To Keep or not to Keep a Rooster, That is the question.

[Folly's place]

And I at least am not strong enough to do cervical dislocation by hand with a standard sized rooster. Hens, yes, big roosters, no. Had a bad experience once, and never again. Use a cone, or that broomstick, or find someone with more experience, or a processor.
Mary

 

[Happy Chooks]

Just curious, in what ways does he protect the flock? Our only predators seem to be Bald Eagles and owls. If a weasel were to come through the fence during the day, would he attck it?

He will warn the hens of danger so they can hide. A good rooster is wonderful to have in a flock.

 

[Emmaloveschickens9156]

This is normal, for a young cockerel still learning. Not easy to see, for all of that. If you do keep him, it will likely even out in time. The teenage learning period is always hard for young cockerels, and those around them.

If you have no interest in hatching and don't need him to protect your hens, no reason to keep him.

I agree, he’s learning. Give him a chance.

 

[Emmaloveschickens9156]

I could never cull my babies, they are all pets, even my over aggressive roo.

 

[kaumlauf]

He will warn the hens of danger so they can hide. A good rooster is wonderful to have in a flock.

Thank you for your response. This rooster was just too aggressive- he was trying to kill one of my hens. This rooster met with a quick and somewhat painless end.

 

[Emmaloveschickens9156]

Sometimes they have to go

 

[kaumlauf]

It was a sad moment, and he was a beauty. But I couldn't stand to watch him hurt the hens.

 

[LaurenRitz]

Yeah. I can handle negative behavior toward myself, but I have taken out several that were mean to the hens. That's a deal breaker.

 

[K0k0shka]

Roosters are not recommended for first time chicken owners. They present more challenges and dealing with those requires more experience and knowledge. If you don't have a pressing need to keep a rooster, then don't. Just because you ended up with one doesn't mean you have to keep him. Adolescents are clumsy, yes, but not all of them do actual serious damage, and it sounds like yours is doing damage. It's not fair to the hens to put them through that just because your one rooster happens to be clumsy. In your position, I'd get rid of him. Look up chicken processing/dispatching methods and decide which, if any, you'd be comfortable doing yourself. Or ask around if there's somebody in your area who'd do it for you.

 

[CHICKENX2005]

If it was me I would get rid of him. There is no need to put up when a rooster that is less than " perfect" because there are so many roosters out there and a lot of then are good and won't ever cause problems. I never keep a rooster that has ever caused a problem. I just get rid of it and replace it with a good one. Also if you want to ever hatch eggs you wouldn't want to pass on bad genetics to the new chicks.