Trouble, the gay rooster

ChickenHermit

Songster
6 Years
Mar 12, 2015
278
190
186
Astoria, OR
Early this spring, I went to my local feed store to get some chicks. I wasn't planning on getting silkies, but there they were. I told myself I was just looking...we all know how that goes! I soon decided to get just three. While I was visiting with them, one little white chick kept racing over to me and jumping into my hand- over and over, chattering away at me. I was pretty sure he was a rooster even then- he had that air about him. I already had a white silkie pair at home, but he was so determined I couldn't resist, and he came home with me, along with three other silkie chicks.

Even as a chick, Trouble was into everything- extremely curious, outgoing, and always had a ton to say. His incessant need to poke his beak into EVERYTHING earned him his name.
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He's always been a little different than the other chicks- a little more people-oriented, and a little less bonded to the flock, always exploring on his own. Something of a maverick. He's also something of a mama's boy- he'll cuddle or go anywhere with me, inspect new things and tell me about them, but isn't particularly pleased to be held or handled by other people. Never aggressive, just suspicious and none too pleased.

He is now most of the way through adolescence, and I've noticed a marked preference for other roos. Specifically, buff roos- he has a thing for redheads, apparently. I do have a few too many roos at the moment, and thought it might just be an availability thing. However, one of my silkie pullets (one of the other chicks I got at the same time as Troubs- they grew up together) regularly flirts with him and does the squat, and he totally ignores it- completely uninterested. I know that roos sometimes do this sort of thing while they're figuring things out as youngsters, but flat out ignoring invitations from pullets is something new to me! Has anyone seen that sort of thing before? I've seen it in pigeons and once in a pair of male geese owned by a family friend (who were awesome foster parents to rescue ducklings and goslings), but never in a chicken.

In any event, here's Trouble:



 
Aw, thank you! I have to admit that occasionally I feel somewhat smug that he likes me specifically.
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He's a funny little thing. I love a chicken with a good personality!
 
I've never had a rooster so I can't say anything about his behavior but I think it's special that he adopted you like he did. He is a handsome little guy!
 
Thank you!He certainly thinks he's pretty too- he's always pristine, which is pretty amazing for a white chicken. He preens all the time.
 
Trouble sounds like a little character. It is hard to say what's up with Trouble and ignoring the hen. Some roosters lower in the hierarchy don't try to mate with the hens, but that is usually because they are concerned about getting chased off by another rooster. Who knows... maybe he is just a mama's boy : )
 
Trouble sounds like a little character. It is hard to say what's up with Trouble and ignoring the hen. Some roosters lower in the hierarchy don't try to mate with the hens, but that is usually because they are concerned about getting chased off by another rooster. Who knows... maybe he is just a mama's boy : )

I was thinking about that too, but the odd thing is he isn't that low in the order. Not the boss either, but the roos that are even less dominant than he is do get in some *ahem* quality time with the girls, as long as they don't go after the favorite hens, which the boss roo objects to, or after the boss hen, who puts them in their place. Overall my roos (all my chickens, really) are a pretty mellow bunch. (Which I'm very glad for!)
 
He sounds like a great companion to have around. You have other roosters, maybe he just hasn't met the "right" one yet. So what if he has gender issues, as long as he isn't aggressive - enjoy him.
 

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