Trained my now slightly aggressive rooster

[6 littleHens]

I have my rooster trained to hop on the perch in the corner with his back to me in there outdoor run. I tap on the fence and he jumps up on the perch while I open the door and feed them. He stays on the perch until I'm done. But, I know that he will continue with progressive aggression and I have to do something because now he knows when I'm going in the coop and runs in quickly to try to attack me.

 

[donrae]

I just have to ask........why on earth do you keep an animal that attacks you? Would you keep a horse that attacked you? Or a dog that bit?

I just don't understand why folks are willing to be attacked by an animal over and over....................

 

[chicknfun]

I just have to ask........why on earth do you keep an animal that attacks you? Would you keep a horse that attacked you? Or a dog that bit?

I just don't understand why folks are willing to be attacked by an animal over and over....................

I agree.....I had a beautiful BCM roo that decided that I was a threat, and each day his aggression level seemed to get worse. He had become very large. I had told DH a few days prior that if I couldn't figure out how to show him I was 'alpha chicken', he had to go.
Couple days later i went in to feed. My coop is actually on my neighbor's land (with her blessing, of course) Neighbor's dog was following me, as she does everyday. Well, I went in to the coop, the dog laid down outside the coop door, and, as I went in, my beautiful MEAN BCM roo decided it was time to launch an attack. He flew at me from the run, through the coop/run door, feet first. All I saw coming was this black streak of lightning and claws . I batted him to the ground inside the coop, purely out of reaction (well fear too). Well, that rooster had murder in his eyes!! He VERY quickly recovered and did it a second time, getting the same result. This time I tried to back out of the coop door but couldn't get out because the dog was laying against it. i started screaming for DH, who couldn't hear me as he was in neighbor's house painting, and she had music too loud that he didn't hear......but the dog did.
The roo launched at me again, I batted him down, out of the air, knowing that he would do some serious damage if he caught ahold of me. I guess at this point the dog figured it out, and moved away from coop door. The rooster flew at me again, I hit the door again with my rear and it opened, while I batted him again. At that point, I was still screaming as I was backing out the door, and he was still coming after me. It was that moment that the dog ran between my legs into the coop and grabbed that killer roo by the neck and dragged it out.
Well, needless to say, the dog took care of the problem for me. she bit him a couple times and severely injured him. DH had to finish him off to prevent further suffering. It was one of the scarriest incidents in my life, and i will never allow any other chicken to continue on here if it tries to attack me even one time.
I have always believed that animal aggression and humans are not a good mix, and had to put a young dog down before. So, from my experience, it is far better to put the animal down than take the chance that someone could get hurt.
Trust me, I dearly loved that roo, but I am the caretaker, and he had to go.
this picture was taken about 2 months before the attack.

FYI:My family and i did handle this chicken every day of his life up until about the time this picture was taken.

My 14 y.o. daughter now hates feeding because of that chicken. She was more scared of him than i was.
I doubt that i will ever again get a LF rooster, one was enough!!!!

ETA: my best advice would be to send his butt to Freezer Camp!

 

[Victoria-nola]

I asked a similar question and got the following advice from "welasharon", which I'm going to try tomorrow:



Quote:

sharon

I don't agree that any aggression must not be tolerated. I have pet pigs and pigs will show what looks like aggression if the humans are not acting properly and communicating that they are dominant. Each species has particular needs in order to live in harmony with humans and I think it's our job to be proactive about finding out what those needs are. I have confidence in the above advice and look forward to changing the dynamic with my rooster, who is beautiful and is very good at his job/role in the flock.

 

[6 littleHens]

I know that he has to go and I'm being slow about it. However, this is my first year with chickens and hubby thinks that because rooster is small that I should be able to deal with it. Rooster doesn't show aggression toward DH and DH has not seen it. I've read stories on here of the damage that a rooster can do. I don't have young children so I don't have to worry about that at least. Some say rehome and some say kill them so they don't make baby monsters. Seems to me no matter what you do there will always be mean roosters!! He's too old to caponize, however if he died on the table, I gave him a chance! But, I'm not a surgeon I'm a nurse and the thought is scarey to act as one. As far as behavior modification, I just don't believe that you can change their behavior for long either.

 

[Victoria-nola]

It's not "behavior modification" to try the behavior that I discussed above. It is using particular kinds of communication that the bird understands. If humans can't see that other animals have their own genius in their own niche and that if we want harmony we have to be able to get inside their reality and communicate in a way that works, then we really have no hope. For myself, I'd rather learn more about how to communicate in the animal's own terms than give up or kill it. That disturbs me. I'll butt out of this thread since my point of view appears to be in the severe minority here.

 

[silvrsound]

I know that he has to go and I'm being slow about it. However, this is my first year with chickens and hubby thinks that because rooster is small that I should be able to deal with it. Rooster doesn't show aggression toward DH and DH has not seen it. I've read stories on here of the damage that a rooster can do. I don't have young children so I don't have to worry about that at least. Some say rehome and some say kill them so they don't make baby monsters. Seems to me no matter what you do there will always be mean roosters!! He's too old to caponize, however if he died on the table, I gave him a chance! But, I'm not a surgeon I'm a nurse and the thought is scarey to act as one. As far as behavior modification, I just don't believe that you can change their behavior for long either.

