Why is My Rooster Following Me?

[kwhites634]

Agreed with the above. I have some roosters that follow me around that I trust as completely as one can trust an un-neutered male animal. They are all respectful, they give me my space when I ask for it, and they never make moves towards me in an aggressive way. I also have another rooster that is pretty much just waiting to turn bad. I do NOT let him follow me or get closer than 5' away to me. He's improved on his behaviour significantly, but I still trust him as far as I could throw a tank.

Kristen's Tank???

 

[Chickassan]

Hubert follows me but not in a "omg he's back there" kind of way.He just knows im the food and he always calls the girls for whatever I drop.He's always quite vocal when he's back there so no sneakiness.

 

[CookieChicken18]

Thanks for all the advice! He has only really been aggressive towards us once when we were trying to move him into a different cage in our garage (Him and two other hens have been sleeping in there while we work on introducing them to the new flock). I don't think he is being aggressive when he is following me. I will walk away from him and he will follow me unless I get a little to far from him, then he will turn around. But other times I've just gone over and picked him up, pet him for a little bit then taken him back. If he becomes aggressive I will put him in his place

 

[BantyChooks]

Kristen's Tank???

Nah, though Kristin's Tank is nearly as big as a real one.

For those that don't know... A member here owns a large NN named Tank, and that's what kwhites is referring to.

 

[MidnightMaran]

I have a 10 week old cockrel who watches me, never keeps me out of his sight. ESPECIALLY when I pick up his girls. Never aggressive, just watching me and sometimes moving towards me always from the back or the side. UNTIL a week ago. I was picking up my maran, whose wing shifted to an uncomfortable position, she let out a BAUK!!!(That's what it sounded like) and my suspicious cockrel jumped on to my shoulder and tried to get to my eyes. He scratched my closed eye (tiny scratch) not because I tried to get him off, I was laughing so hard, I mean what are the odds of a chicken jumping on your shoulder, flapping its wings rapidly, trying to get to your face? I realized it was a little more common than I thought it was, I started to research it the day after it happened. He is still suspicious of me, even more than he was before he... attacked, is one way to put it.

 

[Chickassan]

Are you serious? Lol! That's unnerving as all get out. My little guys are about the same age and could care less about the girls "mainly because the girls kick their butts at every opportunity". I can't imagine being smacked by a baby.

 

[hannahsflock]

I would definitely keep an eye on him. My roosters are super friendly, and follow me whenever I come into the run. If he starts coming at you with his wings spread, that would be a bad sign.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Agreed with the above. I have some roosters that follow me around that I trust as completely as one can trust an un-neutered male animal. They are all respectful, they give me my space when I ask for it, and they never make moves towards me in an aggressive way. I also have another rooster that is pretty much just waiting to turn bad. I do NOT let him follow me or get closer than 5' away to me. He's improved on his behaviour significantly, but I still trust him as far as I could throw a tank.

I don't doubt that you have these roosters but remember that as part of the pecking order behavior, the alpha rooster (and alpha pullets or hens as well) are permitted by virtue of their place in the pecking order to attack any and all members of the flock. That extends to you, the flock's meal ticket.

These subordinate or beta roosters may also take you on as part of their quest to get a match or grudge rematch for flock supremacy.

 

[BantyChooks]

I don't doubt that you have these roosters but remember that as part of the pecking order behavior, the alpha rooster (and alpha pullets or hens as well) are permitted by virtue of their place in the pecking order to attack any and all members of the flock. That extends to you, the flock's meal ticket.

These subordinate or beta roosters may also take you on as part of their quest to get a match or grudge rematch for flock supremacy.

Yup. I've had to correct my alpha rooster once when he started to drop a shoulder towards me and shuffle. I smacked him good and he hasn't tried it since... He's two years old now, so been at least a year and a half that he's been perfectly behaved. Probably just got high on his own fumes like all cockerels seem to get once in a while. Now, he's the best rooster I've ever owned. He is fantastic with the hens and even gives the children their space.

The untrustworthy one is at the very bottom of the pecking order, above only the chicks. He's never done any outright aggressive behaviours, but I still know fine well what's going on in that little birdie head of his, and if he wants to keep that head he had better change those thoughts. Normally, I'd forestall any trouble and add him to the cull list, but he's a rare enough breed that I figure I'll give it a shot. Bad idea? Maybe, but hey, you never know.

 

[andreanar]

My alpha roo, Big Boy (Buff Orp) started following me when he turned 6 months old. I felt him sizing me up. When I looked at him, he would turn the other way. After awhile, he started scratching at the ground when I looked at him. Then he started getting in between me and the hens. Then the attack happened, he followed my sister around the yard, waited for her to turn her back and went at her! It was an all out war. He was jumping feet first at her face, she hit him with a big stick, hard enough that the stick broke. And he just kept coming. Tough little sucker. That night, I took him off the roost and the next weekend we had chicken and dumplings.