Can you “train” a cockerel to be docile?

[HeidiN]

I’m afraid one of our pullets is actually a cockerel. It hasn’t started crowing, but the pullet we got from the same batch hasn’t started laying either. They’re about 5 1/2 months old. This bird has always been the odd one out, and seems to be at the bottom of the pecking order. It is very freakish when you try to catch it, or even touch. It bites when you finally do get it. Does this mean it will be a mean rooster, or is it possible to teach it to be nice?

 

[LRH97]

Don't worry if you may potentially have a roo. I know the assumption is that he'll be mean, but I've dealt with way more well-mannered roos than I have bad. My advice would be to be as hands-off with him as possible. There is no way to train him to be nice. If he turns out mean and aggressive, that's how he's hard-wired. A good and well-mannered roo will respect your space and will get out of your way. I have a BR roo who does the same thing your bird does. I also have a few hens that will give me a solid peck when I handle them. I've never had any problems with aggression from my BR either, so no the pecking doesn't necessarily mean you'll have an aggressive bird. I suppose if I was a chicken and a giant, weird looking, two legged thing reached down and picked me up, I'd probably want to peck the tar out of it too!

All this only applies if your bird is indeed a roo, so post a picture and we can see!

 

[onyx2011]

I'm on my third rooster and honestly, the genes either help or break you! I think it's possible to curb aggressive behavior though. Every roo is different!
My boy is still a baby, he's still learning how to crow(probably my favorite phase ever tbh). He comes from an extremely docile gene pool because i got him from a heritage breeder. When its supervised free range time, i sit out with my birds and do some homework. Earl likes to come up and sit in my lap or next to me while i pet him and he tends to stare very intently at the textbooks... Maybe he finds the composition of atoms to be fascinating?

 

[Saaniya]

Yes I TRAIN BOTH OF MY ROOSTERS
AS THEY ARE PETS THEY ARE TRAINED TO POOP ON GROUND
I START TRAINING FROM THEIR 9TH WEEK I DONT EVER KNOW THEY ARE VERY SMART UNDERSTAND MY WORDS NEVER POOP ON BED OR SOFA

 

[HeidiN]

Here are some pics of the bird in question. It had some feather loss, (flock mates picked him/her clean) so the brown is pine tar I had just applied prior to taking pics

 

[HeidiN]

Here are pics of the pullet, same age. 5 1/2 months. She’s very docile.

 

[HeidiN]

All this only applies if your bird is indeed a roo, so post a picture and we can see![/QUOTE]

I posted pics of my two 5 1/2 month old Dominique’s.
If the one In question is a he, any idea of the typical temperament of roosters for this breed?

 

[Soy Milano]

Yes, here is an infographic about it - Gentling Roosters by PoultryDVM

 

[Geena]

Yes, here is an infographic about it - Gentling Roosters by PoultryDVM

That's not very good advice for raising cockerels. Quite often, from their perspective, familiarity breeds contempt.

 

[Chickassan]

Your boy is a teenager, not the best time to judge his temperment. But if he bites when caught stop catching him. To answer your question, you can't make a boy gentle. They're either born that way or they are not. Let yours grow up a little more before you worry about his temperment. His hormones are happening so his personality isn't going to be its very best right now. Btw you made me giggle posting the chicken fannies thank you!