Choosing the better rooster to keep?

[Penny spender]

I have 4 young (9 weeks) cockerels from a hatch this summer. I would like to keep one for breeding my 6 unrelated hens. I've only had hens to this point.

Personality is key....im worried about aggression because I've heard such horror stories of people being attacked by their roos. Are there any traits to watch for at this stage which may help me choose the friendliest roo?

I've narrowed my choices to 2. One large buff that is very friendly but equals when I pet him and does chest bumps with his mates, and another smaller brown with black neck and mixed partridge feathers that is more shy but still lets me handle him without squawking. Does personality at thus stage indicate grown roo personality?

 

[azygous]

You won't see "personality" or temperament until around four to six months, give or take. The hormones are beginning to surge at that age. Now, cockerels are just happy little chicks without a care in the world. Hormones trigger true rooster behavior.

First of all, from this point on, try to limit your interaction with the cockerels except when absolutely necessary. This will permit the cockerels to develop without getting mixed signals from you that could cause the development of bad behavior.

Next, what you want to watch for in a cockerel to keep is independence while showing deference to you. You want a cockerel that isn't flighty but will smoothly "slide" out of your way when you approach, keeping a respectful distance from you.

Watch the cockerels as they begin to mate the hens. Choose the one that is respectful of the hens yet has the self confidence to mount them. You want the one with the "smooth moves", causing the least amount of fuss when interacting with the hens. You should barely be aware of what is going on.

Contrary to what a lot of people think, you will not be administering any discipline to your cockerels during these early experiments in exploring their roles in the flock. Keep as much of a hands off policy as you can, not interfering when they attempt to mate. It's not a sign of disrespect to mate in front of you.

It will be very obvious by age six to eight months which cockerel to keep.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Good question but no, not at that age and not for quite a while based on personality. Flock dynamics get pretty complicated and change based on different things as they mature. They mature at different rates too which further complicates it.

I’ve seen that hormonal stage start in cockerels as young as three months for some and last until seven or eight for others. You’ve probably seen some teenage boys making some pretty mature decisions at a pretty young age while others are still not mature in their 40’s. Same kind of thing.

Once they get to a certain point one cockerel will emerge as dominant. He should take over the flock master duties: tidbitting the ladies (finding them food), fertilizing the eggs, watching for danger, and keeping peace in his flock. The non-dominant one may try to do some of these but the dominant one won’t let him. So the non-dominant one is usually pretty laid back once they settle who is dominant. Often it looks like he has a great personality.

That can possibly change though if you remove the dominant cockerel or rooster and he has to take on the duties of flock master. Some can handle that responsibility better than others. Behavior as second-in-command doesn’t always translate when he becomes boss.

What I look for in a cockerel is one that matures fairly early. These usually have the personality to dominate the pullets or hens just by personality. A weaker less confident cockerel or rooster may not be able to manage that based on personality, he may be more inclined to use force. Basically I’m looking for a self-confident male. That usually means he can manage his flock with less drama. That’s a slippery slope though, some are just brutes that never got out of that teenage hormonal stage, including the self-confident ones. Early maturity is not a guarantee.

As far as them eventually becoming human aggressive, some are just going to flip. For no noticeable reason they just become human aggressive. I think some of that tendency is hereditary, some are just more nervous than others. Sometimes they might not like the shoes or color of clothing you are wearing. It’s not unusual for some to be fine with certain people but not others.

One thing that often turns a great rooster into a human aggressive one is that they are programmed to protect their flock. If someone is chasing or threatening their flock they might attack. This can happen with kids pretty easily but many adults also cause this. The rooster is just doing his job but once he flips he has flipped. If he sees that person again they are a threat to his flock. He may be fine with you but any other person is at risk.

There are different theories on how to raise a non-human aggressive rooster. Mine is that they can sense when someone is afraid of them. If you are self-confident and move with purpose they generally respect that. But if someone shows up that is afraid of them the hackles go up.

