What goes into raising a friendly roo?

[CluckerCottage]

This is a great thread and I will be following closely. Lots of awesome advice!
Out of all of my spring chicks, I ended up with one white leghorn roo.
I have not been around a rooster in many years and really wasn't planning on having another however, Rocky is a beautiful special boy.
Every day I devote time to holding him and telling him to be a good boy. My adult daughter dotes on him as well.

My husband is not a "hands on" chicken keeper. He feeds and waters them and will chat with them as he goes about the chores but that's it. He feels that Rocky should not be loved on as it will ruin him.
As an aside, my father (RIP) had this same approach to roos-- sadly they were all mean and ended up in freezer camp.

Wish me luck because I really would like to keep Rocky-- I'm pretty attached to him already at 6 weeks.
He's never gone a day without being held, spoken gently to and getting loved on.

 

[SunnySideOfLife]

I have a Standard Cochen Roo that wants to stay in the coop all day. I have to make him get out. He is not
aggressive to me which is good, but just wants to stay in till I get him out. What is wrong with him?

 

[nikkers390]

My experience with roosters is not that long. I started with chickens less than 4 years ago.
My first rooster was given to me as a one year old. As long as there were no mature hens in the pen, he was friendly. As soon as the pullets started laying, he turned into a demon. I had to rehome him after he spurred my shin to the bone...that hurt....
I now have 5 roosters. My main rooster was also purchased as a nearly grown cockerel. He is super nice and the girls love him. He raised a beautiful OE cockerel which fought him for dominance. Since the original rooster was much smaller, I separated them into different pens. Neither is aggressive to humans, but will spar with each other at the drop of a hat. My OE rooster raised a bunch of chicks and I kept 4 cockerels which are now a year old. They live in semi-harmony, the young cockerels respect him and I can walk through the flock with no fear of getting flogged. I had minimal physical contact with these roosters except when absolutely necessary. I think it is just that the main rooster is non human aggressive and the younger ones follow his lead.
All in all I would never be without roosters. They are beautiful and a good one will keep peace and order in the flock. AND produce some lovely babies.

 

[couri]

a roo. We have never kept a roo before, but we're going to give it a shot with this guy. Of course, we'd like him to be friendly! Are there any tips beyond frequent handling that can help grow into a tame and friendly rooster? 

Thank you!
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[couri]

I think i have a rooster in my bunch of chicks and i live in Chesapeake and i am just beside myself because i dont want him to go to a home that is not going to keep him as a pet ... he is such a sweet and pretty boy (if he is a boy) any suggestions? ??

 

[blueclip]

I think azygous is spot on with his assessment. There are breeds that are more likely to be docile than others. Once you get past the breed you need to look at the individual line from which he was bred from. In other words, silkie roosters (for example) may generally be easy-going and calm but bad breeding could leave you with one that isn't friendly...no matter how much you handle him when he's young and/or keep your distance when his hormones kick in.

This business of handling a rooster when he's young is actually pretty insignificant in terms of how he will develop. You imprint on your birds first by feeding them (they associate you with food). Talking and/or bawking to them can help if you're raising them from chicks. I make that "Bick! Bick!" sound that roosters make when they find food and ALL of my chickens come to me, including my roo. I just introduced 3 young australorp cockerels to my flock and my roo saw them coming toward him and his flock while they were free-ranging and he ran down the hill wings dropped all puffed up and I yelled "STOP! Go BACK!" he did EXACTLY what I told him to. These are just some examples, I raised him since he was a chick and handled him when he was young and left him alone for many many months until he reached maturity. I still don't really touch and handle him but even if I did he wouldn't mind. My point is, he would've been the same way today if I did or didn't handle him at certain times during his development. It's the fact that he's from a fairly docile breed, his personality, and the fact that I've imprinted on him positively (he knows I will feed him, won't mess with his hens, and that I am the alpha male, not him). Oh and by the way, did I mention I got my rooster from a breeder who was breeding a rooster (his father) that was aggressive to his owner? My guy ended up being very nice, because of his individual personality combined with environmental factors (the way I treat him, the fact that he free-ranges and has a few hens). Sorry to ramble, but that's what all of this seems like to me.

