I've actually been really impressed with my accidental cockerel. He was one of the friendliest chicks, and was always hopping on my arm. He's now gigantic, and has never tried to puppy hump me. He doesn't like being handled, but he has been super patient when I do handle him, and he has intentionally avoided pecking my fingers when I give him treats. He's around four and a half months old now. I really hope he remains this sweet in the future.
Thank you! We were really struggling with our unexpected roo. He's a big guy and as one of our first chickens we were just figuring stuff out. A few times now we almost gave up but kept praying and persevering on it. He never seemed to be necessarily aggressive but sometimes just, feisty. He tends to attack our shoes, not our legs or upper body. We're still trying to make eye contact with him (And he's always happy when we do) but also not send mixed signals when crouching or bending over to do so. It's always a joy to watch him tilting his head this way and that and his eyes looking around like he's figuring it out.
My Rooster was starting to get aggressive with me at about 6 months. This is my first time ever raising chickens. Your explanation really helps. Thank you. I have an adult special needs son who can get aggressive from time to time. So I did to the rooster what I would do to my son. Held him until he calmed down. Then gave him a love and let him go. He has really calmed down with me. That was important because my son is afraid of birds. Having our chickens was to help him overcome his fear. Which I’m happy to say he now helps me with the chickens. ❤ he collects eggs and even laughs at them. Thank you for your video.
My husband has also taken that approach with some of our roosters. I'm so glad to hear that this has worked for you and your son is able to get joy out of your flock and overcome his fears! :)
I started bonding with my rooster when he was about 18 weeks. He is the cuddliest rooster I’ve ever met. He is nicer than some of my hens lol. He’s one of a kind. Love you Ian
Wow! That makes perfect sense! I'm more shocked over how many people out here in the country have it all wrong about roosters thank you thank you thank you
Roos get a bad rap. This video is excellent and makes total sense. Chicken-keeping is a huge responsibility, but some folks just take a more passive approach and then wonder why they have problems.
I watched this video a year ago while raising my first two cockerels and now came across it again while raising another batch that has become my rooster flock. I really needed the reminder. So thank you very much. You always seem to have really good ideas and perspectives on chicken behavior. I know that my cockerel Eli and I are just misunderstanding each other. But we are going to make it through this rough patch without him ending up soup. Or I shall die trying, I suppose. 🤷🏻♀️ He’s lucky that I love him so much. 😂 I know there is an amazing intelligent rooster in there, but he must be going through a bit of a puppy phase.
I think some roosters at that age are so pumped up on hormones, they just don't even know what to do with themselves. Kudos to you for sticking with him. :)
I wish I would have found you four years ago when I first started having chickens (as an adult)! Your communication with your audience as well as with your animals fits us so well! We have put down 2 roosters for being HORABLE with my young grandson ( a Bar Rock and an Orpington). With your advice, perhaps Santana and Moto Moto would still be with us 😢. Unfortunately my husband left the gate unlocked (he has dementia problems) and a bobcat got in at night and wiped out the flock, so we are starting all over this year. This time with 6 brown Leghorn hens and 2 roosters (one was a freeebee), 8 Speckeled Sussux hens and one rooster, and 3 Buckeye hens and a rooster. The two Brown Leghorn roosters ( they are all now 5 weeks old) are already picking on the Buckeye rooster horribly. I built a 4'x7'x 4' (tall) nursery into the chicken coop and have now released all but Virgo the picked on Buckeye and Hope, a Brown Leghorn that had a hard start and has remained slow to mature and last to be aloud to eat.) Obviously Virgo (named that because he is docile but a gentleman with the girls and let's them eat first, and protective of them) is going to be twice the size of the two bully Leghorns eventually and when old enough to fly the Legorns will probably be gone all day foraging, while Virgo will be out in my garden with me eating grasshoppers and such; until that time comes (3 more months?) How do I get the more aggressive boys to chill out and share the 12'x12' coop and 20'x30' run like gentlemen?
Thank you for this information! Give me peace. I have 4 surprise roosters and they r all super sweet. They love to be held and one even fell asleep on my lap. They r almost sweater than the hens. They r still young only about 2 months old.
Wow, you truly are a godsend with all this information. Not only is it making the life of the human caretaker so much easier but of course you are providing the knowledge to create an environment for happy chickens. I will definitely be sharing your channel with my chicken keeping friends. Thank you so much.
We recently got 5 baby chickens and I trained 3 of them so far to get on my hand...I spend time with 2-3 times a day with them, holding them, giving kisses, and petting them...am I doing it right?
My buff orphington jumped me once from behind. I ran him down and hugged him while telling him what a sweet chicken he is. I cooed and pet him for a bit then let him down. He never jumped me again... he gave me space so I wouldn't love him up again! lol. He was aggressive to others though. Sadly I think he poisoned himself on silver leaf nightshade. I rip every bit I find out of the ground now. It's the perfect weed. Grows without water, in mineral soil, is poison, un-killable and has tiny thorns.
