Can raising a young roo with a dominant, older pullet effect his future disposition?

[Honeybee22]

So this is my 7.5 week old BLRW roo, Tookie.

He's a pretty good boy right now, but I've heard a couple not so flattering stories about Wyandotte roos being a tad aggressive either with the hens or people. I know it all comes down to genes, but he's a hatchery roo so who knows.

He and my other 7.5 week pullets recently moved in full-time with my 3 older pullets. They're about 3 months old and my head chicken (an amber white named Chubs) is firm but fair with him. At first he walked around like he owned the place, but she's sorted him out and he obviously recognizes her current dominance over him.

My question is will having a more dominant pullet over him now help him to be a less aggressive rooster in the future? I mean, he's got a bit a of time ahead of him before he becomes a "man," just wondering how being raised with a firm older pullet effects the attitude of a future roo... if any?

Hoping to hear other people's experiences!

 

[Poultrybreeder]

Older pullets will help keep the roosters in check, and I think will probably change their behavior by quite a bit. Which would cause them to become shyer than normal. But once they are alpha, they may become aggressive anyway, just have to wait and see.

 

[Honeybee22]

I know! It's going to be interesting to see if it has any long term effects on him.

 

[basement chick]

I got an Americauna rooster as a chick along with five other pullets. I had two Golden Comet hens a year and a half old. The dominant hen kept him in check for a few months but once he matured around six months, he took over. He was good with the hens the same age as him and the other older hen, but he was really hard on the older dominant hen. Even once she gave in to him, he continued to peck her. She got so bloody and beat up I decided he had to go. I was lucky to find a great home with a couple who recently lost their rooster. He took over with their hens like a pro. So, in this case it did not affect him to be raised with a dominant hen.

 

[Honeybee22]

And that's what my concern is. He sometimes bites my arm for no reason. I push him down to assert my dominance, but my concern is that nothing will stop him from being agressive once he matures. I was hoping my Chubs could help him, but probably not. Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Chickassan]

Well at least a dominant hen will get his manners in check when addressing them. It will be quite some time before you will actually know if your guy is a terror or not. The first year for a guy is up in the air as they are trying to get a handle on their roosterhood, after that you should be able to gauge your fella. Also biting isn't always aggression, they don't have hands so sometimes it's exploration.