Culling Cockerels for Unwanted Behaviors?

[DyingPhoenix]

So, I've been working on my own little breeding project with the number one priority being tameness. I want mellow, tame birds and that includes docile roosters. After losing my number one and putting my hopes in a roo that turned human aggressive, I'm now raising a bunch of cockerels in my latest hatch. It was the human aggressive roo over my tamest hens. I expected some issues.

There are A LOT of cockerels in this batch of 30. They're 2 1/2 months old now, fully feathered and the cockerels are dead obvious.

Here's the deal: There's a handful of them that are very aggressive. All of them ( but one dimwitted son of my favorite dimwitted hen ) are afraid of me and give way easily and never charge or peck ME. However, when I introduced some other chicks they've been raised with but separated for a bit, they were totally vicious! 4 of the birchen cockerels ( I'm almost positive they all have the same mother ) and one unrelated blue will gang up so bad and NOT relent, I feared for the chicks lives and separated them. They were scalping them in front of me while everyone else stood by, afraid and confused.

I though 'Hah! I'll show them.' And tossed an adult hen in. She got mugged...There are feathers everywhere and she has been bullied to the corner and not allowed near anyone else. She's twice their size! There are two instigators that stalk her like predators and challenge her relentlessly, but the others I speak of are almost as bad. Her only solace is up on a roost ( they still sleep in piles and don't roost yet ) while they circle below like piranhas.

Tomorrow, in goes my ruthless hen, she has killed a pullet in the past and takes NO crap from roosters that outweigh her. Lady Blackbeard, the ugly, terrifying harpy in my avatar picture. This will be supervised, of course, and I don't know if it will do any good, but I'd honestly like to see them get their butts put in place.

Is this normal behavior? Because I don't like it and I will cull the ones if it's something that isn't normal.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Save your hen. Start by removing the most forward and aggressive and work your way down. Often the best roosters will be found near the bottom of a rooster pecking order.

Generally you shouldn't breed from birds with bad temperaments as many times it's inherited.

You will probably not teach any young rooster a lesson. Their hormones are surging, and they aren't thinking straight as most teenage males don't. A mob of teenage males is the worse for behaviors. Start butchering those boys before it gets really bad and bloody.

 

[DyingPhoenix]

That's what I was hoping to hear.

Unfortunately, I had to take a step back when I lost my good rooster so I have to do some digging and select the best I can from what I have.

I'm likely going to cull them soon.

 

[cottontail farm]

Start by removing the most forward and aggressive and work your way down. Often the best roosters will be found near the bottom of a rooster pecking order.

Agreed. The two best roosters I've had (so awesome they got pet staus) were a Cochin and my Brahma. Both came from other flocks and in both cases i deliberately picked out the roos that were hanging back minding their own business. Both really blossomed when given their own hens and are good protectors, respectful to me and small kids.
You've raised enough roosters to spot a problem when you see it. Don't waste your time on something you need to try to fix when there are plenty of good roosters out there.

 

[DyingPhoenix]

Thanks for the insight! My favorites from the bunch are the ones who hang back. Or the last ones that come up to investigate, they're much gentler.

I want to be rid of the trouble makers and I have no problems eating the failures, but at their age they don't seem like they'll have much meat on them.

 

[cottontail farm]

Well, plenty of us here eat quail and they're tiny. And delicious
I've been thinking about your situation, my best roos came from backyard flocks, and their sons are gentlemen too. But it seems like every hatchery roo i've had ends up in a soup pot.
I wonder if other people find this to be true - maybe the further you get away from hatchery stock the nicer they are? Maybe most small flock owners are naturally selecting for gentleman by not putting up with aggressive roos?

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks for the insight! My favorites from the bunch are the ones who hang back. Or the last ones that come up to investigate, they're much gentler.

I want to be rid of the trouble makers and I have no problems eating the failures, but at their age they don't seem like they'll have much meat on them.

Unless they are meat breeds it will take along time for them to put any meat on, and they will consume more feed than it is worth.

 

[DyingPhoenix]

I butchered the three nastiest cockerels this morning. I ended up skinning them and I think the amount of meat on them was fine with me. Of course they will never look like the fat frankenbirds from the store considering their breed, but there was more meat there than I thought.

I put a broody hen I'd like to break in their pen to make sure I could pick who was the rudest and three were super obvious. They had her in the corner.

Two were also crowing already, wonder if it was these guys, as I haven't heard them since.

It would make sense that hatchery birds had bad behavior. Don't they just keep them all in a big lot with roosters mixed throughout? Probably the 'rapiest', most aggressive roos mate all the hens and over the years it has just gotten more and more prevalent.

I think more people should try breeding for the animals behavior. Who knows what could happen. More tame, cuddly chickens for everyone! Nice roosters who you trust completely around kids and hens who are underfoot and almost annoying lol.

When I first got chickens, I really didn't like how some of them acted like I could kill them even by looking their way, even after I raised them with lots of gentle handling and hand feeding. I could walk through the yard as they free range and they'd be bouncing off of things and screaming to get away.

I'm hoping I can slowly change their demeanor but it's tricky because when I hatch from my best hens, no matter how tame the chicks are at one point, they seem to go through panic stages where they think I'm a monster again. Then they settle as they get older and some of them settle better than others.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Most of my roosters are hatchery birds, none are aggressive with people, those that are aggressive with hens go pretty quickly. I always raise a few roosters yearly and hang onto the best.

I'm glad you are removing them. Those low ranking roosters should be more docile, but sometimes when you remove the top ones some will suddenly become full of themselves.

 

[ChickenMama321]

Yeah I removed my top rooster who had been going out of his way to attack me on Monday. Last night my "next in line" rooster went after me. I don't know what to do.