How to deal with aggressive Silkie rooster?

[Bulcaoma]

Please excuse that this is long to avoid unnecessary questions ahead of time. This is my first flock.

One of my black Silkie roosters started attacking me occasionally 3 weeks ago. Pic is of him 2 months ago. I have 16 hens (of 8 different breeds) and 2 black Silkie roosters all 6 months old that I raised together since chicks. At about 4 months the 2 roosters figured out their pecking order. The hens are all laying and both roosters are contently mating with them.

Their coop is 100 square ft, run is 75x150 ft with lots of grass, bushes, covered areas, compost bin, etc. I don't think they're stressed due to space.

All was well until 3 weeks ago when 1 rooster (top guy) flogged my leg from behind. Seemed silly at first because when i turned around he pretended nothing happened and was happily pecking at the ground. It started only from behind but now he'll also randomly run at me from the front grabbing my pant leg and trying to attack with his feet. Wonder if I was not paying attention initial time, that gave him a taste of dominance or it's just his age. Sometimes he just pecks at ground like nothing happened, other times he keeps looking at me walking around.

Since then I've changed my behavior. I give him space. Walk slowly, making sure he knows I'm around. I praise him when he's showing the hens food or is crowing. Try always facing him. If he eyes me or runs at me i don't stop making eye contact and I yell "hey, stop" and get big, also have something in my hand just in case. I have flung him a few times when he grabbed my pant leg from the front. I only wear pants now in the coop. He's actually never come at me in shorts, but I'm not risking it.

Since he's a Silkie, he's less capable of damage than other roosters, so yelling "stop it, you little shit!" while getting him off my leg with a fling works, but hasn't stopped the behavior.

I have read advice to let roosters be/ignore, attack back, give them food first or cuddle them . Any advice on particular breed? Or age /situation specific? I'm not interested in rooster soup if I can avoid it. So, please advice other than to just cull him. He's good to the hens and we don't have children under 17. Plus being a Silkie, his feet barely scratch, he can can't fly, and he's small.

Thank you for all your expertise.

 

[123RedBeard]

Well ... If you don't want soup ... How about some dumplings?

I'd never give any animal room if they got room to move out of my way ... Sounds like you need to show him your the boss, MAKE him move, either out of your way, or get him off your property one way or another ...

 

[TwoCrows]

Let me tag a couple members to help you that keep a lot of Silkies.

@Debbie292d @2ndTink

 

[FrostRanger]

Soup him. In general once a roo starts being human aggressive it's not fixable. Not only that but he'll pass on his bad attitude to any chicks he fathers

 

[Ecarroll]

Please excuse that this is long to avoid unnecessary questions ahead of time. This is my first flock.

One of my black Silkie roosters started attacking me occasionally 3 weeks ago. Pic is of him 2 months ago. I have 16 hens (of 8 different breeds) and 2 black Silkie roosters all 6 months old that I raised together since chicks. At about 4 months the 2 roosters figured out their pecking order. The hens are all laying and both roosters are contently mating with them.

Their coop is 100 square ft, run is 75x150 ft with lots of grass, bushes, covered areas, compost bin, etc. I don't think they're stressed due to space.

All was well until 3 weeks ago when 1 rooster (top guy) flogged my leg from behind. Seemed silly at first because when i turned around he pretended nothing happened and was happily pecking at the ground. It started only from behind but now he'll also randomly run at me from the front grabbing my pant leg and trying to attack with his feet. Wonder if I was not paying attention initial time, that gave him a taste of dominance or it's just his age. Sometimes he just pecks at ground like nothing happened, other times he keeps looking at me walking around.

Since then I've changed my behavior. I give him space. Walk slowly, making sure he knows I'm around. I praise him when he's showing the hens food or is crowing. Try always facing him. If he eyes me or runs at me i don't stop making eye contact and I yell "hey, stop" and get big, also have something in my hand just in case. I have flung him a few times when he grabbed my pant leg from the front. I only wear pants now in the coop. He's actually never come at me in shorts, but I'm not risking it.

Since he's a Silkie, he's less capable of damage than other roosters, so yelling "stop it, you little shit!" while getting him off my leg with a fling works, but hasn't stopped the behavior.

I have read advice to let roosters be/ignore, attack back, give them food first or cuddle them . Any advice on particular breed? Or age /situation specific? I'm not interested in rooster soup if I can avoid it. So, please advice other than to just cull him. He's good to the hens and we don't have children under 17. Plus being a Silkie, his feet barely scratch, he can can't fly, and he's small.

Thank you for all your expertise.


