Cowardly Rooster

[neishalee]

I picked up a 5 month old rooster about a month ago to replace one taken by coyotes. I'm very familiar with typical rooster behavior and have eaten my fair share of agressive roosters. Now I have the opposite problem.

The new rooster was raised by a city dwelling chicken lover who allowed the chickens in the house but had to rehome the rooster since they aren't allowed in town.

I expected him to be bullied for a bit then settle in. However he hasn't left the coop other than when I take him out. He acts terrified of the girls even though they mostly ignore him now. If they even look his way he runs away terrified. It has been a month.

He does not even try to crow or act like a rooster.

Any thoughts? I hatched 13 chicks from my last rooster who was a gentleman of a rooster. I'm hoping one of them ends up like his daddy.

 

[DanEP]

Give him a couple of months, a new home and strange girls will take awhile to get used to. Some roosters mature later than others but i"ve never seen one that didn't grow into his job. within a couple of months the hormones should kick in and you could a whole new bird on your hands.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Hello! I am a backyard chicken owner and had a similar issue with my small rooster! (We also couldn't keep him XD) Our rooster was what some people call "Hen Pecked" He was put into our flock of older ladies who picked on him and he was never top of the flock. He could just be traumatized that the previous hens picked on him or because your girls have picked on him. Many of my roosters matured later than others and my last boy took until 8 months and some other roosters encouragement to finally crow! Until about 6 months he acted like on of the girls too, and didnt act "rooster-y" until the very end ^^ Best of luck with your little boy!

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I picked up a 5 month old rooster about a month ago to replace one taken by coyotes. I'm very familiar with typical rooster behavior and have eaten my fair share of agressive roosters. Now I have the opposite problem.

The new rooster was raised by a city dwelling chicken lover who allowed the chickens in the house but had to rehome the rooster since they aren't allowed in town.

I expected him to be bullied for a bit then settle in. However he hasn't left the coop other than when I take him out. He acts terrified of the girls even though they mostly ignore him now. If they even look his way he runs away terrified. It has been a month.

He does not even try to crow or act like a rooster.

Any thoughts? I hatched 13 chicks from my last rooster who was a gentleman of a rooster. I'm hoping one of them ends up like his daddy.

As I have mentioned in previous threads, a male chicken is not a rooster until he is over a year and in the presence of an older alpha rooster, two years old, before he will find his courage.

 

[CascadiaRiver]

Most people do not have all of the knowledge of roosters to cockerels, and some people just dont care and are trying to get their point across clearly to other people that its a boy since a good majority of common folk dont know what a cockerel even is ^^

 

[aart]

I picked up a 5 month old rooster about a month ago to replace one taken by coyotes. I'm very familiar with typical rooster behavior and have eaten my fair share of agressive roosters. Now I have the opposite problem.

The new rooster was raised by a city dwelling chicken lover who allowed the chickens in the house but had to rehome the rooster since they aren't allowed in town.

I expected him to be bullied for a bit then settle in. However he hasn't left the coop other than when I take him out. He acts terrified of the girls even though they mostly ignore him now. If they even look his way he runs away terrified. It has been a month.

He does not even try to crow or act like a rooster.

Any thoughts? I hatched 13 chicks from my last rooster who was a gentleman of a rooster. I'm hoping one of them ends up like his daddy.

How old are these 'chicks' now?
Are they in with the new cockerel and other birds?
How many birds total in how much space(feet by feet)?

 

[neishalee]

It's about 16 Sq ft with different levels of roosts. He generally stays on the top rung. There are only 5 chickens right now.

They have a large run and most days I let them free range since we have 5 acres. Even when the girls are free ranging he won't come off his perch.

The chicks are 4 days old and living in my bathroom. My husband his building a gigantic brooder in the basement since we've never had winter chicks before and we're not sure how long we'll have them in the house.

We have a second coop I call the nursery for broody hens and such which I could move him to but the run is basically a snow drift right now and is more for summer use.