The Complete Life Cycle of a (Mostly) Happy Rooster

[Newbee58]

How did you get the chicks? Did you order them? If so, did you order a "straight run"? This will be a mix of hens/roosters (and since the hatchery wants to get rid of roosters it'll be a LOT of roosters).

I don't know what breed(s) you have. Different breeds show different characteristics of male/female bodies at different ages. There are forums on here where people post pics of their birds to have experts look at them and weigh in on the breed. Essentially you're looking for comb/wattle development that looks different depending on if it's male/female. You may also see spur buds on roosters, though hens in some breeds also develop small spurs. 

You can always google "picture of 3 month old ___" and see what images come up (though google images can be laughably bad because you never know who labeled that pic).

I got them from a feed store, 5 RIR, 2 barred rocks, 4 EE, 2 Sagitas, 2 Black Auraconda?, 5 golden sex links (know those are female). 5 Bantams. Plus have 3 week olds too. 2 black sex links, 2 more barred rocks, 4 more golden sex links, 2 more bantams. Guess I lost count of how many chickens I had. Lol. Plus I took in a 1 yr old blue laced aundilasion?(not sure of spelling) as person had too many for city ordinances. Which I was surprised she laid eggs 3 out of 4 days we've had her. I thought when they are moved to new environment it stresses them and causes egg production to stop. We got her Sunday afternoon by Monday afternoon we had first egg, then one late Tuesday, none Wednesday and one early this morning. She must feel comfortable here.

 

[Henriettasmum]

What a wonderful story. I cried when relating it to my husband. I felt so much sympathy for The Rooster and also for one of my boys (the first in my flock). He isa white silkie whose name is Henry. He was friendly while young then turned nasty and for so long I just thought he was evil. I reacted in the same way you initially did to no avail. He hated me and I was ready to throttle him. However, he was wonderful with his girls, making sure that they were safe. He would wait at the door of the pen and wouldn't go back in to roost for the night until they were all inside. As his sons grew up, they put him in his place for a while and he was no longer cock o'the walk, but one of them is now his protector which is an interesting sight to see. Occasionally, he gets his mojo back and takes a little run at me, but they are half-hearted attempts and I ignore them. He's a beautiful white silkie and produces beautiful babies, and despite what I considered to be his evilness, I love him. Now, after your article, I understand him. We have regular cuddles which he seems to enjoy and these will now be accompanied with a deep understanding that he's just doing his job. Thank you again for that.

 

[hentown]

Amen. Live and let live.... Thanks for your addition to these comments. It's so great to read most of these messages, all prompted by such a well written story. One can learn a lot watching nature, surely so in the chicken yard!

 

[Henriettasmum]

It certainly was very well written. I am a freelance journalist (not about my feathered friends but in another field) so I can appreciate a good story. It was entertaining as well as educational. I learned a lot from it.

 

[cheekiechickie]

thank you for the article and insight! Our young rooster now has the kids scared to even go outside if they are roaming! We started out a year ago with 2 chicks, and lost one about mid-summer to a fox we think. So we mulled over getting a rooster so they could be roaming more then just when someone wanted to stay out and watch em. So this winter we got a young rooster and hand raised him inside till he was finally able to face the hens. He took a few beatings but then one morning, he was first out of the coop and he let each one have it as they came out. From then on he was top of the pecking order. Now getting them to follow suit a bit harder. Still not fully mature, he has taken to attacking us on occasion, particularlly when we go out and the girls prefer out company to his. He's funny trying to get them to come scratch and eat what he wishes them too. But he's nailed us all at least once and learning to the proper non-threathening postures will surely help get the kids back outside!!

 

[bobbi-j]

thank you for the article and insight! Our young rooster now has the kids scared to even go outside if they are roaming! We started out a year ago with 2 chicks, and lost one about mid-summer to a fox we think. So we mulled over getting a rooster so they could be roaming more then just when someone wanted to stay out and watch em. So this winter we got a young rooster and hand raised him inside till he was finally able to face the hens. He took a few beatings but then one morning, he was first out of the coop and he let each one have it as they came out. From then on he was top of the pecking order. Now getting them to follow suit a bit harder. Still not fully mature, he has taken to attacking us on occasion, particularlly when we go out and the girls prefer out company to his. He's funny trying to get them to come scratch and eat what he wishes them too. But he's nailed us all at least once and learning to the proper non-threathening postures will surely help get the kids back outside!!

