I’m making this because I have seen a ton of people curious whether or whether not they should or shouldn’t get a rooster?Or if it’s even a nesaccary.
First off you don’t need a rooster,but keeping one is always a joy,escpecially watching them walk around being a “Rooster”.
What is a rooster?Your probably already know what it is but your probably wondering why they are so different and quite common.
A rooster or cockerel(A cockerel being a teen male rooster under a year old),is usually the head of the flock.Well,not right off the bat.If you raise home grown roosters within the flock,he is generally gonna have to climb his way to the top,as would any chicken being new to the flock,what do I mean,I mean he will have to fight his way through the hens to be able to gain rights to mate,and live peacefully,and have that title as leader.
Why do roosters crow?Crow can mean a few things.Generlly being a way of claiming their land,kinda how a lion will roar or pee to claim it’s territory,or how dogs pee,roosters crow.However crowing has been studied and it’s been said that sometimes a roosters crow can be an alert to danger,which could alert you,escpecially crowing at night which is seems to be when they crow if in danger.It also is a way of communicating and making threats which is something I have found out the hard way.I once had two roosters (Hence the name)who I noticed begin fighting one day.Just outta the nowhere decided to kill each other,every time I separated them they would crow to try to find each and everyone’s location just to meet it up and fight,this went on for awhile till we finally found homes for one,after fighting,if one overcomes the other you may see the other one begin chasing the other off then let out a crow,this is him letting everybody know he is the new king.It is also a way of competition,and not fighting but sometimes simply to crow back and fourth but I have no idea why,assuming to show off or maybe to see who can go longest.
I have also found out it can be a way to communicate to humans.When I use to come down on thr weekends my leghorn rooster would crow every time,I think it was a way of greeting me,because he isn’t the first rooster who I have heard of doing this.
When do they crow?A rooster may begin crowing generally when they start maturing,four,five or six months.Some May start as young as four or eight weeks!While some will wait till their almost full grown.
Aggressive roosters,such thing as friendly or respectful roosters?Yes.I have only had one issue with one rooster and his name was joe.He had some long spurs too,he use to just get me out of nowhere but I was a kid so it didn’t really bother me and usually I fought back 90% of the time,can’t remember if it stopped it or not?But besides that,I raise my own roosters now instead of buying them.I get to make them the way I want,although things don’t always go as planned.Currently have two roosters.A New Hampshire and a Bantam Cochin.I tried and tried with the bantam Cochin but he doesn’t seem to like to be touched and keeps his distance with me,a very good distance.However my large fowl rooster has no problem getting in My space or even with me holding him,however,this is only because I have raised him to trust me,but still respect me.Never have I ever had an issue with him being to stubborn or attacking anybody but my dog when she isn’t behaving.infact here he is In my arms,
View attachment 1296987May I mind you sometimes a lot of behavior is due to genes.Assuming his behavior,I’m gonna say Zeus's dad wasn’t much different because I hatched three of his sons who weren’t too much different either,infact his son had the most trusting personality ever,maybe even more so then him.
How do I get them like this?Hand feed,hold,talk to,and I also like holding the pullets just so they know it’s in ok they thing to do.Infact sometimes I have to grab or hold down hens with no issue from my roosters,he generally wing dances around them and talks to them to calm them down,sometimes I swear he knows what I’m doing and does it to almost help me in a way.Besides the cute and cuddly stuff I also tend to walk freely and if their in my way I keep walking and they tend to move.This all lets me know their respectful of me and my space (Zeus knows his boundaries and when he can cross them and my Cochin knows when to come close and stay away).
What if I end up with and aggressive bird?
Simple topic,either try and rehabilitate him,or cull him,how to rehab my roo?Simply spread your arms out run at him ,shove him,own your space,hold him down,anything to confine and assure that your running things not him,running away is sign of submission,your almost letting him know,your submissive,even though you don’t mean to.Besides that,If all fails you can find him a owner who is willing to put up with the behavior or just butcher him.And if you can’t yourself, find someone who will be willing to.
