Any chance this is not a cockerel?

[DonyaQuick]

He really is so sweet right now, but am scared of the almost inevitable puberty turn that it seems like most people experience with Roosters. What’s been everyone’s experience with Murray McMurray Ameraucana (Easter Eggers)? Aggressive? Non-aggressive?

I can't speak for that particular hatchery but I suspect a lot is going to be down to the individual bird. I have two full brother roos (same parents - both calm birds, same hatch, raised identically) and they have very different personalities and very different maturation phases. One had a hormonal phase that lasted about two weeks and consisted of a few nips before turning into a calm teddy bear. It's almost like there was no phase. The other turned into a big ball of anxiety as he tried to step into the flock leader role, bit more often and harder, has whopped my husband pretty good a few times, and is still bitey but in a nervous/fear sort of way. So if I can get that big a span of personality from brothers, I don't know that you can predict much just knowing the hatchery.

 

[Brooksy21]

I can't speak for that particular hatchery but I suspect a lot is going to be down to the individual bird. I have two full brother roos (same parents - both calm birds, same hatch, raised identically) and they have very different personalities and very different maturation phases. One had a hormonal phase that lasted about two weeks and consisted of a few nips before turning into a calm teddy bear. It's almost like there was no phase. The other turned into a big ball of anxiety as he tried to step into the flock leader role, bit more often and harder, has whopped my husband pretty good a few times, and is still bitey but in a nervous/fear sort of way. So if I can get that big a span of personality from brothers, I don't know that you can predict much just knowing the hatchery.

I suspected as much, thanks for the whole picture story. I don’t think you can get a better case study than two full blooded brothers. I really appreciate it.

 

[BastyPutt]

I suspected as much, thanks for the whole picture story. I don’t think you can get a better case study than two full blooded brothers. I really appreciate it.

I wouldn't go off of this entirely. I would never have a flock again without a rooster, or two even in a small flock. And I was the exact same way as you initially. I have come to admire their bravery and unwavering commitment to their "family". When I come to the flock every morning, I feel like they are at attention, ready for duty It's my belief, they make a hen feel more safe, and with a little attention and extra care, you've got a chicken with the gals that is ready to die for them at a moments notice.

The problem with a rooster is they are exactly like any other animal in the kingdom, even like humans. As young roosters, they can be a little wild with tunnel vision, but this really doesn't last long - and a lot of it goes based on how you raise them.

Handling a rooster is good, but so is establishing dominance. Have you seen those sour patch kid commercials? Where they are really mean to the people, then 5 seconds later they are caressing them (first they are sour, then they are sweet ) this is how we have had tremendous success and now have a line of roosters that are incredible.

So I'm sure it looks crazy, but when they are like teenagers, I will stomp and make noises at them and chase them around a bit, then stop and throw them treats. At first they won't take them. But eventually, when they realize I am not going to hurt them, they slowly walk back and take the treats.

We end up with some roosters that are still stubborn (usually anything crossed with a Maran) but a majority are my favorite animals here on the farm. We have allowed the chickens to breed and hatch their own chicks for a few years now, so our roosters now are "generationally" trained.

You should absolutely give that boy a shot, for at least a year don't count him out.

 

[DonyaQuick]

I suspected as much, thanks for the whole picture story. I don’t think you can get a better case study than two full blooded brothers. I really appreciate it.

By the way I realize I should say I didn't mean to give an example of good and bad brother roos - I consider them both good roos. The nippy boy is an excellent flock manager and protector.

I also have a third, unrelated roo that I hatched from eggs I got from someone else. He loved me but was otherwise a little fireball, trying to fight adult hens at only a few weeks old. He was very plucky. His hormonal phase mostly consisted of trying to have affairs with anything made out of fleece. Now he's calm and completely non-aggressive - you'd never know he tried to beat up chickens several times his size as a baby. I guess all this is to say you don't really know what you've got with a roo until you see it through for better or for worse. They can change a lot as they mature.

 

[Ponypoor]

I think I heard it try to crow this morning . He’s be about 5 weeks now is that possible? New to cockerels.