How old are your kids? If they are very young, I would not keep that rooster. I would also not hand feed the next one, rather teach it to get out of your way when you come along. That's the best rooster in my opinion - one who steers clear of me when I'm out and about. It's one thing for an adult to learn how watch their posture, actions, etc. It's a whole 'nother thing for kids to remember to watch the rooster and change their behavior when they're out playing. How many times will it take of them forgetting to watch the rooster and get attacked for it before someone gets seriously hurt?

Also, a rooster may or may not protect the flock from something like a fox. More often than not, the only protection they offer is getting killed first, slowing a predator down before it gets more of your birds.

 

[Daisy8s]

What a wonderful story. I cried when relating it to my husband. I felt so much sympathy for The Rooster and also for one of my boys (the first in my flock). He isa white silkie whose name is Henry. He was friendly while young then turned nasty and for so long I just thought he was evil. I reacted in the same way you initially did to no avail. He hated me and I was ready to throttle him. However, he was wonderful with his girls, making sure that they were safe. He would wait at the door of the pen and wouldn't go back in to roost for the night until they were all inside. As his sons grew up, they put him in his place for a while and he was no longer cock o'the walk, but one of them is now his protector which is an interesting sight to see. Occasionally, he gets his mojo back and takes a little run at me, but they are half-hearted attempts and I ignore them. He's a beautiful white silkie and produces beautiful babies, and despite what I considered to be his evilness, I love him. Now, after your article, I understand him. We have regular cuddles which he seems to enjoy and these will now be accompanied with a deep understanding that he's just doing his job. Thank you again for that.

I"m truly touched by your thoughtful response! I'm so glad to see this post helping people in exactly the way I had hoped it would.

 

[Daisy8s]

thank you for the article and insight! Our young rooster now has the kids scared to even go outside if they are roaming! We started out a year ago with 2 chicks, and lost one about mid-summer to a fox we think. So we mulled over getting a rooster so they could be roaming more then just when someone wanted to stay out and watch em. So this winter we got a young rooster and hand raised him inside till he was finally able to face the hens. He took a few beatings but then one morning, he was first out of the coop and he let each one have it as they came out. From then on he was top of the pecking order. Now getting them to follow suit a bit harder. Still not fully mature, he has taken to attacking us on occasion, particularlly when we go out and the girls prefer out company to his. He's funny trying to get them to come scratch and eat what he wishes them too. But he's nailed us all at least once and learning to the proper non-threathening postures will surely help get the kids back outside!!

As another person said, the age of the kids does matter. I would never keep a rooster that attacked a child, ever. Our rooster never did and I think that was because the kids were too young at that age to be doing any of the chores. I caused most of the problems with my rooster by setting up "feed bucket aggression" issues and the kids were never a part of that dynamic.

First off, totally rethink your feeding techniques. The goal is to be sure the flock never comes running to you for food.

Second, if you have solved that issue and you think your kids are old enough to learn how to move around the rooster, you may want to let them stand with a tall stick or shovel in their hand. It is never, ever to be used aggressively, but there's something psychologically beneficial to having a stick with one end on the ground standing straight in the air so it's like the person has a third leg except this leg is placed between you and the rooster. You won't always have something like that in hand but initially it may help break up the rooster's view. He's staring at your toes and aware of where your eyes are looking. If there's suddenly a third "leg" he will be a bit confused and that may interrupt his mindset as he begins the habit of attacking.

Again, don't swing the stick or do anything remotely aggressive with it as that will just exacerbate the problem.

Good luck! And, remember, there are tons of roosters out there. If you truly give this your best effort but the rooster won't change his ways then send him on and invest in a new one.

 

[All Ball]

I just wanted to add my thanks to you for taking the time to share The Rooster's story!

 

[wildknives]

Long Live the "Rooster". Wonderful story, lots of very practical information about roos and how to live positively with them.