12.5 week cockerel hormones?

[sahmhomesteader]

My 12.5 week old EE cockerel has bit me 3 times in the last week, twice drawing blood. He also charged me in the coop for the first time last night. Is this hormones or should I be worried about agressiveness for later on? I have a 3 yr old boy and a 1 yr old boy, and my chickens free range our property.

Each time he bit me I held him upside down and walked him around. I am a newbie to roos and not sure what else to do with him.

I will say this, last week we adopted 4 more pullets the same age as all the rest including the cockerel. They are separate from the big coop, but everyone can still see them. Well he gets real upset when I feed and water them, and handle them for the day (they get scared and make noises that get his attention). Could this be what is causing this angst towards me?

Also, I am planning to adopt a 2 yr old EE roo in a couple of days. Will my cockerel tone down his behavior when big boy gets here?

I just really don't want to have to make a meal out of my cockerel or rehome him. I have raised him from just a few days old and still love him.

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[bobbi-j]

This is my opinion, and I know others will disagree, but here goes: With two little boys I would seriously rethink having an aggressive rooster wandering loose around the yard, even if you are outside when the kids are out. It only takes seconds for an attack to happen. Do you really want to take a chance on your kid ending up with possible facial injuries? Or being scared to go out and play? Or being scared of or hating chickens for the rest of his life? Not saying any of these things WILL happen, just that they COULD. Obviously turning him upside down and walking around with him doesn't work or it wouldn't have happened the second and third time... Keep doing it - maybe it will work eventually. But will that teach him to avoid people altogether, or just you? You need to think about that. Especially with your little boys. If he's aggressive toward you, I'm guessing that there is going to be a fight if you introduce him to the new one you're getting. Being much younger and smaller, he may get the snot beat out of him and settle down for a bit until he tries to challenge the other rooster at a later date. There is a possibility of him getting injured while they're sorting things out. Or, he may not challenge the other roo, and life will be grand for the two of them. But I doubt it. There is usually at least one squabble to sort things out. Sometimes it can last for several days. It comes down to this - you aren't going to know if it's "just hormones" or if he's truly human aggressive until you give him some time to outgrow it. I can't tell you when that will happen, since my Brahma/EE roo has never been a problem. He's always kept a respectful distance and I don't have to worry about him. You're not going to know what's going to happen between the two roosters until you put them together. There are no absolutes in raising chickens. There are always exceptions to the "rules".

One of the hardest things about chicken keeping is having to decide what to do with an aggressive rooster, or the extra roosters that you hatch out and know you can't keep.

For what it's worth, I wouldn't keep a mean rooster - especially with little kids that live on the property. Not only could your kids be at risk, so could friends that come over to play. I also don't want to have to watch my back every time I go outside to do chores.

 

[sahmhomesteader]

This is my opinion, and I know others will disagree, but here goes: With two little boys I would seriously rethink having an aggressive rooster wandering loose around the yard, even if you are outside when the kids are out. It only takes seconds for an attack to happen. Do you really want to take a chance on your kid ending up with possible facial injuries? Or being scared to go out and play? Or being scared of or hating chickens for the rest of his life? Not saying any of these things WILL happen, just that they COULD. Obviously turning him upside down and walking around with him doesn't work or it wouldn't have happened the second and third time... Keep doing it - maybe it will work eventually. But will that teach him to avoid people altogether, or just you? You need to think about that. Especially with your little boys. If he's aggressive toward you, I'm guessing that there is going to be a fight if you introduce him to the new one you're getting. Being much younger and smaller, he may get the snot beat out of him and settle down for a bit until he tries to challenge the other rooster at a later date. There is a possibility of him getting injured while they're sorting things out. Or, he may not challenge the other roo, and life will be grand for the two of them. But I doubt it. There is usually at least one squabble to sort things out. Sometimes it can last for several days. It comes down to this - you aren't going to know if it's "just hormones" or if he's truly human aggressive until you give him some time to outgrow it. I can't tell you when that will happen, since my Brahma/EE roo has never been a problem. He's always kept a respectful distance and I don't have to worry about him. You're not going to know what's going to happen between the two roosters until you put them together. There are no absolutes in raising chickens. There are always exceptions to the "rules". 

One of the hardest things about chicken keeping is having to decide what to do with an aggressive rooster, or the extra roosters that you hatch out and know you can't keep. 

For what it's worth, I wouldn't keep a mean rooster - especially with little kids that live on the property. Not only could your kids be at risk, so could friends that come over to play. I also don't want to have to watch my back every time I go outside to do chores.

I absolutely agree. I don't want to take the risk of having my children attacked or hurt due to an aggressive roo which is why I was asking the question. Since I only know what I read online and don't actually have someone with experience teaching me, I wasn't sure what to believe about him at 12.5 weeks. I was hoping for experiences or some science to help me understand him better and to help me make my decision.

Thank you for letting me know there is really no way to tell, and time is the only answer. It will be hard to decide what to do with him if he continues to behave this way.

 

[bobbi-j]

I wish there was an easy, cut-and-dried answer. It would make it so much easier. If you KNEW he was going to continue to be a problem, you could start distancing yourself from him right now so it would be a little easier when the time came to do something about it. As far as I know, there is no way of knowing, though, until you have given him a chance to see if he settles down. I do hope it all works out for you.

 

[Folly's place]

You have tried to correct his behavior; he needs to go ASAP! If I had small children here one strike and he' be history; I have tried to fix 'man-fighters' in the past, usually without success. Culling is the only safe option for your children, friends, and family. Find a polite cockrel and enjoy him. Mary

 

[donrae]

At 12 weeks, he's just now hitting the very first bit of hormones. He's not going to get any better, only worse. Okay, he may get better after another year or two, but your kids aren't going to spend the next year in the house. Plus, he's bitten you! Biting is an attack, pure and simple.