Yes - my chick started crowing at 3.5 was and is now 5.5 weeks old, and I caught him tidbitting to his 2 sisters going ‘chuk chuk chuk chuk’ guess he is learning good behaviour from his Dada

 

[Brooksy21]

I wouldn't go off of this entirely. I would never have a flock again without a rooster, or two even in a small flock. And I was the exact same way as you initially. I have come to admire their bravery and unwavering commitment to their "family". When I come to the flock every morning, I feel like they are at attention, ready for duty It's my belief, they make a hen feel more safe, and with a little attention and extra care, you've got a chicken with the gals that is ready to die for them at a moments notice.

The problem with a rooster is they are exactly like any other animal in the kingdom, even like humans. As young roosters, they can be a little wild with tunnel vision, but this really doesn't last long - and a lot of it goes based on how you raise them.

Handling a rooster is good, but so is establishing dominance. Have you seen those sour patch kid commercials? Where they are really mean to the people, then 5 seconds later they are caressing them (first they are sour, then they are sweet ) this is how we have had tremendous success and now have a line of roosters that are incredible.

So I'm sure it looks crazy, but when they are like teenagers, I will stomp and make noises at them and chase them around a bit, then stop and throw them treats. At first they won't take them. But eventually, when they realize I am not going to hurt them, they slowly walk back and take the treats.

We end up with some roosters that are still stubborn (usually anything crossed with a Maran) but a majority are my favorite animals here on the farm. We have allowed the chickens to breed and hatch their own chicks for a few years now, so our roosters now are "generationally" trained.

You should absolutely give that boy a shot, for at least a year don't count him out.

I would like to try an have a Rooster some day but seeing it through is seems like risky business and maybe more than what my family can handle at the moment. I don’t free range my girls I let them out when I’m around only, lots of Eagles and hawks where I live. Maybe I’d free range them with a Rooster but I think my family would rather I find him a good home so that he can be all you described a good rooster can be. I don’t plan on breeding or free ranging at the moment so it’s best he finds some girls that do if he turns out to be a good one. But I’m tempted to keep him for sure. Just afraid I won’t be able to tame him properly, and it will result in me or a family member getting seriously hurt.

 

[DonyaQuick]

Just afraid I won’t be able to tame him properly, and it will result in me or a family member getting seriously hurt.

If there are any small children around it's a much bigger risk. Their faces are just closer the ground, fingers are smaller, they fall over more easily, etc. For adults it's less of a worry. Short of being careless and letting a bird jump directly onto your face it's not that bad IMO. My dog did a lot worse to me with her puppy teeth. The spurs take quite a while to develop so it's mostly the beak (biting) and feet (minor scratches) to worry about while seeing how the bird will mature.

They can definitely be a handful though and there's nothing wrong with deciding that's not for you right now. It's also frequently advised to raise a flock of hens first, then get a mature rooster with well-established good behavior if you decide you want one later. That's what I did at first. I unfortunately lost my original roo rather tragically, but the current brothers I have are his sons and I'd have had a much harder time training the biter in particular if I hadn't already seen what a good rooster doing his job looks like.

I don’t free range my girls I let them out when I’m around only, lots of Eagles and hawks where I live.

I've got bald eagles and several types of hawks; I have found that having roosters deters them. I haven't had any low flyovers for quite some time now that there are multiple boys screaming at them whenever they show their faces at a distance. Doesn't fully keep them away though. Depending on how bold your areal predators are, you might not want to fully free range them even with a roo. Dogs can also be good aerial predator deterrents although again not 100% guaranteed and the dog does have to be chicken-safe.

 

[BastyPutt]

I would like to try an have a Rooster some day but seeing it through is seems like risky business and maybe more than what my family can handle at the moment. I don’t free range my girls I let them out when I’m around only, lots of Eagles and hawks where I live. Maybe I’d free range them with a Rooster but I think my family would rather I find him a good home so that he can be all you described a good rooster can be. I don’t plan on breeding or free ranging at the moment so it’s best he finds some girls that do if he turns out to be a good one. But I’m tempted to keep him for sure. Just afraid I won’t be able to tame him properly, and it will result in me or a family member getting seriously hurt.

Two things

1. When it comes to predation, a rooster rarely is able to fend off a decent predator. Typically, a predator will go after hens, the rooster intercepts and ultimately gets killed by the predator. The predator will drag the rooster off and eat him instead of the hens and give you time to plan. If a rooster is ever really sucsessful, it will be because he scared the predator who wasn't interested in a fight. A chicken, even the rooster, doesn't really have weapons to defend them self - claws, teeth, etc. which goes to the next point.

