Aggressive Rooster? Or Not 🐓?

[thudson]

I just wanted to share a story and give maybe a little advice that might help you in a similar situation. This is currently happening in my own flocks.
Everyone knows I been raising chickens and dealing with situations in my flocks for a very long time. (40+years) I have had several so called "aggressive" roosters. Pictured below is a rooster that is wearing my wife out almost daily. It is kind of comical, but my wife doesn't think it is very funny.
The rooster is a Showgirl Turkin/Silkie. He is a beautiful splash color and my wife calls him Cinnamon. Anyway she will come out of the house and start the walk to gather eggs in the runs anout 30 yards behind the house. Almost immediately Cinnamon will see her come out of the house and he will get into position. He looks like a track star getting into the starting block. He will crouch down, spread his wings a liitle, duck his head with his eyes fixed on the finish line. Then the starting gun goes off in his head when she opens the door to the run and he is on her. Just flogging. spurring, and even biting like an Anaconda or Snapping turtle, he grabs ahold with his beak and won't let go or he will start to twist ripping or tearing with his beak. Kinda of a new trick I haven't seen before. My wife doesn't like it too much and I get in alot of trouble because I am laughing so hard that I am crying. No bigger than he is, he really can't do too much damage except with the beak manuever. (I KNOW, I KNOW, BAD HUSBAND FOR LAUGHING).
What can she do? What did she do? This may help you too. Most people think it is Stew Pot Time. Could be, maybe, Not. Explanation time. Why is the rooster doing this all of a sudden?and why to her and not me?
1. Spring time-- every spring the temps rise, sunlight is longer and therefore the roosters Testosterone rises.
2. The hens start laying after the molt they just went through in winter, so the rooster needs and wants to breed and also wants to protect his ladies.
3. Do you have Multiple roosters? he is showing off his protection skills to the others. Or is he being bullied? He is showing the others he is tough and can and will fight if necessary.

So what to do? What did my wife and I do?
1. Be aware and understand what is going on SPRING IS HERE.
2. Wear long pants, good boots and gloves.
3. NEVER turn your back to a rooster in spring if you can help it or be sure you keep an eye on him.
4. Carry a bucket or a stick with you. The bucket is for keeping something between you and him if he attacks. The stick is used just to guide him in a direction you would like him to go, so you can gather eggs or feed them safely.
5. Another trick my wife learned and I didn't think of, which she points out, she will carry a spray bottle of water into the coop with her. If he charges she squirts him at his head. Apparently he don't like it and he stays away. Now she just carries the spray bottle in the coop and he doesn't attempt his attack at all now.
6. Relocation or isolation if necessary, but this should be a last resort Really not necessary. Very low chance this will happen
7. Stew Pot- yes this is an option, just not for me. I know some folks will eat the chickens they raise and it is no problem for them. But the only time I euthanize a chicken is do to disease or injury. Not for something that is normal behavior.

I hope this helps someone, maybe a little. This is my opinion and suggestions and zi know there will be people who may disagree or who have more options but this is what we do.









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[50-45-1]

When a rooster makes it impossible for me, my family members or visiting friends and neighbors to be safe in my oun yard.....
That rooster Is dead.
And yes. It's not funny.

 

[50-45-1]

Sorry Thudson, I guess it's a touchy subject.
as someone who has been spured by a rooster when I was young.
Having also seen some pretty nasty infected wounds that resulted from bad behaving nasty roosters.
I hear stories like yours and see a disaster in your future.
If this rooster sees your wife as a subject he thinks he can possibly win against, what about your grandchildren or unsuspecting neighborhood kids ?
They like to attack from the back. A spur in a child's face including eyes could be pretty devastating.
And as far as it being "normal" behavior, my news for you is its it's common, but bad behavior does not have to be tolerated. You would not tolerate it from your dog would you ? if he started getting aggresive, biting and targeting your wife?
Would that be funny and allowed?
Good luck to you!
I honestly do not wish anything bad to happen.

 

[Lexie27]

I just wanted to share a story and give maybe a little advice that might help you in a similar situation. This is currently happening in my own flocks.
Everyone knows I been raising chickens and dealing with situations in my flocks for a very long time. (40+years) I have had several so called "aggressive" roosters. Pictured below is a rooster that is wearing my wife out almost daily. It is kind of comical, but my wife doesn't think it is very funny.
The rooster is a Showgirl Turkin/Silkie. He is a beautiful splash color and my wife calls him Cinnamon. Anyway she will come out of the house and start the walk to gather eggs in the runs anout 30 yards behind the house. Almost immediately Cinnamon will see her come out of the house and he will get into position. He looks like a track star getting into the starting block. He will crouch down, spread his wings a liitle, duck his head with his eyes fixed on the finish line. Then the starting gun goes off in his head when she opens the door to the run and he is on her. Just flogging. spurring, and even biting like an Anaconda or Snapping turtle, he grabs ahold with his beak and won't let go or he will start to twist ripping or tearing with his beak. Kinda of a new trick I haven't seen before. My wife doesn't like it too much and I get in alot of trouble because I am laughing so hard that I am crying. No bigger than he is, he really can't do too much damage except with the beak manuever. (I KNOW, I KNOW, BAD HUSBAND FOR LAUGHING).
What can she do? What did she do? This may help you too. Most people think it is Stew Pot Time. Could be, maybe, Not. Explanation time. Why is the rooster doing this all of a sudden?and why to her and not me?
1. Spring time-- every spring the temps rise, sunlight is longer and therefore the roosters Testosterone rises.
2. The hens start laying after the molt they just went through in winter, so the rooster needs and wants to breed and also wants to protect his ladies.
3. Do you have Multiple roosters? he is showing off his protection skills to the others. Or is he being bullied? He is showing the others he is tough and can and will fight if necessary.