I just found your videos and am so happy to see your behavioral approach to bonding with your chicks! I am a retired behavioral specialist who has a bunch of chickens, turkeys, and guineas as pets. As with my 7 dogs, "mini-" house pig, or any other pets, I try to have a close relationship with all of my birds and have many cockrells living within each of my groups. Honestly, I hatch my own and allow my girls to hatch their own. I have several "accidental" pullets who turned out to be roos and even some "intentional" roos (2) I have "rescued." I just haven't been able to bring myself to cull just because of a bird's gender. If a bird is not able to fit in with a group (usually because of a dominance issue with another roo), I have used a time-out cage for a safe separation for the more aggressive bird with later reintroduction to the group with close monitoring. Issues seem to work themselves out eventually as I use so many of the same techniques you are explaining. I love your content for myself and for those other bird-moms and bird-dads who want to have happy, well-adjusted birds. Thank you for sharing your expertise! 🐓🐥🐔🦃❤
We have naked necks and a lot of them. 15 roosters of different ages last time I counted. most of them live in a free range bachelor flock. I love the chicks and raise them in the house giving all the chicks a lot of belly rubs and attention. i have incorporated many of the things you suggested just by coincidence. I do not have a single rooster that I would consider aggressive. many don't like to be touched and run a short distance if I reach out to them but they all follow me around and help with outside activities. a few wont let me work too long before they demand some cuddling. There are 3 that will occasionally come around and peck my boots when they first see me. Once I get their attention up towards my face they stop. I realize when they were in the house they were in a brooder off the ground and were eye level with me. I guess they recognize my face not my feet. I don't know if it is just the kind sweet disposition of the naked neck breed of chicken but I agree that not all roosters have to be jerks. I have two dogs that are also very involved with raising the chicks and they are accepted without aggression as well. many times the dogs and roosters are eating from the same feeder. My dogs would rather eat chicken food then their own. its a constant struggle. Great video, thank you for always sharing your wisdom to help us become better chicken keepers.
Your roosters sound wonderful! I've never had Naked Necks, but they are #1 on my dream breed list. What characters! Thanks for sharing your story, Lisa. I can relate with the struggle of dogs and chicken feed! Bri
The first and only batch of chickens I bought from Tractor Supply (I bought 2 starlight green eggers and 2 buff orpingtons), ended up having two roosters mixed in with the pullets. I hand raised all 4 of them like pets, and was surprised when the two starlights started crowing. I had no idea what to do with roosters, and I didn't want anything bad to happen to them by giving them away, so I continued socializing them like I did with the hens. They both ended up very sweet even while being handled and even bathed. One of them passed away from illness despite vet treatment, but the remaining rooster is basically one of my house-dogs now.
My rooster is jealous of his hens when they climb on me and get cuddles from me. He's a weary rooster and doesn't want to interact with me. He's building confidence though, and is slowly being to step on my leg, or stand closer to me while eating. I don't want him to start testing me or challenging me because he sees me hanging out with his chickens.
I love your analogy. It is easy for me to relate to and understand. I am doing roosters again after a bad first experience. I love my 2 roosters now. Both are sweet and good with kids. I recently got more hens and there's been more rooster drama. I thought the younger one tried to attack me but wasn't completely sure. I've had a special bond with him. He even comes when called. I think I misread his actions and now have my fear of roosters again. This video has helped me understand and gain more courage. Thank you!
It sounds like you really love your boys too! :) I'm so happy to hear you are working to understand their behavior and build the best relationship you can with them. The chicken world needs more people like you! If you have any more trouble or you're finding yourself feeling too fearful, I recommend you reach out to Roovolution - Roovolution.com. (They also have a TH-cam channel.) They are a non-profit organization that helps people work with any problems they're having with their roosters. The 2 people who run this are amazing - the most knowledgeable, rooster-loving folks you'll find. You can contact them by email or you can set up a free 1-hour consult. You can also find help in the Facebook group, Rooster Allies (the Roovolution people are moderators there too). Hopefully you won't need the help, but since you've had a bad experience in the past, I figured I'd let you know it was there, just in case. Best, Bri
@thefeatherbrain Thank you so much for the info. I got attacked today, and my top roo came to my rescue. I just watched a video from Roovolution and definitely want to take that approach in repairing our relationship.
I had one Roo that I tried to bond with every day since the day I brought him home. I picked him up from the hatchery so he would be as young as possible. Every day, at least once a day, I would bring him in and sit with him one on one for a least 10 minutes and talk to him and just have him sit there with me so he would learn I wasn’t a threat. I would sit outside their brooder and just do stuff on my phone or talk to them so they got used to seeing me. This rooster, NEVER GOT USED TO ME. He just never accepted me. He ended up being one of the stupidest chickens I’d ever raised so in the end I wasn’t disappointed because I don’t want to pass on whatever genes make him THAT dumb but at some point when he was probably 4 months old, I honestly just gave up and stopped trying with him. Nurture has a BIG impact but some chickens are just more likely to be friendly by nature. They have identified certain genes that predispose a chicken to be more prone to aggressive behavior so sometimes it might not be something you’ve done necessarily. This is why I prioritize keeping hens with good personalities, because that’s what I want to be passed on to any chicks I hatch.
