Rooster aggression changed my mind about keeping him

I was dead set on keeping my rooster Charlie because he was so protective of the hens. Then last Tuesday morning in my backyard in Austin, he flew at my leg and drew blood through my jeans. I realized he was getting worse, not better, so I rehomed him to a farm 20 miles out of town. The flock is calmer now and my kids can go outside without me watching the door. Has anyone else had a rooster turn on them like that out of nowhere?

2 comments

2 Comments

walker.robert10d ago

My neighbor had the exact same thing happen with a Barred Rock rooster named Hank - gentle for two years, then one morning he pinned her against the fence and went for her ankles. Something people don't talk about enough is that some roosters see kids as threats because kids move fast and unpredictable. When Charlie went after your leg through denim, he wasn't just being mean, he was probably treating you like a predator because you stood your ground. Your mileage may vary, but I've heard from poultry vets that roosters can hit a hormonal wall around 18-24 months where their protective instincts just go sideways.

alice_wilson7310d ago

Hold on, I gotta push back on this a little. Rehoming a rooster over one bad incident feels like giving up too fast. That rooster was doing his job protecting the flock, and that includes putting himself between you and a real or perceived threat. Kids running around fast and loud can absolutely set off a protective bird, but that doesn't mean he turned mean out of nowhere. A rooster that draws blood through jeans sounds like he was trying to warn you, not attack to kill. A couple weeks of wearing boots and carrying a stick, plus keeping the kids away from him directly, might have solved the problem without shipping him off. Sometimes we expect these animals to act like pets when they are really just wild creatures doing what nature tells them.