Does gender effect?Sometimes.It also can depend on who raised them ingenerel.My family members were having issues with my rooster biting them at dinner time,but I never have had an issue.Partially because he considers I’m male,which in his world males are dominant over females and if a head male submits (Or any male or chicken),he/she loses his position.Well growing up he and several other roosters and cockerels never had that position to begin with,cause I was always there.So yes,sometimes being a male can have an effect,but that isn’t saying females can’t have control,it depends on how the rooster himself looks at it.Personally I think some chickens can look as their owner as head honcho (Patrt of the flock)while some just look at him as a person,just a person.Generlly being the crazy wild ones or ones who don’t seem to have any connection to anybody but their flock members.
I have also found out speaking literal chicken can get you places.
Roosters and Roosters-
One of the most common questions I hear are,can you keep two and can it be with peace?Yes.But then again depends on the rooster and whether or not he will be willingly to share the space,that goes for the partner as well.Its a lot easier to put rooster and rooster together if raised as chicks or if one rooster is raised in the flock and you have one currently already and it is also easier because then they can establish a pecking order without any serious problems,the main rooster will Chase and pester the young guy and the young guy will grow up thinking “My place is second”,but this could all change.As a rooster grows into his hormonal stage he can go absolutely off the rail.Raping hens ,fighting hens,and if you have younger other roosters along with him,their probably gonna fight each other,I call this sparring.This is the age their finding themselves and this is also the age they become hard to control,where they could begin attacking you.This can all begin from 4 months,some begin as early as three months while some start this stage as late as ten or nine months.But typically they will start strutting around and being absolute trouble makers at around four,five or six months.From personal experience,home-hatched chicks introduced to flock by mother ,rather then bought chicks introduced by you,tend to mature early and can become much better roosters as far as being watchouts and etc,why this a whole other issue for us to figure out.My two having a scruff or through the fence
ATTACH=full]1298700[/ATTACH]
What about mature roosters fighting,when and why does this occur?All still relates back to the rooster and rooster paragraph.Roosters hormones will calm down during winter,while spring usually sparks them up again,starting back all the nasty,nasty,nasty behavior (May I mind you I’m experiencing all of this for a third time with Zeus.However,this also means competition if you have more then one rooster).And your probabiliy wondering why all of a sudden your boys are fighting each other and sparring,some may even permanently never get along during spring.Spring is the main breeding season,which is why Easter is the most common time to get chicks,because that is when roosters and hens as well are brooding and courting one another,and lots of mating.
Does size make a difference?
Depends,If you raise a baby Brahma in flock with a serama rooster,an adult serama,it is very likely the Brahma is going to fear him.But that isn’t saying he will grow up and seek serious vengeance,take from the info from above.
With adequate space,and enough girls,it’s a lot easier to not run into issues when dealing with roosters,and that goes for hens too,
Just an add on,Lots of roosters aren’t full grown not mature till their second year.
Over mating-When a rooster mates he will (Most generally),will start by tidbiting,when a rooster finds treats or something in the ground and begin calling the hens over to eat,although sometimes from what I have experienced and heard most will find fake imaginary things or even a stick or anything to catch the hens eye and call them over to trick them into mating, ,they the. wing dance,a simple way to impress her,lift his neck hairs up and she may or may not squat by getting in a low position and spreading her wings just enough his feet can lay on.He then grabs her head and steps on her back and begins doing what he does best.After the process he gets off,May I also mind you,chickens have clocoas which touch when mating,they don’t mate like ducks or other animals.
From my experience I have noticed some hens infact do eject rooster sperm( could be cause they find him unattractive or because she needs the right daddy),or what I think is sperm,and I have also witnessed roosters shove each other off begin mating that exact hen,why,I think it is due to assuring it’s his offspring and not the others,generally see my main lead rooster do this.Besides,hens will favor the rooster who generally has been there the longest or is most dominant.Keeping a 1 to 10 hens ratio with roosters is a great idea to avoid over mating,or other issues .
Other odd behavior-
Roosters are very interesting.I have noticed mine,and many others do,actually encouraging laying and even showing young pullets(A hen under age of a year) and adult hens nesting boxes.He sometimes will even jump in the box and begin curling eggs underneath him if givin eggs.Most of the roosters I have had do this.While maybe not in the nest box but any dark area they find they will encourage laying there.
Roosters and chicks-
For a while I dreamed of having a rooster who loved chicks,well I got one who was scared of them!Yes a six pound rooster scared of a tiny chick not even the size of my palm.But he soon matured and learned a baby chick was just a chicken and soon learn the more that come in the better.But,until their laying their just outcast.Some roosters will care for chicks while some,such as mine,will kill or run them off.