I’ve done all you have suggested. I have watched and watched to see if he is being triggered to attack one certain hen (the same every time) she submits but, he just attacks her and pecks her neck and head extremely hard and won’t stop. This has been on going for about 3 months. The only thing that has saved him is his exceptional oversight of the hens. He keeps them very safe, except for the one hen. It’s as if he has decided she isn’t welcome in the flock anymore and he is ready to prove it by killing her.
I have a bantam male that is "aggressive" with me. He will bite and try to mount my hand. All he wants is some love and will happily let you pick him up and love on him. Just the initial interaction is sketchy haha
I just got a HUGE Ayam Cemani that's only 8 weeks old but he's so dang big conpared to my others that are 10 weeks old. And while i had him purring a couple times, and did the submissive thing, but i can tell I'll have to interact consistently with him. Im keeping him with me in my darn room until i introduce him into the flock, where i have a smaller 11 week old Roo watching over 12 pullets getting overworked, that's some kinda hybrid of like 5 breeds, with a silkie in there somewhere, but he's not as ummm manly as my 7/8ths Cemani, 1/8th Ameraucana
I don't have an issue with a rooster flogging me a little in the front. But the first one I raised (day old), flogged me when I turned to leave the coop. He was on the back of my neck & bloodied me!!! He came at me several times, I couldn't get out the door. So I kept kicking him off me, reached inside the closet next to me & grabbed a shovel! I used it as a shield & eventually was able to get him on the floor & booted his butt outside thru the chicken door. I literally locked him out & just stood there so shocked. ALL of the hens in the coop with me were frozen. Lol lol He ended up being processed the next week because he didn't stop this behavior. I've had a Buff Orrington & a Barred Rock that were recently processed because they were out to kill each other & both were very rough on the females, blood on their backs & blood in the coup. The Speckled Sussex roosterwe have is good but he keeps the flock in a tense state all the time.
At work my boss has a rooster that she calls her buddy because he is nice as she hatched him and he will climb into where he was hatched when they're near it. He also used to let her pet him but now he doesn't as he's an adult now.
I have a flock of 17 hens and 1 lavender orpington rooster he is 1 year old. I'm adding 10 hens. I would also like to add a Mille fleur belgian bearded d'uccle bantam rooster and a blue cochin rooster. Do you think that's possible to do without roosters fighting? Do you think they will be able to live together?
I have a California leghorn he was born the end of March with all 5 hens. He is a very good big boy to his lady's! But he will come at me and attack me with all he has! I can't put the big boy down! His brother died and was a sweet roo. I pick him up and make of him, but I turn my back he will come at me. He even sneaks up and hit me in the leg! I can't get him to stop! I have done everything you have said here and yet he will het me in the leg! I can't have my wife go in, he will also come at her! I am 62 and wife is older then I! So I don't know what to do????? I guess I can each time pit him in a time out/dog crate in with his hens... That's about the only thing I can do left. HELP PLEASE.
So sorry to hear you’re having trouble with him and thanks for reaching out. Help is available! Go to roovolution.com. It’s a nonprofit run by a super knowledgeable, rooster-loving couple and you can set up a consultation with them for free. They can help you out one-on-one and they are truly amazing at helping people with their problem roosters. Please let me know how things turn out. Best of luck, Bri
Well I thought he was protecting his girls and he appears to do the same thing when a bird of pray flys over. We have several free run sections and if any of us go near one this he runs to that section full speed in our direction ., seems aggressive to me. He also pick at me when I'm tossing snacks over the fencing. I had a rooster as a kid never had this problem. I say he needs more than just 4 girls and we are hoping this helps with his overprotection of his girls
Does this apply to male quail? I have a 6 week old quail that used to love me but is now just crazy. He is scared of me and runs from me when I'm a whole meter away :(
12 roosters over past 8 years. 4 I let crawl all over me for months. The rest i never spent any time with physical contact. 11 want to fight most of the time. One or two on a more seldom basis. However the 4 that i have photos of them perched on my legs or chair arm as i took a break in the backyard are batting 100% on the aggressive team. Being a somewhat large old guy; i just ignore them. But when the grand kids come to visit they all go in lock down.I know one thing for sure about chickens. There are no absolutes in training or behavior.
