A question about roosters

[OkieChickenGal]

Hello
I was wondering, is it true that some roosters are nasty towards people only for the first few months after they mature? Or do they always stay nasty? Also, what age do roosters start getting nasty?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If a rooster starts attacking people it generally will never go away. Raising respectful roosters is easier than trying to fix aggression. Aggression can start as soon as they sexually mature, or it can take until their first adult spring.

I find not handling your roosters except to move and check them out as they are growing, no petting and holding, and no hand feeding can help to develop a better respectful relationship with you. Roosters should keep their distance, and shouldn't come into your personal space. You should always be confident, and not be afraid to move into their space, they should move off.

 

[Redhead Rae]

Well, this is loaded question... no real answer that applies to all roosters. They are all different. Roosters without hens act completely different than if they have a harem. Some roosters are crazy and attack as soon as you turn your back and will never stop coming. Some will never attack you. Some will be sweet as pie and friendly to boot.
When I was a kid, we had a really mean rooster named Stewart. He chased us kids, attacked my mom and nothing my dad did worked (he went into the freezer). I have a distinct memory of my mom throwing a tub of whipped cream cream that had gone bad at him and running away hollering for help! Recently, my dad had a barred rock that was about as mean as they come. You had to almost kill him to get into the coop. The only way to stop him was to knock him out.
My current rooster is a sweet Mottled Cochin Bantam. He is a doll. Very good to his ladies and while not overly friendly with people, he is not aggressive towards us - even kids. His three brothers? Nasty little buggers. All three got the ax. His son - like a dog. Follows you around and enjoys shoulder rides.
I think everyone on this site who has/had a rooster will have a different answer for you

I want a shoulder rooster!

I concur, I only keep roosters that aren't mean to humans/hens/other roosters (other than asserting dominance)/chicks. I don't have the time to "train" mean roosters and that training does jack-squat for how they treat anyone but me. No, thank, you. I have a 20 month old and I can't afford to have aggressive animals around him. They are better off being eaten.

 

[The Moonshiner]

i think roosters will always get the hormones in them and they're bound to act up if you spend enough time around them. spending lots of time hugging them and letting them sleep on you is a good way to make sure they respect you enough to listen when you say "no". like a human, if you mistreat them as children they are more likely to grow up to be aggressive

Funny because its so ridiculous.
Absolutely the wrong way to raise a cockerel if you want it to become a well adjusted nonaggresive rooster. IMHO.
Give a cockerel some space and if you need to hug something continously, hug a tree.

 

[andreanar]

In my experience, little cockerels always seem more bold even as chicks. They tend to become a persons favorite chick because it appears to be so friendly. Not all cockerels become mean, or aggressive. Some do get testy around the 16-24 week age. Some get over it, some don't. There is no way to tell for sure, as all cockerels have their own personality. There is no for sure answer to your questions.

 

[Conan]

Well, this is loaded question... no real answer that applies to all roosters. They are all different. Roosters without hens act completely different than if they have a harem. Some roosters are crazy and attack as soon as you turn your back and will never stop coming. Some will never attack you. Some will be sweet as pie and friendly to boot.
When I was a kid, we had a really mean rooster named Stewart. He chased us kids, attacked my mom and nothing my dad did worked (he went into the freezer). I have a distinct memory of my mom throwing a tub of whipped cream cream that had gone bad at him and running away hollering for help! Recently, my dad had a barred rock that was about as mean as they come. You had to almost kill him to get into the coop. The only way to stop him was to knock him out.
My current rooster is a sweet Mottled Cochin Bantam. He is a doll. Very good to his ladies and while not overly friendly with people, he is not aggressive towards us - even kids. His three brothers? Nasty little buggers. All three got the ax. His son - like a dog. Follows you around and enjoys shoulder rides.
I think everyone on this site who has/had a rooster will have a different answer for you

 

[bobbi-j]

If a rooster starts attacking people it generally will never go away. Raising respectful roosters is easier than trying to fix aggression. Aggression can start as soon as they sexually mature, or it can take until their first adult spring.

I find not handling your roosters except to move and check them out as they are growing, no petting and holding, and no hand feeding can help to develop a better respectful relationship with you. Roosters should keep their distance, and shouldn't come into your personal space. You should always be confident, and not be afraid to move into their space, they should move off.

I agree. I have been raising my cockerels this way for several years now, and have yet to have a human aggressive one. That being said, if I do get one he won't last long. I have no time for that.

Thanks everyone! I have a Black copper maran rooster who will be 4 months at the end of march. Do black copper marans tend to be a nastier breed?

I have never had marans, so I can't answer that question. But I would suggest you start training him now. I never make pets out of my roosters. I know that some do, and it works out, but there are so many more "My sweet rooster suddenly started attacking me for no reason!" posts out there, that I have come to the conclusion that it's just not a good idea. Instead, once I discover a certain bird is a cockerel, I stop handling it. I make it move out of my way whenever I'm with the chickens. I walk through them. If he's between where I am and where I want to be, I walk straight toward him and keep coming. He needs to either back up or get out of my way. If one looks me in the eye, I stare it down. Sometimes I move him away from the feed, just because I can. If one decides to challenge me if I'm handling a hen, I continue what I'm doing, while looking the rooster right in the eye until he backs off. Roosters are intact male animals who's instincts are pretty much to breed and protect. I know some people say not to let a rooster breed in your presence, but I choose not to let that bother me. I'm not trying to be a dominant rooster in my flock. My chickens are smart enough to know I'm not a chicken. They do need to understand, however, that I am the boss. I feed and water them, and will do as I please when I'm with them. If I ever end up with a rooster that doesn't understand that, he will go in my freezer.

 

[Kiki]

 

[Peter.J]

We had a Rhode Island Red rooster, Jack, who was always fine around me, but he would attack my wife, sister, niece, dogs etc. He ended up in the oven; just wasn’t worth a kid/dog losing an eye... I have a couple now a bielefelder and an americauna cockerel, 6months old. No signs of human agression at all so hopefully it keeps up. I think a lot of it is just predisposition; personally i wouldn’t wast a lot of time with a mean rooster, they are so easy to come by just try another one...

 

[Peppercorngal]

It really depends on the rooster. Some get mean and some are sweet. In the past year I've had 3. Two were friendly as could be and one, Cody was the meanest critter on the earth. You never know, they were all raised the same way. The photo is Cody's mean look, you knew you were in for trouble when he looked at you like this!