I have also heard of roosters hatching chicks along with the mothers,but haven’t seemed to get that lucky unfortunately.
Are roosters good watchouts/defense?
Roosters depending on age,health,and its self can be great watch outs and some can even be great defense.Although their not likely to kill a fox or coyote they can surprisingly slow them down so the hens can get to safety.A rooster has a better chance of fighting a falcon or hawk off then any ground predators.Infact,A falcon flew over an my rooster just sat there looking at it and sounding the alarm,very unbothered.All chickens use a sound called a trill which can also sound like a huge loud SQUAWK.Roosters usually have an over dramatic trill which can also sound like a sqrawk type sound,you’d have to see/hear it to believe it,they sound like a whole zoo when a bird goes fly across or a ball goes flying across the yard.Chickens also use certain eye contacts and different behaviors such as bawking or running stiffly almost like an ostrich to alert other birds.When one bird does this usually a few seem to follow suite and head for cover,atleast I have noticed that in mine hens and roosters.
Roosters are a good addition if you fee range.When free ranging my hens follow my rooster like a puppy.
Maintenance-
Regardless of them being chickens roosters can require trimming of spurs and certain feeds.
You’ll come to find out young roosters eat like crazy,but it will soon slow down as they age,well for some.Roosters shouldn’t have a layer feed because it provides too much calcium,it should be strictly for laying hens.If you do have a rooster it’s in your best interest to switch to an all flock feed.
Trimming-
Roosters have spurs.Long nails that are used to cut and defend their hens and themselves from any threats (Suchs as hawks or falcon or even foxes and coyotes).While they can grow very large and long it can cause them to trip And stumble so it’s best to trim them atleast one a year.I use a pedi paw trimmer for mines and just cut the tips off in the spring time Incase my roosters begin fighting they don’t injure one and another too badly.
Best way to remove a spur,is grab some tight pliers,cook a potato stick it on the spurs,give the potato some time one spurs.
This is all I can think of and I feel like I have covered lots.
So long!
View attachment 1297023
This is him courting the hens.Not sure if you can here the tidbiting,over the loud scratching,But he invites them to dustbath with him.
First off you don’t need a rooster,but keeping one is always a joy,escpecially watching them walk around being a “Rooster”.
What is a rooster?Your probably already know what it is but your probably wondering why they are so different and quite common.
A rooster or cockerel(A cockerel being a teen male rooster under a year old),is usually the head of the flock.Well,not right off the bat.If you raise home grown roosters within the flock,he is generally gonna have to climb his way to the top,as would any chicken being new to the flock,what do I mean,I mean he will have to fight his way through the hens to be able to gain rights to mate,and live peacefully,and have that title as leader.
Why do roosters crow?Crow can mean a few things.Generlly being a way of claiming their land,kinda how a lion will roar or pee to claim it’s territory,or how dogs pee,roosters crow.However crowing has been studied and it’s been said that sometimes a roosters crow can be an alert to danger,which could alert you,escpecially crowing at night which is seems to be when they crow if in danger.It also is a way of communicating and making threats which is something I have found out the hard way.I once had two roosters (Hence the name)who I noticed begin fighting one day.Just outta the nowhere decided to kill each other,every time I separated them they would crow to try to find each and everyone’s location just to meet it up and fight,this went on for awhile till we finally found homes for one,after fighting,if one overcomes the other you may see the other one begin chasing the other off then let out a crow,this is him letting everybody know he is the new king.It is also a way of competition,and not fighting but sometimes simply to crow back and fourth but I have no idea why,assuming to show off or maybe to see who can go longest.
I have also found out it can be a way to communicate to humans.When I use to come down on thr weekends my leghorn rooster would crow every time,I think it was a way of greeting me,because he isn’t the first rooster who I have heard of doing this.
When do they crow?A rooster may begin crowing generally when they start maturing,four,five or six months.Some May start as young as four or eight weeks!While some will wait till their almost full grown.