Very true on no absolutes but the right kind of training can work wonders. I use positive dog training techniques on any aggressive roosters I've had. It takes a lot of patience, trial-and-error, and motivation, but it's worked EVERY time. Here's a blog post I wrote on it if you're ever interested - www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/taming-aggressive-roosters
Roosters seem to keep the flock on a tense & alert state, I've had 4 so far. The flock is flighty and even though I stick to a calm routine, he still freaks out if I lean over to pick up the cookie sheet (slowly) that i feed them Greek yogurt & oats on once a week. So he freaks out, so the hens freak out. Is this normal? He use to sit on my lap or next to me on the floor when he was 5-8 weeks old, but since he's full grown he won't come near me nor allow me to get too close.
I suspect he'll calm down with age. Also, with the days getting longer, he's likely getting more hormonal (mating season's just around the corner), and may be feeling more on edge.
Oh yes.... the mating season is upon us. Lol We're building larger coops & will be able to give them more forging area too. I hope this helps. The coops we have currently is for 22 chickens, we have only 15, so I know they have enough room. He just seems uptight. Lol
People might think they become aggressive but a lot of time the rooster think you are his hen I have two roster that wants to try to mate with me , so when they act up I just pick them up it calms him down.
this made me decide that I in fact do not want a rooster, bc my hens dont deserve to have to mate with him several times a day 😂 they deserve peace lol. fingers crossed that all my lil chickies are hens!
Some hens actually love mating several times a day. Others, not so much. There are definite pros and cons to keeping roosters, and I ADORE them, but, overall, life is easier without them. :)
My young rooster is really sweet, he's 7 months age but he hates a lot of things for no reason... He attacks all my shoes and different things, he gets anxious with loud sounds and any different moviment on the house, and more older he gets he's being more territorialist... I don't know, he's sweet most of the time, but I'm afraid he'll be more agressive 😅
I think mine is attacking me because he came flying in at me when I was digging up some worms for the girls and he always waits until im not paying attention he is always good at catching me off guard but he came flying in at me like kung fu panda from the front i was knelt down and he always seems mad when I even talk to my girls he doesn't let them get food from me or anything he will get in-between us when I call them and he'll like start kicking up dirt its as if he is telling them to stay away and they better listen because he will be mad and discipline them later on
I punt them and have yet to have a ''mean'' rooster.😂😂 before everyone freaks out. The top rooster doesn't allow hens to be mounted in front of him. If the top roo doesn't retaliate the lower roo will see him as a poor weak flock leader and keep doing it until he builds enough courage to challenge him. You are the flock leader so when a rooster mounts a hen near you he's testing you. I simply give a light punt just enough to run him off the hen. See 7:07 in the video. You're not being mean you're just setting boundaries. I treat my roosters just like the hens other than that. My favorite roo of the flock I like to toss him treats when the hens aren't looking and pretend I don't see it. He tidbits and gets the brownie points with the ladies.
@@RR-yh6vr yea and the occasional walk directly at them like they aren't even there making them move out of your way helps teach them who the boss is. Mine know there's nothing to fear, just take a few steps to the side. I found it funny when I started my flock a few years ago. When they hit puberty. The friendliest roo's towards me moved up in the flock. The ones that sounded the danger alarm when I was around got unfavored by the rest of the flock and booted to perimeter duty pretty quick. Chickens are funny creatures 😂
There’s other ways without cruelty. Being mean to a much smaller animal must make you feel powerful? You need to feel like your the boss. I have never understood it.
I've actually been really impressed with my accidental cockerel. He was one of the friendliest chicks, and was always hopping on my arm.
He's now gigantic, and has never tried to puppy hump me.
He doesn't like being handled, but he has been super patient when I do handle him, and he has intentionally avoided pecking my fingers when I give him treats.
He's around four and a half months old now. I really hope he remains this sweet in the future.
I play with mine all the time and in 10 years I've never had a aggressive rooster. I have about 15 of them right now. all super friendly
Do you keep them together may I ask?
Thank you!
We were really struggling with our unexpected roo. He's a big guy and as one of our first chickens we were just figuring stuff out. A few times now we almost gave up but kept praying and persevering on it. He never seemed to be necessarily aggressive but sometimes just, feisty. He tends to attack our shoes, not our legs or upper body. We're still trying to make eye contact with him (And he's always happy when we do) but also not send mixed signals when crouching or bending over to do so.
It's always a joy to watch him tilting his head this way and that and his eyes looking around like he's figuring it out.
My Rooster was starting to get aggressive with me at about 6 months. This is my first time ever raising chickens. Your explanation really helps. Thank you.
I have an adult special needs son who can get aggressive from time to time. So I did to the rooster what I would do to my son.
Held him until he calmed down. Then gave him a love and let him go. He has really calmed down with me.
That was important because my son is afraid of birds. Having our chickens was to help him overcome his fear. Which I’m happy to say he now helps me with the chickens. ❤ he collects eggs and even laughs at them.
Thank you for your video.