It’s not totally unusual when they have taken over the dominant role but are still a bit immature for a cockerel to challenge you. They especially love the sneak attack, coming at you from behind. If something like that happens I use my foot to move him away. I don’t kick to try to hurt him, just firmly move him. Then stare at him. After a bit take a step toward him. Stay calm and move slowly but firmly. Usually they back off. Stay there until he walks away. Often they will try to attack when you turn your back so kind of keep an eye on him. If starts in your direction walk him down. Slowly and calmly walk toward him. He should turn and walk away. Keep doing this until you can turn and walk away and he does not try to follow you. That means he has accepted that you are dominant, not him. You may get a repeat performance or two but pretty soon you should be able to walk down there without worrying about a sneak attack.

I will handle a hen in front of a rooster if I need to, but I try to not give him a reason to defend his flock. Say I have them all trapped in the coop and I’m going to handle some. The first thing I do is catch the rooster and put him outside in the run where he is out of the way.

This does not always work. I had one that was pure human aggressive, he would attack me or anyone else. He was not allowed to have offspring. I had to stop asking a friend to take care of my chickens as she was afraid of roosters, she would get attacked. Other people did not have that problem at all with the same rooster.

Roosters can be dangerous, especially to kids. But something to remember. For thousands of years free ranging flocks with roosters have been kept on small farms worldwide. There are kids being raised on these farms, they are often the ones taking care of the chickens. Occasionally there might be a rooster attack but usually not. My chore was to collect eggs, including checking under any broody hen. When Mom wanted to cook a chicken I’d catch one and clean it. I was never attacked by a rooster. I don’t want to downplay the risk, especially to kids, but it’s not always a disaster.

Good luck!

 

[lazy gardener]

First of all, from this point on, try to limit your interaction with the cockerels except when absolutely necessary. This will permit the cockerels to develop without getting mixed signals from you that could cause the development of bad behavior.

Next, what you want to watch for in a cockerel to keep is independence while showing deference to you. You want a cockerel that isn't flighty but will smoothly "slide" out of your way when you approach, keeping a respectful distance from you.

Good paragraphs above. From the moment I know that a bird is a cockerel, I adopt an arms length away policy. I am a bit tougher in my approach than @azygous. If a cockerel enters my space, I move him out of it. Depending on the circumstances, I might stamp my foot in his direction, walk or trot (my running days are few and far between now!) after him to move him out of my work area or away from the flock. I may even use a fiberglass fence post as an extension of my arm. Birds don't like having their tails touched. Often a light tap on the feathers will send him scurrying for safety.

Only when I've developed a long lasting relationship with a roo, do I let my guard down. Even then, I'm always watching for any subtle shifts in demeanor. My avatar roo has a good relationship with me. He is allowed to accept treats from me (dropped on the ground, not hand fed) and he is often around chatting with me. The replacement cockerel has not shown any aggression towards me. But, I don't trust him yet. He's not earned my trust. He makes me nervous. When he jumps up on top of a pallet when I'm feeding the flock, I make him get down. Granted, he's up there, most likely to stay out of Jack's way. But, with him being on top of a leaning pallet, that gives him a decided advantage if he should decide to challenge me when I'm leaning over filling a feed trough. So, he's chased off the pallet, and moved out of the feeding area.

I handle my pullets fairly often in front of the boys. First, b/c I've found that the skittish girls become less so if they've discovered that being handled actually feels good, and they have lived to tell the story. They always get a facial massage, and don't get put down till they've settled. Second, b/c Jack was getting very upset/somewhat agitated when I picked up one of his girls and she yelled, or even worse flapped her wings. So, handling the girls is more frequent now, and Jack doesn't mind.

As for your choice of a keeper cockerel: temperament first, body conformation second. Also, the make up of your flock should help your decision process. Got big girls, then a big roo is ok. Smaller girls? You might want to choose a roo who is a bit smaller, though any roo will always be quite a bit larger than girls of the same breed. Got girls in your flock that would make good sex link chicks if paired with the right roo? Bingo! Or perhaps you have a pullet and cockerel of the same breed, like that breed, and both are decent representatives of that breed. Bingo!

