Why is my Rooster so aggressive???

[My First Time Farm]

I have this 3 month old Roundhead Silver Pheonix mix. He is super aggressive to my dogs and my other young chicks, But he would not dare to touch me. Plus I have raised him from birth. Do you think he will grow out of this behavior? I really hope he does because he is the love of my life and I dont tolerate aggression towards the hens.

 

[NatJ]

I would get him in with the hens ASAP where they have time to teach him manners before his hormones have him take control. Like, yesterday.... see but don’t touch and free range as soon as you can together.

Those "hens" will not be teaching him any manners, because they are pullets younger than he is:

I bought him like 8 hens so he could have some girls but they are a month younger then him. So they are still in the brooder

Putting a cockerel with adult hens certainly can help him learn manners, but that does not appear to be an option here.

 

[NatJ]

Did you raise this rooster all by himself, with no other chickens when he was young?

If a chicken doesn't learn how to interact with chickens while young, they could have a much harder time learning it later.

 

[NatJ]

You might try the look but don’t touch method to see if that helps.

I agree.

He had a sister. But sadly lost her at 2 weeks....

Sounds like this cockerel needs practice dealing with other chickens. Setting up a separate pen for him, where he can see the others but cannot peck them, could let him practice his social skills without any of them getting hurt. A piece of hardware cloth or chicken wire makes a good divider between pens for this purpose, so they can clearly see and hear each other but cannot go through.

 

[Folly's place]

So he should have been raised from babyhood with that rooster, because it's way too late now for them to get along.
You could separate that rooster, or some of his hens, and have your cockerel spend time with those adult hens. Should be interesting!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

I was forgetting that he's only twelve weeks old, so agree with others above that maybe he could have more time out there, next to the mature birds, and then with them?
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

They can be little velociraptors, for sure. And close quarters can be a big problem, and game bred birds were developed to be aggressive with their own species.
Flock social interactions won't always work out the way we would like them to be either.
Mary

 

[Oncoming Storm]

It just depends on the rooster. Sometimes breed does play into it. I know Dominiques are known to be aggressive and most phoenixes to my knowledge are used as fighting birds. He maaaaaay grow out of it. Before you decide to get rid of him, try putting him in solitary. I had a super aggressive rooster that was trying to kill another one of my boys. I put him in a cage by himself away from everyone for a month or so maybe two and I haven’t had an issue since.

 

[My First Time Farm]

He had a sister. But sadly lost her at 2 weeks....

Did you raise this rooster all by himself, with no other chickens when he was young?

If a chicken doesn't learn how to interact with chickens while young, they could have a much harder time learning it later.

 

[My First Time Farm]

Did you raise this rooster all by himself, with no other chickens when he was young?

If a chicken doesn't learn how to interact with chickens while young, they could have a much harder time learning it later.

That honestly could be the reason for the way he acts

I agree.



Sounds like this cockerel needs practice dealing with other chickens. Setting up a separate pen for him, where he can see the others but cannot peck them, could let him practice his social skills without any of them getting hurt. A piece of hardware cloth or chicken wire makes a good divider between pens for this purpose, so they can clearly see and hear each other but cannot go through.

Ok thats sounds like a good idea. I will try that