My husband has also taken that approach with some of our roosters. I'm so glad to hear that this has worked for you and your son is able to get joy out of your flock and overcome his fears! :)
That an idea for a Disney movie
Disney movie?
Maybe 20 or 30 years ago.
Today's Disney movie would be about a rooster who identifies as a hen and lays beautiful golden eggs.
The dramatic reanactment is gold! 😂
I started bonding with my rooster when he was about 18 weeks. He is the cuddliest rooster I’ve ever met. He is nicer than some of my hens lol. He’s one of a kind. Love you Ian
Wow! That makes perfect sense! I'm more shocked over how many people out here in the country have it all wrong about roosters thank you thank you thank you
Roos get a bad rap. This video is excellent and makes total sense. Chicken-keeping is a huge responsibility, but some folks just take a more passive approach and then wonder why they have problems.
You are sure a funny, cool person and love the stuffed animal re-enactment. 🐓 🐔
I watched this video a year ago while raising my first two cockerels and now came across it again while raising another batch that has become my rooster flock. I really needed the reminder. So thank you very much. You always seem to have really good ideas and perspectives on chicken behavior.
I know that my cockerel Eli and I are just misunderstanding each other. But we are going to make it through this rough patch without him ending up soup. Or I shall die trying, I suppose. 🤷🏻♀️ He’s lucky that I love him so much. 😂 I know there is an amazing intelligent rooster in there, but he must be going through a bit of a puppy phase.
I think some roosters at that age are so pumped up on hormones, they just don't even know what to do with themselves. Kudos to you for sticking with him. :)
I think "defensive" is more accurate than aggressive
You have helped so much through my first flock. I bought 6 and ended up with 4 roosters and 2 hens lol Thank you for this video!
I was gifted 19 chicks.
2 died before maturity.
Of the remaining 17, there are 4 hens and 13 roosters.
I hit the rooster lottery LOL.
I wish I would have found you four years ago when I first started having chickens (as an adult)! Your communication with your audience as well as with your animals fits us so well! We have put down 2 roosters for being HORABLE with my young grandson ( a Bar Rock and an Orpington). With your advice, perhaps Santana and Moto Moto would still be with us 😢.
Unfortunately my husband left the gate unlocked (he has dementia problems) and a bobcat got in at night and wiped out the flock, so we are starting all over this year. This time with 6 brown Leghorn hens and 2 roosters (one was a freeebee), 8 Speckeled Sussux hens and one rooster, and 3 Buckeye hens and a rooster. The two Brown Leghorn roosters ( they are all now 5 weeks old) are already picking on the Buckeye rooster horribly.
I built a 4'x7'x 4' (tall) nursery into the chicken coop and have now released all but Virgo the picked on Buckeye and Hope, a Brown Leghorn that had a hard start and has remained slow to mature and last to be aloud to eat.) Obviously Virgo (named that because he is docile but a gentleman with the girls and let's them eat first, and protective of them) is going to be twice the size of the two bully Leghorns eventually and when old enough to fly the Legorns will probably be gone all day foraging, while Virgo will be out in my garden with me eating grasshoppers and such; until that time comes (3 more months?) How do I get the more aggressive boys to chill out and share the 12'x12' coop and 20'x30' run like gentlemen?
Thank you for this information! Give me peace. I have 4 surprise roosters and they r all super sweet. They love to be held and one even fell asleep on my lap. They r almost sweater than the hens. They r still young only about 2 months old.
Wow, you truly are a godsend with all this information. Not only is it making the life of the human caretaker so much easier but of course you are providing the knowledge to create an environment for happy chickens. I will definitely be sharing your channel with my chicken keeping friends. Thank you so much.
We recently got 5 baby chickens and I trained 3 of them so far to get on my hand...I spend time with 2-3 times a day with them, holding them, giving kisses, and petting them...am I doing it right?
My buff orphington jumped me once from behind. I ran him down and hugged him while telling him what a sweet chicken he is. I cooed and pet him for a bit then let him down. He never jumped me again... he gave me space so I wouldn't love him up again! lol. He was aggressive to others though.
Sadly I think he poisoned himself on silver leaf nightshade. I rip every bit I find out of the ground now. It's the perfect weed. Grows without water, in mineral soil, is poison, un-killable and has tiny thorns.
Very informative. I love your graphics and sound effects 😀 Thank you
Thanks. I hope this method works this spring. I plan to have turkeys too. Sadly, we had to transfer a couple of tom turkeys last time.
