Aggressive rooster! Help!

[agold23]

I’m a first time chicken owner with a flock of 2 roosters (1 year and 14 weeks) and 4 hens (1 year, 18/19 weeks and 14 weeks) They aren’t my birds but they’re being lent to us from one of my parents amazing (and chicken obsessed) friends and we’ll be giving them back in the fall. Our one year old silkie rooster is our problem now as he’s been attacking my little sister when she goes out alone. If she carries a rake, has the dog or another person with her, he’s fine but just alone he flies at her. Just today, I had him fly at me too and he scratched me and pecked my hand.

Now I am working with training dogs and I’ve become hyper aware with watching body language. Over the course of a month since we got him, I’ve noticed if we get too close too quickly he will starts to flap his wings and when we back far enough and for long enough he crows (as if to establish his dominance)

I like to take the FF/R+ way with my dogs, so I was wondering if the same could be applied to the rooster ie hand feeding him high value foods, holding him, sitting near him calmly etc. I know chickens aren’t like dogs but they’re smarter than we give them credit so I was wondering if it’s even plausible!

Now this won’t be a long term issue, as we know soon we’ll have to send one rooster back (probably the aggressive silkie) but he is so gorgeous and does an amazing job taking care of his flock, it’s a shame he’s like this. I want to do all I can to tame him so he doesn’t end up in the cooking pot.

Does anyone have any advice/stories with former aggressive roosters or is this a lost cause?

Here are some photos of him just to show off his colours! It’d be a shame for Rex to become butter chicken!

 

[sourland]

With a 'little sister' involved, he would have to leave my flock. It's not worth the anxiety or possibility of injury.

 

[FuzzyOwlFeet]

I was able to tame down very young roosters with success, but if they are over a year old I couldn't change their behavior and they all ended up euthanized.

I love roosters very much, and I don't like to see them killed either, but when there are kids involved it can be super dangerous. He could fly up and scratch you or your sister's eye.

In this situation I would be putting this particular rooster down. If I were you I'd ask your parents' friend to take him back as soon as possible.

 

[agold23]

With a 'little sister' involved, he would have to leave my flock. It's not worth the anxiety or possibility of injury.

That being said, she’s only ‘little’ because I’m older but she’s 5 feet tall and could easily fend off a bantam rooster. Nonetheless it is terrifying, but it’s such a shame that this is the course of action that has to be taken. Thanks for your response!

 

[Chickpick]

We bundled ourselves up with thick gloves etc and grabbed our aggressive rooster up every night. We made him sit in our laps as we pet him and loved on him night after night. He hated it at first but after a while he stopped attacking everyone. I think he stopped because he didn't want to be snatched up and held against his will anymore.

 

[yakitori]

I’m not familiar with dogs, but I have trained cats. And chickens are nothing like cats, lol.

whatever you do, don’t back down, don’t avoid him, don’t give him space and dont reward him.

Chickens find reassurance in knowing their place, and if you let him believe he is head honcho, he will never change.

I would recommend to do what any other dominant rooster would do - confront the challenger.
You can crate him, hold him down, or carry him around if he attacks you or your family. You want to show him humans are authorities not to be challenged.

Good luck

 

[Aunt Theodora]

Try getting an old fashion broom. When he attacks fend him off. Hopefully when he sees the broom he will not attack.

 

[WhySayWhat]

We HAD a Delaware cockerel that was "okay" with me (kept his distance), but would attack my 6 year old daughter every chance he got! My kids never went in the coop or run without me, he would wait until I had my back turned (filling water or something with my back to the kids, I always tried to keep him in my view) and then he'd go in fast and vicious!

On Tuesday this week, she was squatted down petting one of the pullets, I was sitting right next to her. He snuck up on us and went for a facial attack. He grabbed her glasses with both feet, pulling them off her face while he bit her upper lip twice. If she hadn't been wearing glasses, it could have been so much worse! Someone showed up Wednesday morning to take him to their place, but if he hadn't already been waiting to go to a new home, we would have been having him for dinner.