Aggressive roosters,such thing as friendly or respectful roosters?Yes.I have only had one issue with one rooster and his name was joe.He had some long spurs too,he use to just get me out of nowhere but I was a kid so it didn’t really bother me and usually I fought back 90% of the time,can’t remember if it stopped it or not?But besides that,I raise my own roosters now instead of buying them.I get to make them the way I want,although things don’t always go as planned.Currently have two roosters.A New Hampshire and a Bantam Cochin.I tried and tried with the bantam Cochin but he doesn’t seem to like to be touched and keeps his distance with me,a very good distance.However my large fowl rooster has no problem getting in My space or even with me holding him,however,this is only because I have raised him to trust me,but still respect me.Never have I ever had an issue with him being to stubborn or attacking anybody but my dog when she isn’t behaving.infact here he is In my arms,
View attachment 1296987May I mind you sometimes a lot of behavior is due to genes.Assuming his behavior,I’m gonna say Zeus's dad wasn’t much different because I hatched three of his sons who weren’t too much different either,infact his son had the most trusting personality ever,maybe even more so then him.
How do I get them like this?Hand feed,hold,talk to,and I also like holding the pullets just so they know it’s in ok they thing to do.Infact sometimes I have to grab or hold down hens with no issue from my roosters,he generally wing dances around them and talks to them to calm them down,sometimes I swear he knows what I’m doing and does it to almost help me in a way.Besides the cute and cuddly stuff I also tend to walk freely and if their in my way I keep walking and they tend to move.This all lets me know their respectful of me and my space (Zeus knows his boundaries and when he can cross them and my Cochin knows when to come close and stay away).
What if I end up with and aggressive bird?
Simple topic,either try and rehabilitate him,or cull him,how to rehab my roo?Simply spread your arms out run at him ,shove him,own your space,hold him down,anything to confine and assure that your running things not him,running away is sign of submission,your almost letting him know,your submissive,even though you don’t mean to.Besides that,If all fails you can find him a owner who is willing to put up with the behavior or just butcher him.And if you can’t yourself, find someone who will be willing to.
Does gender effect?Sometimes.It also can depend on who raised them ingenerel.My family members were having issues with my rooster biting them at dinner time,but I never have had an issue.Partially because he considers I’m male,which in his world males are dominant over females and if a head male submits (Or any male or chicken),he/she loses his position.Well growing up he and several other roosters and cockerels never had that position to begin with,cause I was always there.So yes,sometimes being a male can have an effect,but that isn’t saying females can’t have control,it depends on how the rooster himself looks at it.Personally I think some chickens can look as their owner as head honcho (Patrt of the flock)while some just look at him as a person,just a person.Generlly being the crazy wild ones or ones who don’t seem to have any connection to anybody but their flock members.
I have also found out speaking literal chicken can get you places.
Roosters and Roosters-
One of the most common questions I hear are,can you keep two and can it be with peace?Yes.But then again depends on the rooster and whether or not he will be willingly to share the space,that goes for the partner as well.Its a lot easier to put rooster and rooster together if raised as chicks or if one rooster is raised in the flock and you have one currently already and it is also easier because then they can establish a pecking order without any serious problems,the main rooster will Chase and pester the young guy and the young guy will grow up thinking “My place is second”,but this could all change.As a rooster grows into his hormonal stage he can go absolutely off the rail.Raping hens ,fighting hens,and if you have younger other roosters along with him,their probably gonna fight each other,I call this sparring.This is the age their finding themselves and this is also the age they become hard to control,where they could begin attacking you.This can all begin from 4 months,some begin as early as three months while some start this stage as late as ten or nine months.But typically they will start strutting around and being absolute trouble makers at around four,five or six months.From personal experience,home-hatched chicks introduced to flock by mother ,rather then bought chicks introduced by you,tend to mature early and can become much better roosters as far as being watchouts and etc,why this a whole other issue for us to figure out.My two having a scruff or through the fence
ATTACH=full]1298700[/ATTACH]
What about mature roosters fighting,when and why does this occur?All still relates back to the rooster and rooster paragraph.Roosters hormones will calm down during winter,while spring usually sparks them up again,starting back all the nasty,nasty,nasty behavior (May I mind you I’m experiencing all of this for a third time with Zeus.However,this also means competition if you have more then one rooster).And your probabiliy wondering why all of a sudden your boys are fighting each other and sparring,some may even permanently never get along during spring.Spring is the main breeding season,which is why Easter is the most common time to get chicks,because that is when roosters and hens as well are brooding and courting one another,and lots of mating.
