Cockerel Behavior (first time owner)

[HarleyBarley]

Hello All!

We adopted a few 1 year old hens and it turned out one was a juvenile male who was just the same size as the rest. We have no idea how old he is, hasn't crowed yet, no spurs yet either. How old do you think he is? His feathers seem to be relatively grown in.

He and the hens we adopted are in quarantine in a small coup. He stays in there all the time unless he's eating or drinking, may come out occasionally to flap his wings but he just hangs out in there. Is this norma are young cockerels normally big babies until the hormones hit?

 

[diamondsilkies]

Hard to tell exactly how old he is...I would guess maybe somewhere between 5 months and a year? Usually, by this age, the hormones would have started to kick in. I think you may have lucked out and ended up with a sweet rooster. One of my boys is very similar in personality/demeanor and is probably around 3 years old at this point.

 

[HarleyBarley]

Hard to tell exactly how old he is...I would guess maybe somewhere between 5 months and a year? Usually, by this age, the hormones would have started to kick in. I think you may have lucked out and ended up with a sweet rooster. One of my boys is very similar in personality/demeanor and is probably around 3 years old at this point.

So, will he get any bigger? Will he ever crow? Will he ever be a good leader for his girls?

 

[diamondsilkies]

So, will he get any bigger? Will he ever crow? Will he ever be a good leader for his girls?

How long have you had him? Are there any other mature roosters on the property?
He will probably get a little bigger, or at least fill out a little.

 

[HarleyBarley]

How long have you had him? Are there any other mature roosters on the property?
He will probably get a little bigger, or at least fill out a little.

We've only had him a week. He really only clucks when he's distressed. When we got him home we opened the dog kennel and he ran off, we had to chase him for like 20 minutes and we caught him when he ducked into a bush, curled up and hid. The whole time we're thinking, he kinda looks like a male but is soooo soooo docile. I'm guessing he's either super young or really really low on testosterone. The people we bought him from didn't know if it was male or female either, he was in with all the 1 year old hens.


We have no other males.

 

[Perris]

my guess would be he's intimidated by the more mature hens. I've got a young (just 7 months old) Barbezeiux who towers over the head hen but runs away from her - this was him this morning

and in general has kept his head down and out of trouble since he was a few days old. I'm sure both he and yours will grow into their roles in due course.

 

[diamondsilkies]

The whole time we're thinking, he kinda looks like a male but is soooo soooo docile.

Some roosters, even once they've settled into their position as flock protector, are still very docile with people. His behavior with you generally depends less on how he leads the flock and more of his relationship with you/people (although they are both factors).

I agree, I think part of his docile behavior may be due to a new environment and older hens. Once he settles in to his new home and fills out a little, he should become more of a leader.

 

[HarleyBarley]

Some roosters, even once they've settled into their position as flock protector, are still very docile with people. His behavior with you generally depends less on how he leads the flock and more of his relationship with you/people (although they are both factors).

I agree, I think part of his docile behavior may be due to a new environment and older hens. Once he settles in to his new home and fills out a little, he should become more of a leader.

I'm TOTALLY cool with him being a quiet and docile boy, but I'm planning on breeding him with my girls in hopes of getting some blue and green eggs and I'm hoping he gets a little bigger.