I"ve been reading all these threads about aggressive roosters...because I am dealing with one LARGE beautiful speckled sussex who thinks its fun to sneak attack me in the coop. I see similar stories to mine, he was my most tame chick I could pick him up and pet him until the first time he kicked me I've become wary. I have been blaming it on hormones, it started about the time he started breeding. He is about 10 months old now. I have had to boot him a few times, pure reaction and self preservation. I didn't feel good about it. I am fairly new to chickens, although I've been attacked as a kid by my grandmothers roosters on two different occassions. Usually after a good booting "Puff Daddy" leaves me alone for awhile. My husband has had similar bouts with him. All of these behavior training techniques seem to be only temporary and frankly I don't have time to pick him up and carry him around every day. Everytime I think its time to get rid of him he is good for awhile. So reading these posts, I'm a little more confused about what to do. I want to have a rooster to protect my flock, this fall I lost 2 ducks to a weasel. I also want to raise chicks this spring. Puff Daddy is great with the girls which I guess at this point is the only reason I have kept him. I can buy fertilized eggs or buy more chicks. I feel like keeping him, I am waiting for the scenario given by chicknfun. So my question is: Does a rooster that is good with the girls, protects and doesn't attack - without daily handling exist?

 

[Victoria-nola]

Ok I guess I'm not butting out. I suggest you read this thread:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/743271/rooster-is-attacking-me-new-behavior-help

It clearly does not say that daily handling is necessary. The woman said she only had to do it once or twice with all of her roos except one, and that one needs a refresher EVERY FEW MONTHS. Is that so much to ask?

Sorry for tension here, but really, I have a hard time understanding why someone gives a very clear helpful suggestion and people won't even try it once. It just makes me feel that people don't really want a solution, they just want a reason to off the rooster.

btw, I went outside and did the holding/gentle neck lowering with my rooster. He responded by keeping his head down after a few tries, it took about 5 minutes max. The last time I walked with him about 35 feet, then lowered his head again. He kept it down (he will raise it slightly just to get the pressure off, but will keep it lowered). I put him back on the ground gently, and he stepped away from me and kept going, without looking like he was abused or fearful.

The test of this was that my handyman is here today working, and this rooster has been hellaciously attacking him for weeks (notice I didn't take action until it was affecting me-- bad choice on my part, but there it is). After I worked with my rooster, Joey and I went outside together, and the rooster walked away and went to the other side of the property. I'm certain that Joey will have to do the rooster-calming for himself, but now because the rooster was calmer already, Joey feels more certain about the attempt.

btw this is NOT behavior modification. Behavior modification is altering behavior that isn't wanted by substituting other training. This is actually communicating to the rooster, in language he directly understands, that the human is in charge and he doesn't need to attack. It calms the rooster because it places him in the hierarchy below the human, by the use of natural body language/direct communication. Using force will never work, and training-by-substituting-behavior will never work. Using language the bird understands can work, if given a chance.

 

[donrae]

I"ve been reading all these threads about aggressive roosters...because I am dealing with one LARGE beautiful speckled sussex who thinks its fun to sneak attack me in the coop. I see similar stories to mine, he was my most tame chick I could pick him up and pet him until the first time he kicked me I've become wary. I have been blaming it on hormones, it started about the time he started breeding. He is about 10 months old now. I have had to boot him a few times, pure reaction and self preservation. I didn't feel good about it. I am fairly new to chickens, although I've been attacked as a kid by my grandmothers roosters on two different occassions. Usually after a good booting "Puff Daddy" leaves me alone for awhile. My husband has had similar bouts with him. All of these behavior training techniques seem to be only temporary and frankly I don't have time to pick him up and carry him around every day. Everytime I think its time to get rid of him he is good for awhile. So reading these posts, I'm a little more confused about what to do. I want to have a rooster to protect my flock, this fall I lost 2 ducks to a weasel. I also want to raise chicks this spring. Puff Daddy is great with the girls which I guess at this point is the only reason I have kept him. I can buy fertilized eggs or buy more chicks. I feel like keeping him, I am waiting for the scenario given by chicknfun. So my question is: Does a rooster that is good with the girls, protects and doesn't attack - without daily handling exist?

yes, he does exist. And the common thread among those of us who have had multiple roosters over the years and not had problems with them is we leave them alone. We treat them with a healthy respect but don't handle them or try to make pets of them. There's a current thread about bringing a rooster up right somewhere here that has some good info, mostly like WalkingonSunshine's post. The best roos for a flock are kind of like livestock guardian dogs......you don't make a pet of them, just leave them alone and let them do their jobs.

 

[bj taylor]

My experience is only with one rooster. He's a huge black australorp. Since he was a day old he's been less friendly than the others. I've never handled him except a couple of times when it was necessary. A few times i've gone out of my way to show him i was boss by making him move out of my way. He's the best rooster i could ask for. He's protective, good with the girls, yet never offers aggression toward me. He's not a pet for sure, but he sure does his rooster job well. I think animals like these get confused when we try to make friends with them. That's not how their minds work. My situation may work different than someone else's. I have a semi free range