 

[azygous]

@lazy gardener has delivered stellar advice on selecting and dealing with cockerels.

The wrong rooster can make having chickens a living nightmare. The right rooster can make being around your flock an immense joy.

Good luck in your tackling this decision.

 

[Penny spender]

First of all, from this point on, try to limit your interaction with the cockerels except when absolutely necessary. This will permit the cockerels to develop without getting mixed signals from you that could cause the development of bad behavior.

Hmmm...I can see that this thread may take a different tangent than expected...but still very useful and interesting! What mixed signals will I be giving by handling the little roos? I have very little experience with birds but my assumption was that I am dominant, and they should tolerate anything I wish to do to them (sounds ominous, but you get the idea - lol)
"It will be very obvious by age six to eight months which cockerel to keep." I would not think it safe to keep 4 roos with 6 hens to that age. I was thinking I will process 3 of the roos at about 4 months before they all mature and terrorize my ladies.

 

[azygous]

The "mixed signals" cockerels may get from too much interaction run from getting the notion that they are your equal to becoming suspicious of your motives and thus developing an adversarial relationship with you. A hands off approach from around age 10 weeks can avoid much of this.

 

[Penny spender]

If a cockerel enters my space, I move him out of it. Depending on the circumstances, I might stamp my foot in his direction, walk or trot (my running days are few and far between now!) after him to move him out of my work area or away from the flock.

I'm thinking that I've already made a huge mistake then. All 4 young cockerels (and 1 young pullet) come running with the big hens for treats and, like the rest of my flock, get underfoot and in the way constantly. They shoo away easily enough, but are always nosey. So perhaps, the one young roo that is a little more shy (and beautiful) is the one to watch, rather than the big guy who wants attention all the time? But sounds like all bets are off once the hormones start. Ugh....lol!

 

[azygous]

You haven't really had time to ruin any of your boy chicks. Don't worry at this point. Just know going forward you want them to understand they exist independently from you.

 

[aart]

I'm thinking that I've already made a huge mistake then. All 4 young cockerels (and 1 young pullet) come running with the big hens for treats and, like the rest of my flock, get underfoot and in the way constantly. They shoo away easily enough, but are always nosey. So perhaps, the one young roo that is a little more shy (and beautiful) is the one to watch, rather than the big guy who wants attention all the time? But sounds like all bets are off once the hormones start. Ugh....lol!

It's can be fine line on how much interaction to allow young boys.
I always think of the phrase 'familiarity breeds contempt'.
A 'friendly' cockerel chick is the most likely to become a human aggressive adolescent/adult.

Hand feeding is fine on occasion for both genders, don't let any of them get too assertive, pullets can get testy too and may need to be shown who is the boss(you).
Cuddling cockerels is not a good idea IMO.
I handle just enough to know they 'won't die', often done off the roost at night with calming voice.....same goes for pullets. But am more likely to handle females more often and also during day so they all know, especially the males, that this is OK and not a threat. Just quick matter of fact picking up, exam touching, putting back down. One of the biggest things is for you to be calm, confident, and in charge...if you are anxious and/or fearful they can feel that, it makes them nervous and more likely to 'flight or fight'.

As to picking the best to keep, than can be a crap shoot because they all act differently when there are multiples than when they are the only male. I just went thru this, had 4 cockerels to choose from, to replace my old cockbird. I spent a lot of time watching them, went back and forth numerous times between 3 for weeks, luckily was able to choose by my breeding priorities of size and color as there were no behavioral red flags. They all deferred nicely to schooling from the older hens and cock. Left my keeper cockerel in with the old cock for a couple weeks then took him out too. Young Willie is working out well so far, I like his demeanor tho still don't trust him 100% yet, that will take more time.

Hope something in there helped. Hard choices ahead for you....Best of cLuck to yas!