What is my roo roo doing?

[angeldoxie1]

Sometimes when I sit down and stare at him he drags his right wing and it looks like he's stumbling when he walks and doing that. At first I thought that was a submission behaviour, so I tried petting him. He pecked at my hand

He did the same thing again so I tried petting him again and he ran away clucking like crazy. Eventually I figured that his right wing was injured? I got some grapes and he jumped on my lap, and I could touch him for once. I fiddled with his wing and he didn't really do anything, except stare at my hand so I quickly stopped messing with his wing.
He does it more often and usually when I'm sitting down, or looking at him.
Oh, he is a light brahma rooster, and I'm wondering.... Don't light brahmas have pea combs? He has a single one, so is he not 100% brahma? Plus he is loud as fudge when he crows.

 

[Matt A NC]

Sounds like he is "dancing". This can be for a hen and can also be to challenge a competitor.

Matt

 

[92caddy]

Hes doing the "mating dance"................

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Yep, that. Its a challenge and I don't allow my roos to dance for me. I'm not a hen.
Yes, brahmas have peacombs.

 

[buildingmyark]

Sounds like he's trying to challenge/intimidate you! He wants you to submit like the hens do. You may need to remind him who the REAL "head rooster" is. Just pick him up and hold him for a while... maybe that'll calm him down a bit. I've also read that roos sometimes do the wing dance to show his "ownership" of the hens. Who knows?

 

[angeldoxie1]

Okay, so he is challenging me.....
Uhm how do I stop him from doing that? He isn't a very nice rooster but one of his girls pecks him on his head and I think he's afraid of her. So do I do that?
Well not pull at his feathers, like tap him on the head with a stick or something? I'm afraid to touch his head anyways, since he pecks.
Does he think I'm a rooster too? Does he not like me cuz I chased one of the hens, I had to, the hen pecked my hair ribbon out of my hand and I had to get it from her. I sort of had to corner her and out of the corner of my eye I saw the roo puff his neck feathers and he raised his wings and kinda ran at me. As soon as I saw him do that I quickly grabbed the ribbon and jumped on a chair, I thought he was gonna hurt me.

Am I a bad chicken owner? being afraid of my own roo...

 

[PunkinPeep]

You should never run from your roosters. If one of my roosters tries to get dominant, i walk directly towards him and remind him that i am the boss.

With yours, the next time he starts doing the dance, i would pick him up and hold him under my arm - while with the other hand holding his beak closed, to communicate to him that you are the boss and that he is not to peck you. I would keep holding him until he stops struggling and submits. Roosters in my flock only get a couple of tries at getting the message when it comes to who's in charge. The last one who couldn't learn was delicious!

I don't think it's a bad idea to "peck" him hard on the head with your finger either, as a correction.

Just don't ever let them think they've dominated you - which is what they think if you run from them. I would not let my rooster do the dance for me.

If you're afraid, don't forget that if you have to grab them by the leg to get control of them, you can, and they can't do anything to you if you have control of their legs. Have to pull up some confidence, but it's very important.

 

[Matt A NC]

Quote:
As far as he is concerned, you chased down and mated one of his girls. Then when you ran you made him the dominant Rooster. You have to take the dominance back or he will most likely get worse. You have to have no fear, at least outwardly. If he comes at you pick him up. If he fights to get lose you need to hold him firmly, not too tight, and not let him go until he relaxes which is a sign that he is submitting. Try to sit him down. As he is going down, if he tries to get away then pick him back up. Don't let him go till you can put him down without him fighting it. You may have to do this a few days for him to get the point.

If this is fairly new behavior you should be able to break it. Just takes some time and a dedicated owner.

Matt

 

[buildingmyark]

This is one of the best explanations I have read on dealing with a difficult rooster. We have them, so I understand the frustration!

http://shilala.homestead.com/roosters.html

It's a little lengthy, but well-written and full of great insight! Hope it helps. It sure helped me!

 

[angeldoxie1]

Quote:
Thats very good advice.... But is there any sort of clothing I should wear when I pick him up or grab his legs? He pecks HARD and it HURTS. Special gloves or some type of jacket??? So he won't hurt me ya know... Ive tried garden gloves before but he just pecked my arm instead :|
I've also walked up to him when he does weird things at me, and he just pecks at my shoe. Or ankle.