supposed to be. I also use my birds for educating the public and most of my contacts are kids and some of those are very young. Finally I always have at least one flock that free-ranges around house and others that free-range in adjoining pasture. Almost all male gamefowl are confined with the exception of one around house and those on walks. My very small kids intermingle with the flock that free-ranges around house and 4-year-old harem master is intact with respect to spurs. I also have been around chickens for well over 40 years.

Below are aggression categories as I recognize them and eluded to previously in thread. Each is defined when answering description of aggressive behavior. Pictures and videos I feel would help greatly and such are in the works. I also think maturation process needs to introduced to discussion where the term ”rooster” is avoided. Also, many of the forms of aggression below are not exclusively the realm of males.

1) Is he just running over, pecking / flogging then running to a safe distance to deny your counter attack and simply watching you?

Bird has associated such behavior with a reward. In most instances I have seen the bird has obtained food faster or in larger amounts by engaging in some behavior directed at you. This is frequently realized with brooder reared birds interacting with you as feeders are armed or eats otherwise become more evident with you present. Another situation is where birds work their basic tendency to try and get at the most attractive food which to them often involves it appearing fresh within their field of view. For me that can involve putting feed out from a bucket as feeding a flock of hungry birds. They rush after you pushing each and sometimes in the excitement the bucket or even you. Many people see such behavior and promptly put feed out for the apparently famished bird. It takes very little for bird to associate intense response with getting more or faster.

Prevention: Avoid rewarding exploratory behavior such as pecking and jumping up for food. Make so food reward is delayed relative to your activity around birds. My favorite technique is apply feed either when birds are asleep or foraging elsewhere. With latter you just call birds in after feed is applied.

Correction: Move about flock / bird even with feed but do not give feed out until bird looses interest.
Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: I manipulate this behavior train birds for experiments and interacting positively with the public. Behavior promoted simply does not involve what a person would see as aggression. Smart birds are really prone to this.


2) Is he standing his ground and flaring his hackles and interspersing this with outright attacks with spurs, wings and bill?

He is outright fighting you for rank and treats you as a conspecific. Based on most discussions this the assumed by keepers of man-fighters. Something is or has gone on that got him into mindset that you need to be and can be defeated so as to be a subordinate. Somewhere along the line you got too familiar with him and / or he learned through exploratory pecking he can make you retreat. This is particularly prevalent with folks that are uncomfortable around their birds. Even many experienced keepers are afraid of their birds for one reason or another and sometimes these people are prone to act aggressively against the birds and even bully them. This situation is more frequent than you might suspect and denial is often a part of the problem. Folks like this may need to visit with the equivalent of Alcohol Anonymous to work problem out. I have even seen people into gamefowl that are scared of their birds and they would be ready to fight you if you said they were such. Males in particular will take advantage of activities that make them feel tough. This is where genetics can also impact predisposition for man-fighting.

Prevention: Do not retreat from him when exploratory pecking or even flogging occurs. Do not attack him in response to an attack as it is very difficult to do so with appearing to alternate between bouts of attack and retreat like which occurs when birds fight.

Correction: Make so aggressive bird can engage you by fighting you but do nothing that would be interpreted as fighting back or retreating. Let him wail away (flog) which may last several minutes. If he breaks off attack, then move towards him but do not even give him the respect of eye contact. Do not strike or push him. Repeat until he stops. Process may need to be repeated in subsequent days with hardheaded birds. You want him to start thinking of you as something that is very much not another chicken. This may mean a flannel shirt or sweat shirt and jeans. Ideally you will appear the same as you do on other days so he does not test you for days when you are weak. If spurs are an issue which they can be with birds more than 18 months old, then they can be neutralized by removal, trimming or covering with the equivalent of boxing gloves (most laymen will not have last option owing to legal restrictions). An alternative to this approach can involve the restraint / time-out sessions where bird does not get the release associated with combat but does get a penalty he will learn to avoid. This technique does appear to work although it takes more time and is hard on birds that are flighty and prone to panic when restrained which is a form of stress.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Can be used to help sell a gamerooster to a fool. In a competitive breeding setting such as in a commercial flock more aggressive birds garner more fertilizations of eggs therefore tend to be more prolific. This not directly related to what is referred to as gameness in gamefowl.


3) Is he attacking while fluffed up like a hen making lots of noises and moving about in a very fussy manner? This if often associated with roosters where members of his harem (hen(s) or offspring) are scared. Many roosters, especially games will attack whatever they see as the threat and sometimes, real or not, that can be you. His response will be in trying to repel you. Rooster may also get touchy when new feathers are coming in during molt.

