[silkiechick]

My silkie cockerel has just started attacking me (and my husband and my mother in law!) I've had a look at other posts and it looks like the only thing is to get rid of him as he is getting worse day by day?  My husband had to stand shotgun while I cleaned out the coop this morning to keep him away - my mother in law had to use the bin lid as a shield!  I would like to rehome him and was sure that there was a post the other week that suggested somewhere that might take him but haven't managed to find it - can anyone point me in the right direction?  It's a shame as he is rather handsome (black silkie with beautiful purple sheen tail and dark brown neck ruffle) and the neighbours are being very tolerant of the early morning crowing so we were trying to keep him.  I really don't want to have to put him down but I really can't live in fear everytime I let him out - any other suggestions are welcome.

[joyfull]

the person you are thinking is Beegal - you will find him on the swap shop section, however an aggressive bird should really be put down and not bred from as they could pass the aggressive gene on. Also it is unfair to pass this problem onto somebody else. I have owned lots of cockerels and none have been aggressive (have 10 at the moment), the only things I have had problems was two guinea fowl that would charge at me and everybody drawing blood, these came to me very aggressive and nothing I did stopped this so in the end I had to cull them as I couldn't take the risk of them attacking and injuring child.

[Poultry Pioneer]

Really the only thing for it is to put him down. The problem will only get worse as the year goes on.

[silkiechick]

oh dear.  You have confirmed what I suspected.  Poor Sylvio - he loves his ladies too much (like his namesake!)  Even my mother in law will be upset (once her shins have healed that is...)  Thanks for responding.

[Jimmyarm]

I'm glad you didn't use the abbreviated version of cockerel in the title 

Time to get the cooking red out 

[Hen 1-0 Fox]

Good lad, protecting his ladies... Least he'd give the fox a fight

[Spana]

I'm afraid he would only go for me once.

There are lots of nice friendly cockerels looking for homes that will be culled because no one wants them. Why not find one of them and give him a life

[Sassy]

Sorry Silkiechick I have been where you are now and it is not pleasant. I have had it happen twice! The only thing you can do is cull I'm afraid. We tried all the other suggestions but nothing works. I know it is not a nice thought but believe me the sense of relief will be immense. Because you are constantly on the watch and cannot take your eyes off him your other birds do not get the attention they deserve - they could suffer unnecessarily because of this. I'm sorry not to be more positive

[NormandyMary]

Ive been lucky with my boys, I think Jethro is a bit of a wuss actually. Monty had a very evil eye, but the only time I was wary of him was when he was a new daddy and the baby chicks were around. He was very protective and didnt like me anywhere near them. However, during his illnesses he was as soft as putty. I would hate to be afraid of any of my animals. For your peace of mind, you have to do the right thing. Bon appetit!!

[silkiechick]

Have discovered an unlikely weapon over the weekend - the plastic top off my recycling box!  One wave in his direction and Sylvio scarpers! I think he has picked up that his days could be numbered if he doesn't behave (menacing looks from me while waving the box lid). 

Otherwise he may have realised that after watching me spend all weekend moving him and his ladies into their new winter run, there's plenty more room to increase his harem!   

[Tony H]

my freind had the same problem he couldnt bere to kull him so he put him an old rabbit hutch once seperated from the girls he became a much calmer man, and he lived out his life  u only realy have two choices to seperate him or kull him  it not fare to pass the problem on unless you know somone who understands his needs   

[hillfooter]

Once this behaviour is ingrained it's difficult if not impossible to totally eradicate.  You could however be inadvertently exacerbating it so here’s some tips which might help.

1   Don’t hand feed the hens.  He will see this as an attempt to lure away his harem.  If you want to hand feed just hand feed him and allow him to feed his hens.  If he attacks you when you have feed don’t give them any or drop the food as this will reinforce the behaviour that attacking you is a sure way to get food.  I was once at SeaWorld in San Diego and you could buy sprats  to feed the walrus and a particular individual there had learnt that to get the fish which were held out by the visitor was to squirt a jet of foul fishy smelling water in their faces as they held out the fish.  Invariably they jumped back and dropped the sprat which was seized upon by the walrus.  This was behaviour which they had learnt was a way of getting an easy meal.  So don’t ‘reward’ inappropriate behaviour for example by throwing corn into a far corner to distract him while you nip in to do a job.
2   Don’t square up to him you will NEVER beat the aggression out of him.  They never seem to learn they end up taking a beating  they will be back for more once they have recovered their exhaustion.  Challenging him will just make things worse.  I stopped my SIL from feeding my chx because he tended to incite this behaviour by being aggressive towards them and every cockerel was turning aggressive.  I’ve had much less trouble since he didn’t feed them.
3   Try to see if there’s anything you are doing or wearing which triggers the behaviour.  I used to wear boots with a large flappy red tongue and this would be “attacked” by my cockerels.
4   He will be less aggressive if separated from his hens.
5   Many people advocate squirting with water, dunking in cold water, holding him down etc  I’ve never found any of these effective.  I’ve only ever been successful in curing one bantam cockerel of this habit and that was through largely ignoring him and not responding to him by giving food on demand.  Though even now I don’t fully trust him as he will still make a half hearted pass occasionally when I’m not looking.  Handling him and treating him with affection can help.
6   Try not to turn your back on him and don’t bend down as he might go for your face and they can be very dangerous.

The above will only help if the behaviour is not ingrained so try to prevent this behaviour from taking hold in the first place because once it does culling maybe the only option.

HF

[silkiechick]

Thanks HF.  We're taking it one day at a time so those are useful tips.

I think I may be the bigger chicken putting off the trip to the vets - if that day arises I am wondering how I will get him into the pet carrier without to much damage to either of us.... (also pity the vet at the other end!)

[nerdle]

I'm a novice so this is only a theory.  I read somewhere that if you (wearing protective clothing) pick him up and stroke him when he's aggressive he'll be shocked into calming down.  Worth a try perhaps!

[tstainesmoore]

This problems occurs rarely about 1 in 100 however it is more common with Marans, it can happen to all breeds of chicken. once the cockerel is aggressive the only way to stop him being as agressive is to place him in a run with another cockerel that is higher up the pecking order. the only reason why they attack is because they feel that they are in charge and should protect their hens take away the hens and he will calm down. some people will say that you cant put cockerels in with each other however if you do it correctly then there is no problem currently i have a pen with 25 cockerels living together no problems the trick is to intergrat them when young, however in your situation as he is adult then unfortunately he will never naturally calm down. so yeah from my experience the aggresssive gene cannot be passed on from generation to generation but thats just my experience