I just found your videos and am so happy to see your behavioral approach to bonding with your chicks! I am a retired behavioral specialist who has a bunch of chickens, turkeys, and guineas as pets. As with my 7 dogs, "mini-" house pig, or any other pets, I try to have a close relationship with all of my birds and have many cockrells living within each of my groups. Honestly, I hatch my own and allow my girls to hatch their own. I have several "accidental" pullets who turned out to be roos and even some "intentional" roos (2) I have "rescued." I just haven't been able to bring myself to cull just because of a bird's gender. If a bird is not able to fit in with a group (usually because of a dominance issue with another roo), I have used a time-out cage for a safe separation for the more aggressive bird with later reintroduction to the group with close monitoring. Issues seem to work themselves out eventually as I use so many of the same techniques you are explaining. I love your content for myself and for those other bird-moms and bird-dads who want to have happy, well-adjusted birds. Thank you for sharing your expertise! 🐓🐥🐔🦃❤
Thanks for sharing your story - always so nice to hear that others are doing similar things and having success! :)
We have naked necks and a lot of them. 15 roosters of different ages last time I counted. most of them live in a free range bachelor flock. I love the chicks and raise them in the house giving all the chicks a lot of belly rubs and attention. i have incorporated many of the things you suggested just by coincidence. I do not have a single rooster that I would consider aggressive. many don't like to be touched and run a short distance if I reach out to them but they all follow me around and help with outside activities. a few wont let me work too long before they demand some cuddling. There are 3 that will occasionally come around and peck my boots when they first see me. Once I get their attention up towards my face they stop. I realize when they were in the house they were in a brooder off the ground and were eye level with me. I guess they recognize my face not my feet. I don't know if it is just the kind sweet disposition of the naked neck breed of chicken but I agree that not all roosters have to be jerks. I have two dogs that are also very involved with raising the chicks and they are accepted without aggression as well. many times the dogs and roosters are eating from the same feeder. My dogs would rather eat chicken food then their own. its a constant struggle. Great video, thank you for always sharing your wisdom to help us become better chicken keepers.
Your roosters sound wonderful! I've never had Naked Necks, but they are #1 on my dream breed list. What characters! Thanks for sharing your story, Lisa. I can relate with the struggle of dogs and chicken feed!
Bri
The first and only batch of chickens I bought from Tractor Supply (I bought 2 starlight green eggers and 2 buff orpingtons), ended up having two roosters mixed in with the pullets. I hand raised all 4 of them like pets, and was surprised when the two starlights started crowing. I had no idea what to do with roosters, and I didn't want anything bad to happen to them by giving them away, so I continued socializing them like I did with the hens. They both ended up very sweet even while being handled and even bathed. One of them passed away from illness despite vet treatment, but the remaining rooster is basically one of my house-dogs now.
My rooster is jealous of his hens when they climb on me and get cuddles from me. He's a weary rooster and doesn't want to interact with me. He's building confidence though, and is slowly being to step on my leg, or stand closer to me while eating. I don't want him to start testing me or challenging me because he sees me hanging out with his chickens.
I love your analogy. It is easy for me to relate to and understand. I am doing roosters again after a bad first experience. I love my 2 roosters now. Both are sweet and good with kids. I recently got more hens and there's been more rooster drama. I thought the younger one tried to attack me but wasn't completely sure. I've had a special bond with him. He even comes when called. I think I misread his actions and now have my fear of roosters again. This video has helped me understand and gain more courage. Thank you!
It sounds like you really love your boys too! :) I'm so happy to hear you are working to understand their behavior and build the best relationship you can with them. The chicken world needs more people like you!
If you have any more trouble or you're finding yourself feeling too fearful, I recommend you reach out to Roovolution - Roovolution.com. (They also have a TH-cam channel.) They are a non-profit organization that helps people work with any problems they're having with their roosters. The 2 people who run this are amazing - the most knowledgeable, rooster-loving folks you'll find. You can contact them by email or you can set up a free 1-hour consult. You can also find help in the Facebook group, Rooster Allies (the Roovolution people are moderators there too).
Hopefully you won't need the help, but since you've had a bad experience in the past, I figured I'd let you know it was there, just in case.
Best,
Bri
@thefeatherbrain Thank you so much for the info. I got attacked today, and my top roo came to my rescue. I just watched a video from Roovolution and definitely want to take that approach in repairing our relationship.
Back for a rewatch. Got a little cockrell in my bunch that I got this spring, he's 9 weeks old now.
I'm really glad I found your channel. Great depth of knowledge here. Much appreciated.
I had one Roo that I tried to bond with every day since the day I brought him home. I picked him up from the hatchery so he would be as young as possible. Every day, at least once a day, I would bring him in and sit with him one on one for a least 10 minutes and talk to him and just have him sit there with me so he would learn I wasn’t a threat. I would sit outside their brooder and just do stuff on my phone or talk to them so they got used to seeing me. This rooster, NEVER GOT USED TO ME. He just never accepted me. He ended up being one of the stupidest chickens I’d ever raised so in the end I wasn’t disappointed because I don’t want to pass on whatever genes make him THAT dumb but at some point when he was probably 4 months old, I honestly just gave up and stopped trying with him. Nurture has a BIG impact but some chickens are just more likely to be friendly by nature. They have identified certain genes that predispose a chicken to be more prone to aggressive behavior so sometimes it might not be something you’ve done necessarily. This is why I prioritize keeping hens with good personalities, because that’s what I want to be passed on to any chicks I hatch.