2. A roosters main defense is going to be their spurs. A sharp thing in their leg that looks like an extra toe. And they get SHARP on some of these guys. However, in our experience, it takes 2 years or so for those spurs to become anything substantial, even more to fully develop. They will just be a nub up until then. We have had countless rooster attacks over the years, some on our small children (5 boys under 12) and although We obviously don't encourage those attacks, we don't worry about them a bunch either. Aside from a scratch, they aren't capable of inflicting serious damage. We usually butcher and eat our extra roosters. One swift broomstick smack to the head also makes them think twice about doing that again.

For our breeding and pet stock, we remove their spurs. Very easy, doesn't hurt them at all, just takes a minute and it will grow back like a fingernail. We don't do this because we are afraid of them, but because the spurs can be rough on the hens.

Cockfighting has given roosters a bad rep. Because it looks and sounds bloody and nasty. But what a lot of folks don't know is they attack blades and knifes to the roosters legs where their spurs are. This is what allows the roosters to actually do damage so quickly.

Anyway, I certainly respect your opinion and believe you should do what you think is best. I never type anything this long, but I have because they are just so awesome - I would hate for a chicken keeper to not be able to experience it.

Reference, our favorite new rooster here on the farm is named Avi. He was hatched by a broody hen Feb 2022, I've attached a pic of his spurs and him. He is 13lbs, which is the biggest bird we have ever had here, but loves to be held

 

[Brooksy21]

Two things

1. When it comes to predation, a rooster rarely is able to fend off a decent predator. Typically, a predator will go after hens, the rooster intercepts and ultimately gets killed by the predator. The predator will drag the rooster off and eat him instead of the hens and give you time to plan. If a rooster is ever really sucsessful, it will be because he scared the predator who wasn't interested in a fight. A chicken, even the rooster, doesn't really have weapons to defend them self - claws, teeth, etc. which goes to the next point.

2. A roosters main defense is going to be their spurs. A sharp thing in their leg that looks like an extra toe. And they get SHARP on some of these guys. However, in our experience, it takes 2 years or so for those spurs to become anything substantial, even more to fully develop. They will just be a nub up until then. We have had countless rooster attacks over the years, some on our small children (5 boys under 12) and although We obviously don't encourage those attacks, we don't worry about them a bunch either. Aside from a scratch, they aren't capable of inflicting serious damage. We usually butcher and eat our extra roosters. One swift broomstick smack to the head also makes them think twice about doing that again.

For our breeding and pet stock, we remove their spurs. Very easy, doesn't hurt them at all, just takes a minute and it will grow back like a fingernail. We don't do this because we are afraid of them, but because the spurs can be rough on the hens.

Cockfighting has given roosters a bad rep. Because it looks and sounds bloody and nasty. But what a lot of folks don't know is they attack blades and knifes to the roosters legs where their spurs are. This is what allows the roosters to actually do damage so quickly.

Anyway, I certainly respect your opinion and believe you should do what you think is best. I never type anything this long, but I have because they are just so awesome - I would hate for a chicken keeper to not be able to experience it.

Reference, our favorite new rooster here on the farm is named Avi. He was hatched by a broody hen Feb 2022, I've attached a pic of his spurs and him. He is 13lbs, which is the biggest bird we have ever had here, but loves to be held

I love it! Thanks for the long reply. Hopefully some day I’ll have one and if I can’t find him a good home who knows I might end up with him anyway. I feel the same way about Buff Orpingtons I think everyone should have one at least once. So I currently have him separate from four of the girls cause he couldn’t stop chasing everyone and beat up my Speckled Sussex pretty good. I do have another Ameraucana/EE in with him to keep him company at the moment she is the only one that can put up with him. What’s funny is my two year old Buff Orpington Hen has longer spurs than your guy and she lays some good size eggs.

 

[BastyPutt]

I love it! Thanks for the long reply. Hopefully some day I’ll have one and if I can’t find him a good home who knows I might end up with him anyway. I feel the same way about Buff Orpingtons I think everyone should have one at least once. So I currently have him separate from four of the girls cause he couldn’t stop chasing everyone and beat up my Speckled Sussex pretty good. I do have another Ameraucana/EE in with him to keep him company at the moment she is the only one that can put up with him. What’s funny is my two year old Buff Orpington Hen has longer spurs than your guy and she lays some good size eggs.

This is funny because I have a 5 year old French cuckoo Maran hen with massive spurs. We can't her Big mama