 

[Mschkweasnduck]

The best,gentleman,feeding the hens protecting,no over breeding was My roo pepper to a T .sadly he gave his life fighting a fox or coyote who snuck in
My hens are sad I can see it ,they r now left with my very first hatchling copper who I handled and coddled too much when he was young...I may be culling him soon. I do have 5 chicks I hatched recent,y who are fathered by pepper.fingers crossed one has his personality

 

[blueclip]

It helps to know what breed of rooster you have first. My next question would be is it hatchery stock or did you get it from a breeder?

If you got it from a hatchery, then there's no way to tell how he will be until he's grown. If he's from a breeder, he will more than likely have his father's temperament.

Otherwise, play it by ear. If your roo doesn't like to be touched or handled then don't do it. If he's displaying aggressive behavior(s) toward you (such as dropping one wing and doing the "rooster dance") pick him up and hold him firmly for a while. Depending on the severity of the situation, you can also lay him on his back, pet him roughly, smack his waddles around all while speaking very loudly and in a scary voice. This is NOT animal abuse, rather you're just showing him that you are the boss and not to be messed with.

If you have a docile roo, then there is not much you need to do except keep taking care of him the same way you do your other birds.

Roosters tend to go through a "rambunctious" stage anywhere from 4-7 months old depending on the breed. This is a time where they are very horny and will do stupid things because of their hormones. Don't let this scare you because after this is all over he can become a completely different bird than what you expected him to be. My guy kept pecking the hens away from food during this stage and when they were dust-bathing. Now he's calling them over food and waits patiently while they eat first! He doesn't bother them when they are dust-bathing neither. He ended up being a very good rooster, even though his father didn't have the best temperament.

You really don't know what you have until he's a year old but you can definitely cull him earlier if you see that he's being problematic. I would say if a rooster is more than 9 months old and is acting bad then you should seriously consider getting rid of him. There are way too many good roosters out there for you to waste your time on one that has a crappy attitude.

I agree that roosters are great. Not only because they look cool but they serve more of a purpose than just breeding. They add to the complex social structure of a flock as they not only protect but maintain order amongst everyone else. They are quick to point things out (good or bad) and do a good job. Roosters are a gamble because you almost never know how they will turn out, but when you get a good one it's like hitting the jackpot.

Hope this helps.

 

[Idahofarmgirl]

I suspect it is mostly the temperament of the breed. We've had many roosters over the years and have treated them all basically the same. Some have been nice and some have been very nasty. I give them a chance, as long as there are not too many for the number of hens I have. One thing that is true about how you treat them, you must not let them bully you or intimidate you. Don't back off from them or act like you are afraid of them. That encourages their aggression. If my roosters are aggressive, I butcher them. Usually this doesn't occur until they are mature. I have too many kids at my house, my own and visiting kids, to put up with nasty roosters. My Aracauna roosters, and Sexlink roosters have been the nicest. Polish have sometimes been nice and sometimes not. My Cochin rooster was worse than nasty and after reading about them, this is not uncommon. Good luck!

 

[SD Bird Lady]

I just had a first, my 3 year old EE just recently became very aggressive to the hens. He was never human aggressive but this spring he decided he didn't like a couple hens. Would just peck the back of there neck when they submitted and chase them endlessly. So, I took those hens out. This morning her tore a different hens neck wide open, I watched it happen....it was a kill shot. Well, I'm back to a roosterless flock and my hen is in the sick bay with a buddy. Guess 1 less mouth to feed.

This is basically a ramble because I've never had a rooster be this aggressive to hens; nothing beyond rough breeding. I'm perplexed.