Prevention: Be careful around birds, especially when hens or chicks are involved. Avoid grabbing birds during daylight. Get birds to move voluntarily. Any rooster is easier to work with when his charges are calmer so always having all birds tame helps immensely. One crazy hen can stir up a male. I always manage for calm birds and that means starting from before hatch of an individual. Be careful when handling birds, especially during molt.

Correction: Frequent low intensity interactions without stirring anyone up reduces sensitivity to your activities.

Benefits of Behavior to You or Bird: Such behavior can increase survival of males offspring which can benefit you. This especially with small predators a male can repel or distract.

Culling can also be employed, but some parties will, as a function of their husbandry technique, be culling a lot of birds that would not be problematic for most poultry keepers.

 

[funandfeathers]

Me too!

 

[I Love Layers]

Any mean rooster would go bye bye. Whether into the stew pot or selling it to someone. The only way I would keep a mean rooster would be if it was a very good show bird.


If anyone here is looking for some good big roosters that are not aggressive in anyway, and take good care of the hens DM me!

 

[scandiafowl]

My two Jersey Giant roosters do exactly what they are to do, protect the free ranging flock and give them first dibs on goodies. Both are very large birds, if they became aggressive then off to the freezer they go!
They are invaluable in the barn yard and the hens listen to them.

 

[bobbi-j]

We have a Rhode Island Red rooster that is appx.18 months and seems to be more aggressive every day, mean to the hens, attacks you as you cross the yard or if you go into the coop he waits outside to get you.
I have chased him, swatted him with the broom, soaked him with the water hose nothing works.
I hate to make him into rooster and dumplings, but am at my wit's end with him.
My wife will not even go to the coop because of him.
The real problem is I feel I need a rooster to help protect the hens as they free range.
Hope someone has a solution or rooster and dumplings it is.

Your rooster is simply an alarm system for your free range hens. He may alert when a hawk comes over, but a dominant hen will do the same. If a coyote, dog, fox, raccoon, or other ground predator shows up, he's likely to just be a speed bump before the rest of the flock is attacked. I keep chickens for the enjoyment of it (and meat and eggs). I will not keep a rooster that takes that away. Another thing to think about - this time of year, plenty of people are looking for homes for their "unexpected" cockerels. You can always find another rooster for your flock. Keep looking until you find a good one. A rooster doesn't need to be human aggressive to protect the flock.

I have an aggressive Brahma.I just treat him like a wild animal. If he is in the pen, I can get him to go into the coop by allowing him to see me open the coop, he will run in through the chicken door, and I have someone else close it do he can't go back to the pen. When I let the girls out to fee range, I leave him in the pen. He's a real jerk, I just don't have it in me to kill him for it.
I know a lot of people say pick him up and walk around with him. But he is so nasty there is no way I could pick that guy up.

You are far more patient than I am. I'm not sure why anyone would keep such a mean thing around...

I've had many cocks; the good, the bad, and the really bad, over the years. I do NOT try to make pets out of my cockrels, rather I walk 'through' them and expect them to get out of my way at all times. Cockrels who are 'friendly' as chicks have often not turned out well, in my experience. I won't waste my time trying to reform a bird who's not going to be a 'keeper' for any other reason, but I have tried to reform cockrels who challenged me IN ANY WAY, maybe twice. That's it, and then they are on the dinner list. Tammy's RIR is likely not going to turn out well, IMO. Here there are no excuses; what I'm wearing, if I'm annoying another bird, phases of the moon, whatever. The game bird people have shown that human aggression is separate from cock fighting behavior, and they have culled 'man fighters' for generations, even though their birds will fight each other to death. (Ugh, but it shows something about chicken genetics). Nasty roosters can cause serious injuries, and need to be gone before that happens. Someone will be happy to have a nice dinner, if not you. Managing your flock is part of being a good chicken keeper! Mary

I agree - you can make excuses 'til the cows come home, but in the end, he's going to find more and more reasons to attack.

We have too many roosters! But the Rhode island reds are nasty and mean. The largest and most aggressive is John. I tell him daily nobody likes you John!
He goes after all the others. He has been going after me and my husband. He is not yet 6 months old. But huge! We have put him in the coop by himself during the day.
Put him in dog crate. He is, if its possible teaching one of the other roosters to join him in attacking the others! Nothing improves his attitude!
He and the gang of five angry roosters are headed to the pot! The sooner the better.
We have barred rock roosters and they are fine. Going to the pot too but just because we don't need 8 roosters. First time chicken owners.

Good for you! Homegrown chicken is so much BETTER than store-bought. They have flavor and texture.

I have 2 in my little pack of 8 chickens, all around 16 weeks old. They've been with me since they hatched and have great temperaments thus far. I know that can change but I'm realllllly hoping it doesn't! My favorite out of all of them is my Buff Orpington Marshmallow...he is so sweet and I brought him back from the brink of death when he had wry neck and it wasn't looking good for him. My other male Lavender is a silver laced Wyandotte and is pretty calm but definitely very watchful and protective. My chickens are not to be eaten ever regardless so I'm hoping I never have to deal with an aggressive roo!