I’ve done all you have suggested. I have watched and watched to see if he is being triggered to attack one certain hen (the same every time) she submits but, he just attacks her and pecks her neck and head extremely hard and won’t stop.
This has been on going for about 3 months.
The only thing that has saved him is his exceptional oversight of the hens. He keeps them very safe, except for the one hen. It’s as if he has decided she isn’t welcome in the flock anymore and he is ready to prove it by killing her.
I have a bantam male that is "aggressive" with me. He will bite and try to mount my hand. All he wants is some love and will happily let you pick him up and love on him. Just the initial interaction is sketchy haha
Thank you because I have a young one znd that is exactly what I was going to do he is young and he is hurting the hens.
Great using positive reinforcement with roosters! awesome!
Over time, I only had one roo that was "tacky". The others were all wonderful birds.
One of my roosters name is Lucifer.
I named him that because he was my evil rooster.
He is one of one of my 13 roosters (long story).
7:08 Why did that white rooster just come out of no where and drop kick the other guy? Lol.
The white rooster, Perly, is the dominant rooster - He doesn't like Quiggles mating with anyone! :)
I just got a HUGE Ayam Cemani that's only 8 weeks old but he's so dang big conpared to my others that are 10 weeks old. And while i had him purring a couple times, and did the submissive thing, but i can tell I'll have to interact consistently with him. Im keeping him with me in my darn room until i introduce him into the flock, where i have a smaller 11 week old Roo watching over 12 pullets getting overworked, that's some kinda hybrid of like 5 breeds, with a silkie in there somewhere, but he's not as ummm manly as my 7/8ths Cemani, 1/8th Ameraucana
I don't have an issue with a rooster flogging me a little in the front. But the first one I raised (day old), flogged me when I turned to leave the coop. He was on the back of my neck & bloodied me!!! He came at me several times, I couldn't get out the door. So I kept kicking him off me, reached inside the closet next to me & grabbed a shovel! I used it as a shield & eventually was able to get him on the floor & booted his butt outside thru the chicken door.
I literally locked him out & just stood there so shocked. ALL of the hens in the coop with me were frozen. Lol lol
He ended up being processed the next week because he didn't stop this behavior.
I've had a Buff Orrington & a Barred Rock that were recently processed because they were out to kill each other & both were very rough on the females, blood on their backs & blood in the coup. The Speckled Sussex roosterwe have is good but he keeps the flock in a tense state all the time.
I have a rooster named Comet and I want to raise him. And I just got Comet today
“I frickin’ hate boots”😂🤣
Ty for the advice. I’m new to chickens and am learning so I can. Btw beautiful roo
Cute thumbnail😊
At work my boss has a rooster that she calls her buddy because he is nice as she hatched him and he will climb into where he was hatched when they're near it. He also used to let her pet him but now he doesn't as he's an adult now.
Thank you for all this beautiful info
I have a flock of 17 hens and 1 lavender orpington rooster he is 1 year old. I'm adding 10 hens. I would also like to add a Mille fleur belgian bearded d'uccle bantam rooster and a blue cochin rooster. Do you think that's possible to do without roosters fighting? Do you think they will be able to live together?
I have a California leghorn he was born the end of March with all 5 hens. He is a very good big boy to his lady's! But he will come at me and attack me with all he has! I can't put the big boy down! His brother died and was a sweet roo. I pick him up and make of him, but I turn my back he will come at me. He even sneaks up and hit me in the leg! I can't get him to stop! I have done everything you have said here and yet he will het me in the leg! I can't have my wife go in, he will also come at her! I am 62 and wife is older then I! So I don't know what to do????? I guess I can each time pit him in a time out/dog crate in with his hens... That's about the only thing I can do left. HELP PLEASE.
So sorry to hear you’re having trouble with him and thanks for reaching out. Help is available! Go to roovolution.com. It’s a nonprofit run by a super knowledgeable, rooster-loving couple and you can set up a consultation with them for free. They can help you out one-on-one and they are truly amazing at helping people with their problem roosters. Please let me know how things turn out.
Best of luck,
Bri
@@thefeatherbrain I will, thank you!
Great video! Thank you for all you share.
luv it! Yup i built a cock pit! Some roos would lure hens to his bachelor pad😚
Well I thought he was protecting his girls and he appears to do the same thing when a bird of pray flys over. We have several free run sections and if any of us go near one this he runs to that section full speed in our direction ., seems aggressive to me. He also pick at me when I'm tossing snacks over the fencing. I had a rooster as a kid never had this problem. I say he needs more than just 4 girls and we are hoping this helps with his overprotection of his girls
Does this apply to male quail? I have a 6 week old quail that used to love me but is now just crazy. He is scared of me and runs from me when I'm a whole meter away :(
12 roosters over past 8 years. 4 I let crawl all over me for months. The rest i never spent any time with physical contact. 11 want to fight most of the time. One or two on a more seldom basis. However the 4 that i have photos of them perched on my legs or chair arm as i took a break in the backyard are batting 100% on the aggressive team. Being a somewhat large old guy; i just ignore them. But when the grand kids come to visit they all go in lock down.I know one thing for sure about chickens. There are no absolutes in training or behavior.
