Can we talk about rooster raising?

[bhawk-23]

Hello, we have a 12 week cockerel. So far he is super calm. I decided to keep him because he was so calm compared to the other cockerels hatched with him. Today, I picked him up and held him. I then put him down in front of me and held him until he calmly laid down and relaxed, which took about 3 minutes to get him to do this. We had a great petting session and a good talk. Lasted about 5 minutes and he got up and carried on. This evening when we were out checking everything for bedtime I picked up a hen. She is the calmest one who likes to sit in our lap, especially in this cold. He was definitely interested in this. When she got up I decided to get him. He was calm and settled in quite quickly enjoying the pets and warmth. I have a couple hens who are opportunistic and will sometimes try to get a peck in on the one in my lap so I just gently used my arm to push them back. I did not want to upset the rooster. It didn't and she eventually gave up. Overall, I feel like it was a good day with him.
After so much research and deciphering all the information out there on how to raise a gentle and calm rooster I've decided to try this approach. Teaching him I am not a threat but actually a source to comfort. When he starts to woo his girls I'll give him the treats to offer to the girls. I'll work with the hens who are super calm and show him they like our company.
My goal is to have a friendly rooster. Unfortunately, he won't be staying if he is not. Of the 7 cockerels we hatched only 2 of the other 6 will even inch close enough to eat from my hand but much prefer for me to drop it. The other 4 I have not even gotten close to. This is why I chose him, he has always been calm and easy going.
Also, the 10 month old pullets are keeping him and his two hatch mate pullets in their place.
Does this sound like a solid plan or a disaster waiting to happen? There is no consensus on how to raise a nice rooster and his adult personality is a crap shoot, I get that. But has anyone here attempted raising a rooster like I am planning to? Good and/or bad experiences are certainly welcome Thank you!

 

[Oncoming Storm]

I’ve never raised a rooster like this. It sounds like a reasonable approach. My flock is all free ranged so cuddling isn’t a huge thing for them. My only concern is that he might get too comfortable with you and misbehave. I’m certainly curious to how this turns out as the first rooster I owned definitely had the most love and affection offered and he turned out to be a homicidal maniac. Keep us posted.

 

[WallyG74]

Rusty

 

[CluckerFamily]

I have had two roosters so far, both were calm since they were little. My flock also free ranges and I only handle everyone at night for inspections, including the rooster. I do have everyone trained to come when called either for “chick chick” or their own names.
Everyone has a different experience with roosters. I hope he continues to impress you!

 

[WallyG74]

My rooster is a EE about 7 months old. I thought he was going to be a wimp. He was late doing everything a rooster does. He’s only been crowing about a month. He does a bang up job of it now. He does his hen business, not too rough but he does his duty. He finds them food and calls them over. Overall, he’s turned out to be a fine rooster. He doesn’t want to be a pet. He runs away if we approach him and he’s never tried to come at one of us to attack. If he produces some chicks this spring I’ll say he’s pretty near the perfect rooster for our little farm.

 

[Britt The Chicken Chick]

I have 9 Roosters!
I love my roosters. They have the most incredible personalities, are friendly, and some are very affectionate. They are my little minion gang. They run the greet me when I get home from work, follow me around like dogs, and let me pick them up and love on them.

How did I end up with so many?
I took my chances at getting 10 un-sexed chicks. 8 of them turned out to be roosters and 2 hens. I have since added 6 more hens and another rooster to my flock. 7 of my roosters are free-range and have their own boys only coop. Everyone else is in a different coop and run. Removing their access to the hens eliminates their motivation to compete for resources.

Tips and What I have learned about raising so many roosters:
***First, I want to note that things can be very difficult during their “teenage” years (months). However, if you work with them and be patient they can grow out of it.
1. Handle them a lot and do it from a very early age.
2. Do not put up with bad behavior and be very patient.
• Never kick, hit, yell, etc at your birds. Not only is it cruel or could result in injury, but also it will compound the situation and make them scared or behavior worse. Instead, tap into chicken behavior and work with them in a way they will understand:
I know the following will sound crazy. During those teenage years, I had a couple of boys that were becoming naughty. They were trying to establish the pecking order and put me in there as well. I have NO idea what possessed me to do this, but it worked. What do chickens understand, pecking! I would pick these boys up, carry them around, pet them, and then I would sit them on the picnic table. Here is the crazy part. I would look them in the eyes and then use my nose like a beak and peck them: nose to beak. I would do this and tell them I am in charge and then continue to hold them and give them affection. For some reason this worked and made them submissive.
•As they grew bigger, I continued to work with them. I can say that I have 9 roosters and in the summer I can do chicken chores in shorts and flip flops! No attacks, no bites. As they grew and this behavior began to manifest, I nipped it quickly. If someone tried to go for my ankles, I would pick them up, hold them in front of me, make eye contact, and use my finger to tap them on the end of the beak and tell them no.
3. Positive reinforcement is key. Treats, affection, show them that your presence brings positive things.
4. Spend lots of time with them. Obviously, I am with them when I am outside doing chores. But make time for chicken time. I regularly sit outside in the chicken village, drink a beer or coffee, and just relax and hang with them. They sit on my lap, hop on the picnic table, sit on the arm of my chair and completely chill. I bring them comfort, protection, and ease, so they will shut their eyes and nap.
5. Be aware and address chicken on chicken behavior. There are things such as peepers you can use to help. Sometimes it just takes a little extra care or putting someone in “timeout” to work through a chicken disagreement.
6. Be patient and love your roosters!

