Do i keep him?

[MysteryChicken]

That's interesting I was telling my hubby that TSC was probably the best place to get chicks lol apparently not

Depends on what you pick out.

Every breed has the potential of throwing aggressive cockerels/roosters, but some do so less then other's. It all comes down to selection.

 

[Folly's place]

Selecting for behaviors can be done, and is done, but usually not at the big hatcheries. Or at some small breeders, who keep roosters who are aggressive anyway. Also, there's the hen; what is she passing on, or teaching, if she's raising her brood? I've had hens who were pretty tough, and don't raise their chicks either.
Human aggression (man fighters) appears to be separate from aggression towards other chickens, as the fighting cock folks have shown.
Mary

 

[Iaseye]

Yea, feed stores are always a crapshot. The only real advantage in them is to get the chicks right now and to (hopefully) reduce their overall shipping. Breeds will often be wrong, sexes may very well be wrong too. I've heard horror stories where people want egg layers and end up with meat birds that they must now process.

One strategy I've taken on myself with feed stores is to look at every lot that they have and just select one from each. If you go with a specific breed, you aren't likely to get what you ordered, but at least with the broad selection you will get at least a few of what you wanted. However, if they have Cornish X in any bin, just walk away unless you are willing to process meat birds.

I started with 5, got to 11 and now I'm at 6 and have 2 roos left out of all who were supposed to be hens.. smh Lol so somehow chicken math got me back to the original number of hens my husband originally got for me haha

I lost 6 wyandottes both silver and golden laced who were the chickens I mostly wanted. I'd get one it would die in a matter of 5 weeks I lost them. I could t keep them alive but everyone else lived. Robbie was the first chick I picked. I am looking forward to next spring when I can try again with some wyandottes and hopefully have a survivor.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Selecting for behaviors can be done, and is done, but usually not at the big hatcheries. Or at some small breeders, who keep roosters who are aggressive anyway. Also, there's the hen; what is she passing on, or teaching, if she's raising her brood? I've had hens who were pretty tough, and don't raise their chicks either.
Human aggression (man fighters) appears to be separate from aggression towards other chickens, as the fighting cock folks have shown.
Mary

I know about Man Fighters, I've had many, plus have a Sumatra rooster who is also one. He attempted to beat me up the other day.

 

[HollowOfWisps]

My rooster is fine around me, but attacks any and all males who enter the barn including my husband which isn't as much of a problem since he's 6ft and built like a linebacker, but my 4 and 5 year old boys can't defend themselves. He has drawn blood and went for one of their faces so he's going in the pot. It started off as being more bold with a Peck and a shuffle hear and there. Then it turned into full blown attacks. I didn't let anyone hold him even as a chick, no trying to pet allowed or unnecessary handling, I told everyone to act like the rooster didn't even exist and he turned into an a** anyways. I'm going to wait until my hens are closer to a year and replace him with a brahma cockerel from a local reputable NPIP breeder so the hens can teach him a thing or two this time before the hormones get to him.

 

[Folly's place]

When you buy from a feed store, chicks won't have been vaccinated against Marek's disease, something I pay the hatchery to do for my chicks. And you need to know what chicks of each breed at the store actually look like, because they are often mixed up and mislabeled at the store. Also, stores that let everyone handle the chicks are not a good place to buy, because those chicks may have been exposed to something you don't want to bring home.
I buy from TSC sometimes, but I know what I'm looking at in the chick bins!
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Man fighters will develop regardless of management, if their little brains are wired that way.
It's why so many management styles seem to work, or not. Learning to watch for behaviors as the cockerels grow takes that experience, and we get it by meeting 'the good, the bad, and the ugly'!
Mary

 

[cece_chickens]

This is ROBBIE, A rhode island red roo.

So first time raising chickens, was hoping to have all hens. Turns out we've had a few roosters gave them away. I have this guy left, 14 weeks now. He has always been my favorite and is sweet TO ME however I worry about the kids. Am I going to have an issue with him attacking my kids? He pecked my husband yesterday so now I'm rethinking this. What's your story with roosters?

Id say maybe give it a bit more time. Have your kids respect his space. Better safe then sorry sometimes. I had a rooster that was extremely aggressive. He would chase away the UPS drivers, my grandma, painters, literally anyone who dared to walk on our property (including us) he always would chase us and it was us living in fear everyday. The final straw was when he got my mom really bad with his spurs. She ended up having to go to the hospital to get stitches.

 

[MysteryChicken]

Man fighters will develop regardless of management, if their little brains are wired that way.
It's why so many management styles seem to work, or not. Learning to watch for behaviors as the cockerels grow takes that experience, and we get it by meeting 'the good, the bad, and the ugly'!
Mary

Yep, I know that.

 

[Battlepants]

One piece of food for thought if you keep him - get safety glasses for the whole family! It's not great to take any kind of wound, but it would be lifelong devastation to lose an eye.

I personally suggest the Venture II glasses - I use tinted ones for bike riding, lawn mowing and chainsawing, untinted ones for indoor construction work. Considering the face hits I took from bringing down some trees here, I would say these would EASILY stop even the strongest roosters.