Very true on no absolutes but the right kind of training can work wonders. I use positive dog training techniques on any aggressive roosters I've had. It takes a lot of patience, trial-and-error, and motivation, but it's worked EVERY time. Here's a blog post I wrote on it if you're ever interested - www.thefeatherbrain.com/blog/taming-aggressive-roosters
@@thefeatherbrain i haven't given up on it yet. I miss my big boy jumping up on my leg and falling asleep perched on my ankle.
@@genegene3348 I hope you get that sweet boy back. Best of luck! :)
Roosters seem to keep the flock on a tense & alert state, I've had 4 so far. The flock is flighty and even though I stick to a calm routine, he still freaks out if I lean over to pick up the cookie sheet (slowly) that i feed them Greek yogurt & oats on once a week. So he freaks out, so the hens freak out.
Is this normal? He use to sit on my lap or next to me on the floor when he was 5-8 weeks old, but since he's full grown he won't come near me nor allow me to get too close.
I suspect he'll calm down with age. Also, with the days getting longer, he's likely getting more hormonal (mating season's just around the corner), and may be feeling more on edge.
Oh yes.... the mating season is upon us. Lol
We're building larger coops & will be able to give them more forging area too. I hope this helps.
The coops we have currently is for 22 chickens, we have only 15, so I know they have enough room.
He just seems uptight. Lol
Beautiful TY!
People might think they become aggressive but a lot of time the rooster think you are his hen I have two roster that wants to try to mate with me , so when they act up I just pick them up it calms him down.
this made me decide that I in fact do not want a rooster, bc my hens dont deserve to have to mate with him several times a day 😂 they deserve peace lol. fingers crossed that all my lil chickies are hens!
Some hens actually love mating several times a day. Others, not so much. There are definite pros and cons to keeping roosters, and I ADORE them, but, overall, life is easier without them. :)
My young rooster is really sweet, he's 7 months age but he hates a lot of things for no reason... He attacks all my shoes and different things, he gets anxious with loud sounds and any different moviment on the house, and more older he gets he's being more territorialist... I don't know, he's sweet most of the time, but I'm afraid he'll be more agressive 😅
If you need any help with your rooster, please visit roovolution.org.
@@thefeatherbrain thanks!!!
What if your rooster is aggressive to your hens?
I think mine is attacking me because he came flying in at me when I was digging up some worms for the girls and he always waits until im not paying attention he is always good at catching me off guard but he came flying in at me like kung fu panda from the front i was knelt down and he always seems mad when I even talk to my girls he doesn't let them get food from me or anything he will get in-between us when I call them and he'll like start kicking up dirt its as if he is telling them to stay away and they better listen because he will be mad and discipline them later on
Some are aggressively I have one and I knock the crap out of him but he finally got his own hen so now he has calm down.
I punt them and have yet to have a ''mean'' rooster.😂😂 before everyone freaks out. The top rooster doesn't allow hens to be mounted in front of him. If the top roo doesn't retaliate the lower roo will see him as a poor weak flock leader and keep doing it until he builds enough courage to challenge him. You are the flock leader so when a rooster mounts a hen near you he's testing you. I simply give a light punt just enough to run him off the hen. See 7:07 in the video. You're not being mean you're just setting boundaries. I treat my roosters just like the hens other than that. My favorite roo of the flock I like to toss him treats when the hens aren't looking and pretend I don't see it. He tidbits and gets the brownie points with the ladies.
@@RR-yh6vr yea and the occasional walk directly at them like they aren't even there making them move out of your way helps teach them who the boss is. Mine know there's nothing to fear, just take a few steps to the side.
I found it funny when I started my flock a few years ago. When they hit puberty. The friendliest roo's towards me moved up in the flock. The ones that sounded the danger alarm when I was around got unfavored by the rest of the flock and booted to perimeter duty pretty quick. Chickens are funny creatures 😂
There’s other ways without cruelty. Being mean to a much smaller animal must make you feel powerful? You need to feel like your the boss. I have never understood it.
When my chiks wakes up and do ther thing then I say shh they sleep
🎉
In one day!
Freud flew the coop
Nooice! 😎 STOC
I train them for being quiet for a minute
😊❤❤
Is this a problem with male caretakers
Yes. Just like puppies will hump male and female caretakers, cockerels are equal opportunists.
@@thefeatherbrain thank you for this information I just got to baby chicks a male and a female you helped me out alot
😨😰
What’s up with the massive feet 7:57