View attachment 3925331

I was in a similar situation last year (he ended up dying naturally unexpectedly) my silkie roo would attack everyone but me. My only advice is to not kick him because my dad started doing this when mine was aggressive and it made him a lot worse, he attacked my dad every time he went in the backyard and wouldn’t stop as easily as he did for other people. I don’t have any other advice as he died before we could decide what to do.

 

[Debbie292d]

Please excuse that this is long to avoid unnecessary questions ahead of time. This is my first flock.

One of my black Silkie roosters started attacking me occasionally 3 weeks ago. Pic is of him 2 months ago. I have 16 hens (of 8 different breeds) and 2 black Silkie roosters all 6 months old that I raised together since chicks. At about 4 months the 2 roosters figured out their pecking order. The hens are all laying and both roosters are contently mating with them.

Their coop is 100 square ft, run is 75x150 ft with lots of grass, bushes, covered areas, compost bin, etc. I don't think they're stressed due to space.

All was well until 3 weeks ago when 1 rooster (top guy) flogged my leg from behind. Seemed silly at first because when i turned around he pretended nothing happened and was happily pecking at the ground. It started only from behind but now he'll also randomly run at me from the front grabbing my pant leg and trying to attack with his feet. Wonder if I was not paying attention initial time, that gave him a taste of dominance or it's just his age. Sometimes he just pecks at ground like nothing happened, other times he keeps looking at me walking around.

Since then I've changed my behavior. I give him space. Walk slowly, making sure he knows I'm around. I praise him when he's showing the hens food or is crowing. Try always facing him. If he eyes me or runs at me i don't stop making eye contact and I yell "hey, stop" and get big, also have something in my hand just in case. I have flung him a few times when he grabbed my pant leg from the front. I only wear pants now in the coop. He's actually never come at me in shorts, but I'm not risking it.

Since he's a Silkie, he's less capable of damage than other roosters, so yelling "stop it, you little shit!" while getting him off my leg with a fling works, but hasn't stopped the behavior.

I have read advice to let roosters be/ignore, attack back, give them food first or cuddle them . Any advice on particular breed? Or age /situation specific? I'm not interested in rooster soup if I can avoid it. So, please advice other than to just cull him. He's good to the hens and we don't have children under 17. Plus being a Silkie, his feet barely scratch, he can can't fly, and he's small.

Thank you for all your expertise.


View attachment 3925331

We've been in your shoes many times.

What's never worked, a time out in a pen away from the rest.

What has worked:

* Carrying the rooster around for several minutes. Of course, most times you can't catch them to do this, so I'd go in the coop and get King (of the hill) before opening the door in the morning. I'd carry him around in one arm while doing chores with the other, then gently set him down and go about my way. He'd never attack me then. This worked for a few days, but isn't permanent though and needed to be repeated about once a week. When he'd start again, I'd square off with him and scold him. He'd act embarrassed and walk away, yet, a day or two later, I'd have to carry him around again. Eventually, that rooster stopped, and now, years later, King is the best rooster we've ever had.

* A tough case: Piper started out by even attacking the border collie. He wound up being in a breeding pen with 4 other hens, and things went well for a while until he started attacking me. I carried him around, but that was only good for a day or two. I tried pinning him to the ground for a few minutes, talking calmly. That worked, for a day or two. I finally started arming myself with a 2-quart aluminum pitcher. Very light, but effective. I'd hold it out in front of me while doing what I had to in the pen and he'd run up and hit the can. After a couple of days of this, he stopped and would back up when I came in the pen. He would however attack my hubby who thought it was funny and did nothing about it, until we let Piper out of the pen, and he blindsided him a couple of times. Now, Piper never goes after the border collie or me, but he does my hubby who is now upset. What he's done is what you did, yell at him. He initiates contact with Piper yelling at him, then goes about his way, looking behind to see if Piper's following him. If he is, he squares off to him and yells. Now, Piper ignores the dog and me, and watches hubby like a hawk, but doesn't attack.

When I said above, what never works, is a timeout in a pen, it's because we only did it for a few days. These roosters are at the peak of their hormones and most will simply outgrow their behavior. The two examples I gave were well over a year when they stopped. So, penning them up in a time-out alone might have worked if I'd done it for several weeks or even months.

We've also had two roosters we determined were lost causes and we shot one. One killed a hen, and before I knew which chicken did this, was found him killing another one. That one never attacked us, just the hens. Another did similarly but didn't kill any chickens. He never attacked us either, just every chicken we owned, drawing blood. A time-out with the latter didn't work. He'd be released and literally run to the first chicken he saw and attack. The neighbor who raises Brahmas took him when she learned we were culling him. That was 3-4 years ago and he's still there, getting along with chickens 4X his size, including one Brahma rooster.