Does size make a difference?
Depends,If you raise a baby Brahma in flock with a serama rooster,an adult serama,it is very likely the Brahma is going to fear him.But that isn’t saying he will grow up and seek serious vengeance,take from the info from above.
With adequate space,and enough girls,it’s a lot easier to not run into issues when dealing with roosters,and that goes for hens too,
Just an add on,Lots of roosters aren’t full grown not mature till their second year.
Over mating-When a rooster mates he will (Most generally),will start by tidbiting,when a rooster finds treats or something in the ground and begin calling the hens over to eat,although sometimes from what I have experienced and heard most will find fake imaginary things or even a stick or anything to catch the hens eye and call them over to trick them into mating, ,they the. wing dance,a simple way to impress her,lift his neck hairs up and she may or may not squat by getting in a low position and spreading her wings just enough his feet can lay on.He then grabs her head and steps on her back and begins doing what he does best.After the process he gets off,May I also mind you,chickens have clocoas which touch when mating,they don’t mate like ducks or other animals.
From my experience I have noticed some hens infact do eject rooster sperm( could be cause they find him unattractive or because she needs the right daddy),or what I think is sperm,and I have also witnessed roosters shove each other off begin mating that exact hen,why,I think it is due to assuring it’s his offspring and not the others,generally see my main lead rooster do this.Besides,hens will favor the rooster who generally has been there the longest or is most dominant.Keeping a 1 to 10 hens ratio with roosters is a great idea to avoid over mating,or other issues .
Other odd behavior-
Roosters are very interesting.I have noticed mine,and many others do,actually encouraging laying and even showing young pullets(A hen under age of a year) and adult hens nesting boxes.He sometimes will even jump in the box and begin curling eggs underneath him if givin eggs.Most of the roosters I have had do this.While maybe not in the nest box but any dark area they find they will encourage laying there.
Roosters and chicks-
For a while I dreamed of having a rooster who loved chicks,well I got one who was scared of them!Yes a six pound rooster scared of a tiny chick not even the size of my palm.But he soon matured and learned a baby chick was just a chicken and soon learn the more that come in the better.But,until their laying their just outcast.Some roosters will care for chicks while some,such as mine,will kill or run them off.
I have also heard of roosters hatching chicks along with the mothers,but haven’t seemed to get that lucky unfortunately.
Are roosters good watchouts/defense?
Roosters depending on age,health,and its self can be great watch outs and some can even be great defense.Although their not likely to kill a fox or coyote they can surprisingly slow them down so the hens can get to safety.A rooster has a better chance of fighting a falcon or hawk off then any ground predators.Infact,A falcon flew over an my rooster just sat there looking at it and sounding the alarm,very unbothered.All chickens use a sound called a trill which can also sound like a huge loud SQUAWK.Roosters usually have an over dramatic trill which can also sound like a sqrawk type sound,you’d have to see/hear it to believe it,they sound like a whole zoo when a bird goes fly across or a ball goes flying across the yard.Chickens also use certain eye contacts and different behaviors such as bawking or running stiffly almost like an ostrich to alert other birds.When one bird does this usually a few seem to follow suite and head for cover,atleast I have noticed that in mine hens and roosters.
Roosters are a good addition if you fee range.When free ranging my hens follow my rooster like a puppy.
Maintenance-
Regardless of them being chickens roosters can require trimming of spurs and certain feeds.
You’ll come to find out young roosters eat like crazy,but it will soon slow down as they age,well for some.Roosters shouldn’t have a layer feed because it provides too much calcium,it should be strictly for laying hens.If you do have a rooster it’s in your best interest to switch to an all flock feed.
Trimming-
Roosters have spurs.Long nails that are used to cut and defend their hens and themselves from any threats (Suchs as hawks or falcon or even foxes and coyotes).While they can grow very large and long it can cause them to trip And stumble so it’s best to trim them atleast one a year.I use a pedi paw trimmer for mines and just cut the tips off in the spring time Incase my roosters begin fighting they don’t injure one and another too badly.
Best way to remove a spur,is grab some tight pliers,cook a potato stick it on the spurs,give the potato some time one spurs.
This is all I can think of and I feel like I have covered lots.
So long!
View attachment 1297023
