What does the sideways dance by a Roo mean?

[Juliechickens]

Hi, I have 3 silkie roosters who always give me this weird sideways dance when they are near me. I don't know if it's a warning for me to back off or if it's a flirtacious move? I see them do it to the hens also. They walk up along side you then start moving sideways leaning towards you as if to scoot you over. What does this mean? Julie

 

[LynnGrigg]

They are flirting with you or threatening you. You may want to start picking them up, carrying them around a bit and fussing over them... to show them you are big and dominant - otherwise they may start attacking you. This is the advice most often given by chicken owners on this site. I had a roo that would always do this with me. He never attacked me but did attack many other folks. I've also had a number of roos that DID attack me.

 

[Juliechickens]

Funny you mention that....I pick up my roos alllll the time. The one who does this dance the most often is the one I hold mainly. I typically pick him up when he does this because he's right beside me. I had read that a long time ago to show dominance over a roo be sure and pick them up so that's what I do. However,,,the dancing thing continues even after picking them up especially by one in particular. I've never had a roo attack me. I would have my feelings so hurt if they did. I spoil all my birds with fruit and love along with their regular food of course...I love my birds. I think they must know it. I spend a lot of time with them daily. Thanks for the reply ,,,,if one attacks me I guess I will know it was a threat! So far so good. Julie

 

[LynnGrigg]

I'd be willing to bet he won't ever attack you if you are handling him like you are. I handled Earl, our(my) white leghorn all the time. I loved it when he "danced" for me and I didn't even learn that he was flirting for the longest time. Anyway, good luck with the silkie fellas. I hope none of them attack. lol! Our teeeeeny tiny one pound blue old english game bantam attacked my HUUUUUGE hairy muscular husband a couple of weeks ago. Scot called me at work from home full of shock, humor and downright disbelief that this little guy thought he might kick my husband's tail. We are still laughing. It isn't quite as funny when a good sized roo gets you however.

 

[paganfish]

I call it the Mexican hat dance...it's a courtship dance with my roos. LOL!

 

[McGoo]

What is the safest way to pick up a rooster? The woman that I got my chooks from said that it was okay to grab his legs from behind and hang him upside down. She said that this will keep him less aggressive toward me. From what I'm hearing it might be just as good to hold him in a more comfortable position and it will bring the same message home???

 

[Juliechickens]

LOLLLLLL,,,,yes, we would get a kick out of my birds attacking my hubby too. My hubby feeds my birds in the morning before I get up and I take the later on feeding so they are friendly to my hubby so far. He doesn't interact with them much like I do though. I am the one always petting and holding and talking to them. He just built their barn,,,,feeds them,,,,you know,,,man things but nothing more than that! He likes my birds though I can tell.
Since we are on the subject of weird behaviors,,,I also have a big buff orpington hen who is always up in my space!! She is the only one who gets in my little space and stares with those big eyes. She is down right nosey or maybe just a piglet always wanting food and treats. She is the first one to always come to me but doesn't want me to pick her up she just is always under me and I've tripped a few times over her. If I squat down she gets inches from my face and just stares. Today she pecked my wedding ring as it was shining in the sun so she thought it might taste good but she doesn't normally peck me. She stands out from my other birds because of her non-skittishness. She just seems plain nosey to me and always in my personal space. The others come around but they tend to their own business,,,scratching and so forth. Buffy,,,on the other hand just stares at me waiting for me to give her something I guess. I don't know what the heck she's doing really but she gets right up to me and stares. She's a big ole girl too. Julie

 

[akcskye]

Your roo is saying "well heyyyyyy there pretty lady" most likely.

Christopher William has been doing that to my girls since we got him a few months back.

Now, he's doing that to my "babies", too...the ones that hatched on June 15-June 22...so I guess that means he knows they're "ladies" too. LOL

 

[paganfish]

That's cute. My Bertha does that too. She's the only nosey of my chickens. Usually, in her case, she wants to get up on my lap. I will lean back and she'll jump up on my legs. She'll sit there for a few minutes then get down again. Only to come back later and I lean back again. I wonder if yours is trying to do the same? Try leaning back a bit and ignore her...she just might jump on your leg. Heck Bertha will go all the way up to my head...but she's never pooped on me so I allow it. LOL!

She will try to run off from me if I try to grab her or bring her up...though she's too fat and I am faster! LOL!

Too cute!

 

[Wynette]

My roo, Maurice, started with just doing the dance. It was cute at first, and I do pick him up daily and carry him around. Then he started to jump up at me. The day he did this, I chased him into a corner and held my body so that he couldn't get to his girls. He apparently took exception to this, and when I turned around to walk away, WHAMMMO! He hit me in the leg. He's only 6 months old and doens't have long spurs (just 1/2" or so nubbins), so it didn't hurt. But I could tell me meant business.

One thing you should consider doing is when feeding, especially treats, allow the girls to eat FIRST, then allow him to eat. Another easy way to show dominance. Either pick him up or just keep him away from the food with your body language until the girls all get to eat. I started doing this immediately after his "attack," and haven't had any trouble since then. I'm sure I'll have to reinforce it a bit, but so far, so good!

Another thing - you should NEVER allow him to mount one of his girls while you're in the run/pen. This is another way he shows dominance - telling you he can do it whenever he wants. If he does this while you're there, you should push him off with your foot. Don't kick him...no need to be mean, just push him off. Good luck! This is my first time having chickens, and of course I got a roo. That's my luck. But, I'm finding him to be an awful lot of fun and interesting to watch, so I hope it works out for us!