Yours being six months old is just his age mostly. He may turn out to be the best rooster ever, but you have to be persistent and consistent, and this could take months. I think when my hubby allowed Piper to attack him initially thinking it was funny, is why this continued with him, but not me. The border collie learned to just stay away from him and he doesn't pursue her anymore.

I wish you the best with yours.

P.S. Thank you for the tag, @TwoCrows

 

[JacinLarkwell]

In my experience, once they start actively going after you like this one, they don't stop. Even silkies can end up doing a lot of damage if they get in a lucky hit.

 

[Bulcaoma]

We've been in your shoes many times.

What's never worked, a time out in a pen away from the rest.

What has worked:

* Carrying the rooster around for several minutes. Of course, most times you can't catch them to do this, so I'd go in the coop and get King (of the hill) before opening the door in the morning. I'd carry him around in one arm while doing chores with the other, then gently set him down and go about my way. He'd never attack me then. This worked for a few days, but isn't permanent though and needed to be repeated about once a week. When he'd start again, I'd square off with him and scold him. He'd act embarrassed and walk away, yet, a day or two later, I'd have to carry him around again. Eventually, that rooster stopped, and now, years later, King is the best rooster we've ever had.

* A tough case: Piper started out by even attacking the border collie. He wound up being in a breeding pen with 4 other hens, and things went well for a while until he started attacking me. I carried him around, but that was only good for a day or two. I tried pinning him to the ground for a few minutes, talking calmly. That worked, for a day or two. I finally started arming myself with a 2-quart aluminum pitcher. Very light, but effective. I'd hold it out in front of me while doing what I had to in the pen and he'd run up and hit the can. After a couple of days of this, he stopped and would back up when I came in the pen. He would however attack my hubby who thought it was funny and did nothing about it, until we let Piper out of the pen, and he blindsided him a couple of times. Now, Piper never goes after the border collie or me, but he does my hubby who is now upset. What he's done is what you did, yell at him. He initiates contact with Piper yelling at him, then goes about his way, looking behind to see if Piper's following him. If he is, he squares off to him andlls. Now, Piper ignores the dog and me, and watches hubby like a hawk, but doesn't attack.

When I said above, what never works, is a timeout in a pen, it's because we only did it for a few days. These roosters are at the peak of their hormones and most will simply outgrow their behavior. The two examples I gave were well over a year when they stopped. So, penning them up in a time-out alone might have worked if I'd done it for several weeks or even months.

We've also had two roosters we determined were lost causes and we shot one. One killed a hen, and before I knew which chicken did this, was found him killing another one. That one never attacked us, just the hens. Another did similarly but didn't kill any chickens. He never attacked us either, just every chicken we owned, drawing blood. A time-out with the latter didn't work. He'd be released and literally run to the first chicken he saw and attack. The neighbor who raises Brahmas took him when she learned we were culling him. That was 3-4 years ago and he's still there, getting along with chickens 4X his size, including one Brahma rooster.

Yours being six months old is just his age mostly. He may turn out to be the best rooster ever, but you have to be persistent and consistent, and this could take months. I think when my hubby allowed Piper to attack him initially thinking it was funny, is why this continued with him, but not me. The border collie learned to just stay away from him and he doesn't pursue her anymore.

I wish you the best with yours.

P.S. Thank you for the tag, @TwoCrows

Thank you Debbie292. To clarify, how do you "scold" your rooster?

I only yell when he's in process of attacking and don't kick, but if he's on my pant leg i swing it to get him off. I speak nice and talk to him while he's acting normal. I also have a pitcher or egg carton in a hand in front if i bend down. He never attacks when I'm down, just when I'm walking or standing up.

 

[2ndTink]

@Debbie292d has a great post! I haven't had a lot of luck changing bad rooster behavior either. I've had a couple mean ones (key word here is "had"), a couple a little spicy, and a couple that are total dolls! I have noticed that chicks from my meanest roosters tend to also be aggressive.

It's possible that he will mellow with time, but there's no guarantee. As many others have said, once they start they likely won't stop.

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you Debbie292. To clarify, how do you "scold" your rooster?

I only yell when he's in process of attacking and don't kick, but if he's on my pant leg i swing it to get him off. I speak nice and talk to him while he's acting normal. I also have a pitcher or egg carton in a hand in front if i bend down. He never attacks when I'm down, just when I'm walking or standing up.

This only works to prolong a previous method, like carrying him around. When it appears he's reverting back, it's facing him squarely and loudly yell at him to back off. It's the body language you give when you're mad and scolding (yelling at them while pointing finger or shaking fist). They don't know we're mad nor understand barely anything we ever say, but your body language is telling them you're not a force to be reckoned with right now.

Remember, it's his age right now. As others have said, he could be like this forever, but he also could be just fine. He needs a chance.