Understanding Your Rooster.

Couldn't "put it down"

Curious about the indoor nest box for one of the tribes. What are the advantages?

I have 3 chicks/pullets - 2 at 2 months, 1 at 6 weeks, and I am thinking one of them may be a male...

So I am glad I found this article - just in case!

This is a very enjoyable and interesting article. It's nice to read something that presents roosters in a positive light without anthropomorphizing them.

This is a great article that examines the motivations of behavior. I am keeping this for future reference and will be recommending it to other keepers that have roosters.

This was so informative for me, a first time chicken keeper. I have four cockerels and ten pullets, all about 17 weeks old, so knowing why they all do that they do is both fascinating and helpful. Every paragraph had me thinking of each cockerel. If only I could figure out which one should be the “keeper!”

Thank you so much for this wonderful article! I was able to learn a lot about what different behaviours will set him off. He is a very aggressive rooster and needs to calm down. I want to keep him as he is pretty but I can't with his behaviour. This article is super informative and teaches me how to deal with aggressive roosters quite clearly. Thank you so much again for this super helpful information!

What an amazing article, this is so informative no matter the breed you keep.

Not having chickens of my own YET, I had no idea that flock dynamics were so complex and amazing. Thank you for gathering all of your observations together for this article.

Shadrach does not disappoint with his thorough descriptions of rooster behavior. It seems so simple, but makes so much sense, to always remember the rooster’s primary objective of passion on his genes. I especially appreciate the clarifications if what is and what is not aggression. With no rooster experience myself, I could easily confuse some “you’re part of my tribe” moves as aggression. Thanks so much for taking the time to write and share your observations.

I actually have written my comments, but forgot to do the stars. Now, if Shadrach could only tell me what my cat is saying ... lol.

5 stars!

I've kept chickens for many years. I've had dozens of roosters over that time, and have admired their beauty, but considered them dangerous animals, and a necessary evil if I wanted to perpetuate my flock. It came to the point where I kept hens only. Not that there is anything wrong with that, and in fact, I believe it is the best setup for many people.

But recently I decided that I wanted to have a self-perpetuating flock again, and so I picked up some straight run chicks at the Tractor Supply. I now have 3 beautiful cockerels, and I was hoping to keep one of them as a flock rooster.

Your article taught me a lot about rooster behavior. It gave meaning to behaviors that I had witnessed myself, but never put much thought into. It also gave me an inkling that maybe I could keep more than one of my boys. Armed with my new knowledge, the possibility exists that they will not end their days in a crock pot.

(Many thanks from Frankie, Johnny, and Jamal.)

I have searched internet resulting in very little information on rooster behavior. This article explained so much. Just the other day I was in coop with my bucket/scooper that I collect chicken waste in and as I set bucket down it startled one of the hens. As I was crouching down Hansel not seeing what had transpired flogged me from behind thinking I did something to the hen. My immediate response resulted in grabbing him from behind trying to give him a bit of a scare. It just so happened I only achieved grabbing his back feathers since he moved out of the way so quickly. I felt afterwards my actions were sufficient and hoped he realized I did no harm to his favorite hen. When I collect eggs I have to discreetly do so hiding them or he will cry out following me. I've also witnessed him sitting on an egg making strange loud sounds similar to a bear as if he's calling girls to come tend to the eggs. He has made chicken keeping much more interesting and I love all his assortment of noises. He is very loud and vocal I plan on trying the grooming technique you suggested. The only negative aspect I've noticed in owning a rooster is that it's very difficult checking over or treating my girls for aliments. If I separate him he tends to freak out resulting in exhaustion. For this reason I now tend to treat using water soluble solutions instead of giving individual sprays/powders and pray none of my hens ever get bumble foot or something that forces me to handle them a lot.

I expect the text book of powlty science will use copious references.