# Romantic or Rude?



## Wigwam7 (Mar 29, 2017)

Today I have noticed Wigwam acting a little bit different.
Around the hens, he walks kind of strange. He drops one side of his body and walks sideways. I have looked up rooster courtship dances and his little jig resembled it. However, he did not flare out his wing all the way, just drooped it along with that side of his body. He lifted one leg slightly, too.
Today while cleaning the run, Wigwam looked me in the eye and did his measly, unbalanced dancing attempt at me. I read that this could be a precursor of aggression. Is this true? If so, what should I do to stop it?

One more thing. When Wigwam and the ladies are dust bathing, I sometimes have to cut it short because I have to go inside after I am done cleaning the run. I pick up each chicken and place them back inside the coop. They shake off the dirt and go back to their daily activities and such. 
I had to move the chickens back into the coop, but I felt like not picking them up because the last time I did that, Petal flapped in my arms and sprayed me with dirt. Yeah, not pleasant. I decided to nudge the chickens out of their bathing holes and let them go back into the coop by themselves. I took a rake I was using to rake up some leaves around the coop and nudged Petal and Raisin into the coop. Atari was a little bit more stubborn and it took some pushing with it, but she finally got up but ran away and started circling around the coop. Wigwam wouldn't budge for a solid 20 seconds, so I had to push a little harder and then he squawked in protest and jumped out.
He ran around the coop a few times, and I was trying to catch him. This is when he began the strange, lopsided run/dance. I have a few explanations:
1. He was doing this because he may have been "hurt" by the rake. (I didn't push him that hard.)
2. He was trying to flirt with Atari.
3. He is partly paralyzed with Merek's? (This doesn't seem likely considering he has been completely fine all day today.)

He then did this little dance to me and then ran back inside the coop. He laid on one side and tried to finish his dust bath in the sand. *sigh*.
Anyways, is this dancing flirting with the hens, being annoying to me, or is he sick or something? I may add that after I got done chasing him, I could hear him breathing hard, but that was most likely due to him running around a lot. 
What do you say?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

He's fine. He's growing up and instinct has him learning the rooster dance. 

Yes, it could be a sign he's trying to dominate you. You'll just have to wait to see what he does. If you're in a position to do it, you could try picking him up when he dances at you and carry him around for a while. I don't hold much faith in that working but it's worth a try.


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## nannypattyrn (Aug 23, 2015)

He's doing the mating dance. Try stamping your foot and walking towards him when he does it at you. Don't turn your back to him..
As far as going into the coop, they're being silly teenage chickens. They'll soon go in without trouble esp if they know there's a snack waiting.


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Sounds like normal daily chicken life to me. Isn't it fun?


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## Wigwam7 (Mar 29, 2017)

robin416 said:


> He's fine. He's growing up and instinct has him learning the rooster dance.
> 
> Yes, it could be a sign he's trying to dominate you. You'll just have to wait to see what he does. If you're in a position to do it, you could try picking him up when he dances at you and carry him around for a while. I don't hold much faith in that working but it's worth a try.


Oh, that's good to know. For a minute there it looked like he was hurt.
I'm always in a position to pick him up since he lets me do it. The first time he did it I picked him up to make sure he knew that he shouldn't be trying that. 
I can sit him on my lap like a human with his feet sticking out...he's very cute.


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## Wigwam7 (Mar 29, 2017)

dawg53 said:


> Sounds like normal daily chicken life to me. Isn't it fun?


Very fun and interesting!


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## Wigwam7 (Mar 29, 2017)

nannypattyrn said:


> He's doing the mating dance. Try stamping your foot and walking towards him when he does it at you. Don't turn your back to him..
> As far as going into the coop, they're being silly teenage chickens. They'll soon go in without trouble esp if they know there's a snack waiting.


I will do that next time. Probably tomorrow.
Also, they are very silly teenage chickens. I practically had to scoop them up with that rake...haha!


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

I have 4 silkie roos who now all do the dance for me when I come in the pen. I have noticed that the "impressing" dance usually has some ground pecking like they want me to eat a treat, LOL.
Teens can give you a try at dominance. That's the time to fix it without having them end up fearing you. Never take a step back. If he comes at you, come at him head on. Make him continually move (giving up his personal space) when he tests you. You have to act like the alpha roo to be the alpha roo.


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