So what to do? What did my wife and I do?
1. Be aware and understand what is going on SPRING IS HERE.
2. Wear long pants, good boots and gloves.
3. NEVER turn your back to a rooster in spring if you can help it or be sure you keep an eye on him.
4. Carry a bucket or a stick with you. The bucket is for keeping something between you and him if he attacks. The stick is used just to guide him in a direction you would like him to go, so you can gather eggs or feed them safely.
5. Another trick my wife learned and I didn't think of, which she points out, she will carry a spray bottle of water into the coop with her. If he charges she squirts him at his head. Apparently he don't like it and he stays away. Now she just carries the spray bottle in the coop and he doesn't attempt his attack at all now.
6. Relocation or isolation if necessary, but this should be a last resort Really not necessary. Very low chance this will happen
7. Stew Pot- yes this is an option, just not for me. I know some folks will eat the chickens they raise and it is no problem for them. But the only time I euthanize a chicken is do to disease or injury. Not for something that is normal behavior.

I hope this helps someone, maybe a little. This is my opinion and suggestions and zi know there will be people who may disagree or who have more options but this is what we do.









View attachment 4074672

Thank you so much, these birds are just birds, behaving as they should.

 

[Lexie27]

When a rooster makes it impossible for me, my family members or visiting friends and neighbors to be safe in my oun yard.....
That rooster Is dead.
And yes. It's not funny.

That’s not the rooster’s fault.

 

[Lexie27]

Sorry Thudson, I guess it's a touchy subject.
as someone who has been spured by a rooster when I was young.
Having also seen some pretty nasty infected wounds that resulted from bad behaving nasty roosters.
I hear stories like yours and see a disaster in your future.
If this rooster sees your wife as a subject he thinks he can possibly win against, what about your grandchildren or unsuspecting neighborhood kids ?
They like to attack from the back. A spur in a child's face including eyes could be pretty devastating.
And as far as it being "normal" behavior, my news for you is its it's common, but bad behavior does not have to be tolerated. You would not tolerate it from your dog would you ? if he started getting aggresive, biting and targeting your wife?
Would that be funny and allowed?
Good luck to you!
I honestly do not wish anything bad to happen.

A turkin/silkie Roo (what maybe a pound and a half) is ominous disaster?
I think a large part of the problem is byc people don’t want or have roosters, don’t educate themselves, and act like an at most 8 lb bird will kill them.

 

[FrostRanger]

A thinking/silkie Roo (what maybe a pound and a half) is ominous disaster?
I think a large part of the problem is byc people don’t want or have roosters, don’t educate themselves, and act like an at most 8 lb bird will kill them.

Even a small rooster can do more damage than you think

We had a case last year where a rooster sent someone's sister to the ER twice before he was culled.

We do like roosters here, we simply like nice roosters and we take aggressive animals of any size or species seriously


And no, your wife being attacked is not funny at all. If he was attacking you rather than her you probably wouldn't be amused. Please value your wife's safety and happiness over a bird

 

[Lexie27]

Even a small rooster can do more damage than you think

We had a case last year where a rooster sent someone's sister to the ER twice before he was culled.

We do like roosters here, we simply like nice roosters and we take aggressive animals of any size or species seriously


And no, your wife being attacked is not funny at all. If he was attacking you rather than her you probably wouldn't be amused. Please value your wife's safety and happiness over a bird

Is the only solution killing the bird? Is anyone trying to understand the bird’s natural instincts?
I’ve worked with wild animals, including wild birds, reckon I don’t scare easy.
And I also feel that if I can’t build a rapport with an animal that makes it so I can at least be safe with it and take care of them, I’ve failed as a human being.
It is really strange to me that people expect domesticated birds to not have the same behaviors as their wild counterparts.

ETA: I’ll stop here, because I see that people expect Roos to act like hens, and are fine with that.
Like I said before, I don’t even have a chicken.

 

[Lexie27]

Even a small rooster can do more damage than you think

We had a case last year where a rooster sent someone's sister to the ER twice before he was culled.

We do like roosters here, we simply like nice roosters and we take aggressive animals of any size or species seriously


And no, your wife being attacked is not funny at all. If he was attacking you rather than her you probably wouldn't be amused. Please value your wife's safety and happiness over a bird

You only like nice roosters, so no teenagers?

 

[FrostRanger]

Is the only solution killing the bird? Is anyone trying to understand the bird’s natural instincts?
I’ve worked with wild animals, including wild birds, reckon I don’t scare easy.
And I also feel that if I can’t build a rapport with an animal that makes it so I can at least be safe with it and take care of them, I’ve failed as a human being.
It is really strange to me that people expect domesticated birds to not have the same behaviors as their wild counterparts.

The thing is with chickens there is usually a genetic component to the aggression. While occasionally one can get a bird to stop attacking them, this often doesn't work and even if it does the bird is still a danger to others. Not only that, the chicks he fathers are more likely to be ill tempered so you're going to have issues with future generations too. Someone once said the best way to have nice livestock is to not put up with the aggressive ones and that is the philosophy I use