When/Do Rooster Hormones "Level Out"?

[ajay18]

So I love that my roosters look out for the flock, especially because of all the hawks we have flying around. But today I had to literally run away from them and their nastiness- namely, one, our biggest. They are just now at the 4-5 month mark. The golden age. The crowing. The testosterone. Joy. To be fair, he didn't chase me down right out of the gate, (it was pecking at first, then it escalated when I walked past the his lady birds on my way to the mailbox) but his behavior was behavior that cannot fly with guests and small children. He has just started this. He used to be tense, maybe a little wary, but he was no trouble to interact with and a pet favorite. Is this it? The new normal? My fluffy white roo a newly crowned menace? Or will the blast of hormones eventually taper off into something more manageable?

Ty

 

[donrae]

If you're inexperienced with animals to the point where you're running away from a rooster, you need to get rid of them and keep a flock of only hens for a while. Get some experience and some confidence, and try a rooster in a year or two. This is not going to have a happy ending.


One of the hens will start keeping an eye out for predators and warn the others. If you've got hawks, be sure your birds have plenty of shelter to hide under.

 

[donrae]

I simply meant is sounds as though you need more personal experience with animals in general before tackling intact male livestock. Some things you can't learn from the internet.

 

[aart]

You can handle a rooster and not ruin him, done on the daily here.

I thinks this takes a 'special' human, one with just the right demeanor, tho I couldn't explain the details of it.

 

[Mrs. K]

Roosters are a crap shoot. They do not have a large brain, and so they really do not train well, their personality is largely genetic. Aggressive attacking roosters tend to produce chicks that are also going to be aggressive.

In my experience, roosters raised with flock mates and no older birds in the flock, are more likely to become aggressive for these reasons of chicken society. In chicken society, fear equals respect. Birds routinely peck in order to make a lower ranking bird to move out of their space. The lower bird does move away, accepting the dominance of the other bird. In a multi- generational flock, older birds are more dominant, and will thump manners into young juvenile roosters. People, even people that spend a lot of time with their flock, do not live with them, therefore when they are gone, the rooster chick is the bully. If in a multi generational flock, those older birds do live with them, and don't let them get away with it.

In a new flock of chicks raised together, the rooster chicks rapidly outgrow the pullets, they are the biggest in the flock, naturally more brave. They are the most fun for people because they do come forward to be petted as the darling, often times brave enough to sit on your lap. Then 4-5 months comes, hormones explode, they have no fear of you, and that means they have no respect for you. They are the bullies in the flock, dominating all of the pullets easily, and usually making their lives hell. They want to dominate you too, usually they will attack children first, then women, then anyone that gets near them. At this point, people write on here, horrified that their darling, who had been treated well, is now attacking them. People want solutions so that the relationship can go back the way it was, but the reality is that it really can't. Even if you get them to not attack you, they will try it on anybody else.

When one raises puppies or kittens, if the human is kind, these animals loose their fear of humans and respond with friendship. They have larger brains. This does not work in the chicken world.

Chickens are not mean, but they are very status conscious.

If you want a rooster in the flock, this is my advice, get rid of the rooster you have now. Either cook him, or bury him and plant a rose bush. Wait until your pullets are laying. Next spring, ask other established chicken people in your area if they have an extra rooster. Very often, people will keep an extra rooster that is just so darn nice, that they hesitate to cull him. That is the rooster that you want. You want a rooster that is close to a year old. Your pullets will fall in love with him in 24 hours. Contact the county extension agent for a poultry club, or ask at your feed store for other people that raise chickens.

Do not make a pet of a rooster. Always walk toward them forcefully so that they move out of your way. Even when you have a nice one, be aware, again a rooster is largely controlled by hormones and genetics, with a small brain, they are not going to reason well. Intact male animals can be dangerous. Be aware, especially if strange people are going down to the coop.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Donrae I take umbrage to that. "Get some experience." What do you think I'm doing?

Well, if your first cockerels are 4-5 months old you are just starting your experience with this aspect of male chickens.
I'm sure donrae meant no offense.

You mentioned 'roosters' plural...sometimes they can be rowdier with multiple males in the group...it's a competition thing.
Get rid of(or isolate out of sight) all but the favorite and he may calm down.

 

[NatJ]

@Granitestater You are responding to posts from 2015. Those posters probably solved their problems, one way or another, quite some time ago.

It seems that old posts keep popping up lately, so it's become more important to check dates before responding.

 

[junebuggena]

There is absolutely no reason why you need to keep a human aggressive rooster. It's something that generally gets worse, as they get older. They don't out grow it. A good rooster is watchful and protective, but realizes that the person that cleans up after them and feeds them is not a threat.

 

[Free Feather]

Yeah rooster and small kids dont mix sadly. Ours was just mislabled as a pullet. So he was just a pet mostly no really purpuse for us as well. Ours had just started growing his so he was quickly becoming more dangerous.

That definitely is not true all the time, that roosters and children do not mix.
Roosters may not lay eggs, but they are just as important and special as the hens are.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

All my roosters are from a hatchery, various breeds, none are aggressive ever. It's all in the raising in my experiences. Too much handling is almost always the problem. Familiarity breeds contempt in my opinion.