You may not have to deal with an aggressive roo, but you are going to have to figure out what you're going to do when your pullets start getting over-mated and are too stressed to lay. It might not happen, but with 2 cockerels to 6 pullets, it's a strong possibility.

 

[lazy gardener]

What was your experience(s) with aggressive roosters and what did you try/do to remedy it? In my first group of roos there were some RIR. Those boys were nasty tempered. They'd just as soon as take my fingers off as look at me. They tasted pretty good. Very little aggression since then. My roos stay in a grow out pen, except for my avatar roo, Jack. He's a pretty good boy, loves his ladies, loves his chicks, quite the family man. He did show some aggression to my GDTR once, but she had gone into his run with his ladies and decided to chase him. Generally, if kids are in the yard, the roo is penned. Just seems to be good practice for me. Last season, I had a broody raised cockrel who started showing aggression at 2 weeks old! He would attack me any time I came near him, his Mama or his siblings. More as an experiment than for any other reason, I started dominance training with him. It took less than 2 weeks, and he became quite the gentleman. I was really quite surprised. Perhaps it's b/c I started with him at a very young age.

Dominance training: Walk through him, never go around. Where ever he happens to be, make him move. Carry a light wt stick, and use it to tap his tail feathers to direct him where you want him to go. If he gives you the stink eye, or shows ANY aggressive tendencies, including LOOKING LIKE HE'S THINKING BAD THOUGHTS TOWARDS YOU! use that stick to chase him around the yard a bit. Make him run until he's diving for cover (or until you are out of breath, which ever comes first... but don't let him know he wore you out!) If it's a young boy that you can easily manage, pick him up, and secure him in a foot ball hold. Use your other hand to push his head down below chest level. Hold it there until he voluntarily keeps it there when you remove your hand. The next step is to lower him to the ground, while still restraining him. Once his feet hit the ground, he'll start struggling. Maintain your restraint, and again push his head down, and hold it there till he willingly submits. If he starts to struggle when you slowly release him, resume your restraint and push his head down till you can take your hands off him, and he will maintain that submissive position for a bit.

- Should aggressive roosters be rehabilitated, rehomed, or invited for dinner? There are a lot of variables that go into that answer. IMO, some of a roos behavior can be caused by improper handling by his owners. I think that roos that get treated like pets are more prone to being human aggressive. If their handler is assertive, expects the roo to yield space in the yard, coop, and run, does not allow the roo to terrorize the hens, and maintains an "arm's length away at all times" policy, I think they are more apt to have well behaved roos. In my yard, aggression gets invited to freezer camp. But, for that matter, there is only room in my yard for 1 - 2 roos anyways. The perfect roo: proper genetic package to match my breeding program, treats the ladies well (tidbits, dances, shows them the best nesting sites, and even fluffs the nest up for the ladies, takes care of his babies), not human aggressive. Never use an aggressive roo in your breeding program.

 

[snywalker]

We have too many roosters! But the Rhode island reds are nasty and mean. The largest and most aggressive is John. I tell him daily nobody likes you John!
He goes after all the others. He has been going after me and my husband. He is not yet 6 months old. But huge! We have put him in the coop by himself during the day.
Put him in dog crate. He is, if its possible teaching one of the other roosters to join him in attacking the others! Nothing improves his attitude!
He and the gang of five angry roosters are headed to the pot! The sooner the better.
We have barred rock roosters and they are fine. Going to the pot too but just because we don't need 8 roosters. First time chicken owners.

I found your experience funny because the best rooster we have ever had was a rir. And the worst was a bared rock. Just shows that it is the individual not the whole breed.

Our current rooster is the biggest i have ever seen. He isn't friendly, but he isn't aggressive at all. He does his job and is great to the hens.

I have kids, so even the smallest amount of aggression and the are dinner. The test is my 14yr old needs to be able to pick them up without them trying to peck at him. They don't have to like it, but at least allow it.

 

[AKChickenGal]

I have a five month old Blue Andalusian rooster. He is gorgeous, good to the hens, and even tolerates the Silver-spangled Hamburg rooster well. My husband and I held him as a chick but gave him space as he got older. Now he is the biggest chicken in the flock and is developing large spurs. He usually looks at me as I walk through the run or coop to make sure I am not causing trouble, but he usually keeps his distance and stays calm. This morning he tried challenging me and almost head-butted my leg. Is it typical for roosters to become aggressive gradually when nothing has changed in the coop (that I know of)? Should I be worried that he might attack? I have no problem making him dinner if he gets mean, but I am hoping it won't come to that.