 

[Trisseh]

The worst cockerel I have had was an EE that I got from someone at around 2 weeks old. It was the shyest, most timid bird and I worked SO hard to win it’s trust. Well, I sure did, and that bird decided that this nice human was a pushover, as well as literally any other creature around, including inanimate objects. He terrorized the pullets, wouldn’t let them eat, grabbed them and just held onto them while they sat and screamed. Beat the snot out of the bantam cockerels, going so far as to escape his pen and go into theirs. Tried to flog the dog (who was minding her own business eating her food on the opposite side of the yard) in the face. Engaged in flogging attacks on the lawn flamingo, cuz it was looking at him funny....(picture below) he made some aborted attempts to flog my legs, because even though his aggression was high, he still turned tail and ran as soon as my eyes were on him. He was due to be culled but decided to take matters into his own hands and choked himself on dog food. Dog got her revenge i guess.

every other cockerel I’ve had has been some level of wary, but none have been truly aggressive. The best one I had was a sebright, he would ride around on my shoulder while I did chores. Was kind to all the other birds.

One of the young (3 month old) cockerels I have now took it upon himself to run over and bite my hand when I was putting food in the feeder. I “pecked” him hard with my finger but before I could get a second peck in, my older cockerel came running up, pecked him hard, and chased him off. The little one hasn’t gone after me since. Sometimes the older birds in the flock are the best teachers for the young upstarts.

I think for the OP, the biggest thing is going to be watching for behaviours that are going to be a warning sign before any of the actual attacks start, if this guy decides to try it with you. Take a read through the rooster articles on this forum so you know what to watch for. He may never do any of those things, and may continue to be a nice dude. Fingers crossed that he remains that way!

 

[Savitar]

I'm the one who posted about the rooster knocking my glasses off my face. He's been rehomed, and is going to a ranch in Wyoming where he'll have 26 Easter Egger hens. He won't be in a situation where there are small children, etc. So, he's not in the soup pot yet.

Funny, the little bantam rooster left behind started crowing as the other rooster was being loaded into the truck. Hadn't heard him crow until that day. And when I took out veggies, he picked up a pea and clucked to show the hens. They ignored him, of course, because he's a pip squeak. But he's trying! I'll keep an eye out for him. He was supposed to be a Mille Fleur D'uccle, but ended up with a top knot, and folks here thought he was more likely to be a silkie cross. He does have the dotted/speckled feathers underneath. I hope he remains sweet.

People laugh when they hear his name is Francois. I have no idea why.

 

[halefamily_flock]

I then put him down in front of me and held him until he calmly laid down and relaxed, which took about 3 minutes to get him to do this.

Based on this level of patience, I think you will be successful! I've tried a number of different methods, and the most successful has been simply holding the cockerel, gently but firmly, until they relax and then put them down. Repeat often. I don't necessarily pet or cuddle them, just get them used to me handling them and deciding when to hold them & when to let them go (never when they're squirming to get out of my hands).

 

[Sally PB]

None of my chickens are "lap chickens" (though I wish they were!), and my cockerel is good with the pullets. I have had to "explain" to him in chicken-speak that I am the boss a few times. He has come at my feet, head down, hackles raised several times. He darts in, jumps back, too fast for me to catch.

Not any more. I have caught him and held him down three times now in the last week. I don't do the carry-around-till-calm ploy, as he is squirmy and I'm afraid I'll drop him. I hold him down, one hand over his back, thumb and fingers under his wings, and one hand over his neck. I press his head down to ground level, and I have to hold firmly, because, as I said, he is squirmy. When he holds still, I do a slow count to about 30. Then I let him up and when he walks away, I leave.

I would love for him to be my buddy, but I don't think that is going to happen. It's ok by me if he ignores me and looks out for the girls instead. That's what he's there for.

They are all going on 10 months old. We'll see how he does in the spring. I want to keep him, but he has to behave.