I do think that is a very important issue, the enjoyment of the flock. And a rooster can ruin it. The first rooster, that one has to cull, is the hardest, but YOUR WHOLE flock is going to relax, and it will be fun to go out there, talk to them and look for treasures (eggs) again.
While I am a believer, that experienced people seldom have trouble with a rooster, they also tend not to tolerate a rooster like this. Once you have a great rooster, you never waste time with a rotten one. I really hesitate to go with the human guilt aspect, as in it is something the human is doing that is causing the problem. Some birds, and in my opinion, this is one, that they are a dangerous animal, and if they don't get you this time, they are willing to try again the next time.
For a long time, I was of a pretty strong opinion, that a rooster chick raised with flock mates, nearly always became the nightmare. This chick will be brave and step forward, appearing to be friendly to the people, he is a darling, often held, often petted. While this works well with kitten and puppies, it does not work with roosters. They loose all respect for people, all fear of people, and often times become more aggressive as the hormones kick in. This bird is rapidly the biggest bird in the flock, becomes sexually mature much sooner than the pullets, and can run them ragged.
A rooster raised in a mature flock, those older birds teach some manners, the rooster chick is smaller, and learns respect as he is growing up. Almost always, there are multiple rooster chicks, and eventually they are thinned out to the best rooster. One does not keep an aggressive rooster if there is a choice between roosters.
But while I think the above is valid, to a point. I am not pretty convinced that there are some birds, that just are not going to work in a smaller set up, some birds are not going to work in a larger set up. Their brain is very small, not much to work with, cull and move on.
Mrs K
While I am a believer, that experienced people seldom have trouble with a rooster, they also tend not to tolerate a rooster like this. Once you have a great rooster, you never waste time with a rotten one. I really hesitate to go with the human guilt aspect, as in it is something the human is doing that is causing the problem. Some birds, and in my opinion, this is one, that they are a dangerous animal, and if they don't get you this time, they are willing to try again the next time.
For a long time, I was of a pretty strong opinion, that a rooster chick raised with flock mates, nearly always became the nightmare. This chick will be brave and step forward, appearing to be friendly to the people, he is a darling, often held, often petted. While this works well with kitten and puppies, it does not work with roosters. They loose all respect for people, all fear of people, and often times become more aggressive as the hormones kick in. This bird is rapidly the biggest bird in the flock, becomes sexually mature much sooner than the pullets, and can run them ragged.
A rooster raised in a mature flock, those older birds teach some manners, the rooster chick is smaller, and learns respect as he is growing up. Almost always, there are multiple rooster chicks, and eventually they are thinned out to the best rooster. One does not keep an aggressive rooster if there is a choice between roosters.
But while I think the above is valid, to a point. I am not pretty convinced that there are some birds, that just are not going to work in a smaller set up, some birds are not going to work in a larger set up. Their brain is very small, not much to work with, cull and move on.
Mrs K