Are there nice roosters?

[honeybeez1997]

Surprise! My Rhode Island chick is a rooster. What measures can I take to prevent him from getting mean? He is 10 wks old.
I currently sit in the coop almost every night.

 

[Pyxis]

Yes, there are definitely nice roosters. All of mine with the exception of one that just showed up one day back in the early days of my flock have been nice. By nice I don't mean wanted to be picked up and coddled, I mean not aggressive and got out of my way when they needed to. I did have a couple that didn't mind me touching them or picking them up but for the most part they prefer if you let them be and let them do their job.

Make sure he knows you're dominant over him. Walk through him, not around him. He gets out of your way, not the other way around. He has to respect your space. Better to start this with him early and get him on the right track.

 

[Mylied]

I haven't found anything I do makes them nice or mean. It's all in their personality. I choose not to make roosters pets because pet roosters have gotten hormonal and sneak attacked me. I have them respect my space. They stay out of my space and are nice to the hens, I'm happy. I don't turn my back on them though, no matter how chill they are.

 

[The Moonshiner]

IMHO pic 2 is exactly what you shouldn't be doing.

 

[chickengirl778]

My favorite chick turned out a roo! I think that all my loving on him and holding him all the time resulted in him being quite tame and nice.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Does this answer your question?

He thinks he is a person but really he's a rooster in a diaper.

Follows me around, sings little songs, snuggles, likes to ride in the car. I have others and they are sweet too.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

Rhode island roosters tend to be mean so don't expect a flurry but if you enforce boundaries young he should be respectful. Birds like flurry are rare.

 

[AmberKnits]

We have 6 “nice” roosters. My definition of “nice” is the same as @Pyxis - they don’t attack us. We have little kids, so roosters who attack people get sent straight to freezer camp. Our roosters move out of the way when we come near, they keep their distance. We don’t pick them up, or pet them.

Our first rooster was a favorite as a chick, he got tons of attention, we were always carrying him around. By the time he was a year old, we needed two people to go into the chicken run because he would attack us almost immediately (one person to work, one to hold a stick to fight off the rooster if necessary). Eventually, it got to be too much for us and we vowed to only keep “nice” roosters after we got rid of him.

Of course, the first rooster was from a feed store....as were all the aggressive roosters we’ve had. Our current roosters came from individual breeders.

 

[KentuckyRooster]

We have 6 “nice” roosters. My definition of “nice” is the same as @Pyxis - they don’t attack us. We have little kids, so roosters who attack people get sent straight to freezer camp. Our roosters move out of the way when we come near, they keep their distance. We don’t pick them up, or pet them.

Our first rooster was a favorite as a chick, he got tons of attention, we were always carrying him around. By the time he was a year old, we needed two people to go into the chicken run because he would attack us almost immediately (one person to work, one to hold a stick to fight off the rooster if necessary). Eventually, it got to be too much for us and we vowed to only keep “nice” roosters after we got rid of him.

Of course, the first rooster was from a feed store....as were all the aggressive roosters we’ve had. Our current roosters came from individual breeders.

THIS too. A well bred roo, like a well bred dog will be a more pleasant stable animal.

Flurry is very well bred for temper and type to his breed standard. If your Rhode island is not a nice guy and you opt to get rid of him, look for a quality breeder of good stock for a future bird and choosing an older bird helps your chances too.

 

[bobbi-j]

Yes, there are definitely nice roosters. All of mine with the exception of one that just showed up one day back in the early days of my flock have been nice. By nice I don't mean wanted to be picked up and coddled, I mean not aggressive and got out of my way when they needed to. I did have a couple that didn't mind me touching them or picking them up but for the most part they prefer if you let them be and let them do their job.

Make sure he knows you're dominant over him. Walk through him, not around him. He gets out of your way, not the other way around. He has to respect your space. Better to start this with him early and get him on the right track.

I do the same. As soon as I know I have a cockerel on my hands, I quit interacting with him. When they're old enough to be out of the brooder, I will walk through them randomly, stand my ground if they do decide to challenge me, and every now and then walk briskly toward them just to make them move. I have had "nice" roosters ever since I started raising them this way. My definition of "nice" is the same as Pyxis'.

IMHO pic 2 is exactly what you shouldn't be doing.

Yep. For one thing, he's way too close to your face. It only takes a second for a curious bird to peck at those two shiny things just above your nose. And if you want a "nice" rooster, you don't want him in your space or face.