Understanding Your Rooster.

Great article. I keep them differently so I don't always see the same behaviors or come to the same conclusions but that is to be expected. How we manage them or, better yet, allow them to manage themselves has an effect on how they behave. I agree, roosters are not evil. The interaction within a flock is pretty complicated and pretty logical as you have shown.

Thanks for sharing all your insight on rooster and flock behavior! This is very helpful in knowing how to integrate a cockerel into my flock. I have tried a few times and failed, but will approach it differently this time. I have some chicks in the brooder and I'm sure at least one is a cockerel, maybe two. It would be so nice to have a reliable rooster one of these days.

very informative!

Wow! Very comprehensive! Definately had my question answered. Thank you for your time to write this!

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.