Breeding for Temperament

[Backyard_Alchemist]

Hello, hello. I'm back once more.
I was wondering if anyone had any tips on breeding for temperament; you see, we have five chickens currently.

Background:
Four hens whose original rooster was sentenced to dinner, and one Olive Egger cockerel (7mo). "Chip" was hand-raised after his siblings were eaten, so he lacks some socialization among other chickens.

He's very good at being a rooster, but has some less-than-stellar behaviors toward humans. The behaviors are far less severe than the original roo, and Chip has desirable dual-purpose traits to pass to offspring.
Given the hens' calm and outgoing temperaments, how likely is it that Chip's offspring (both male and female) would inherit more of the hens' personalities ? Of course, each animal is an individual.

Photo tax. Chip on the left.

 

[SueT]

I think that the most important factor in temperament is imprinting. Especially for roosters.
If they imprint on a human(s) they are more likely to be a challenge than if they imprint on a hen. My good roosters were raised by hens. My bad roosters were raised by me. All the above are related. This isn’t a big sample, but I believe in it enough to make sure my next rooster will be hatched/raised by a hen and thus ensuring it understands it’s a chicken.
Here’s an article on imprinting:
https://fourstringfarm.com/2014/02/18/the-imprinting-of-birds/

 

[Backyard_Alchemist]

I think that the most important factor in temperament is imprinting. Especially for roosters.
If they imprint on a human(s) they are more likely to be a challenge than if they imprint on a hen. My good roosters were raised by hens. My bad roosters were raised by me. All the above are related. This isn’t a big sample, but I believe in it enough to make sure my next rooster will be hatched/raised by a hen and thus ensuring it understands it’s a chicken.
Here’s an article on imprinting:
https://fourstringfarm.com/2014/02/18/the-imprinting-of-birds/

How interesting !
I had a feeling that Chip's undesirable behaviors came from being undersocialized with chickens, but reading others' experiences adds some good context.

It's one of the reasons I'm trying to move toward a mixed-age flock using broody hens. If only the girls wanted to be mothers !
Thank you for your insight