First time rooster owner!

[McChooky]

If your daughter wants to play with chickens you could put the cockerel in a pen or tie a soft rope around one his legs so he can't reach her in the yard.(Teach her to stay away from him. I've never pet on my roosters or feed them out of my hands but I praise them regularly for looking after the flock.I wish you the best and hope he makes a wonderful rooster in a year or two !

 

[jmac11]

Adding a pic of my rooster hut with hardware cloth on the front. They are shut in at night.

All has been peaceful between my 2 boys

 

[Badger Farm]

I would definitely keep the more mellow boy. That's what I did when I had to choose between 4 roosters I raised and I never regretted that decision. It sounds like he's already a non-dominate rooster which means he will likely accept you more than the feisty one. As for rehoming the other, rehoming roosters is always difficult. However, it can be done! I've rehomed every single rooster I've ever hatched and been unable to keep; 7! I would just start talking to friends first who may be starting a new flock, or have a roosterless flock. Craigslist and Facebook marketplace is another place you could look. There's also usually feed stores and farm auctions around that will resell them for you. Honestly tho, your rooster's chances of finding a home where he isn't eaten increase DRAMATICALLY if he is pretty or unique looking. People who keep their roosters typically only can have one, so they want him to be the prettiest he can be, so he can have pretty babies with their hens. If he's a pretty boy, you'll have a much easier time! Hope this helps

Thank you! Yes, it does help, very much. Velma (BO) will eat out of my hand, and is gentle around the ladies.

 

[Erwilcox]

Oooo! Ayam Cemanis and EE are 2 of my favorites! Ok so yes, overmating is definitely the biggest concern. Saddles can help, however, overmating can also cause feather-loss on the head and neck, which the saddle will not cover. The trouble is that 2 buddy roosters may like each other, but they still enjoy competing with each other. For example, I used to have multiple roosters with a flock of around 20. One rooster would go mate with a hen, and his buddy would follow him and watch, sometimes impatiently pecking the hens head while the other rooster was still mating. Then as soon as he gets off, the next boy would jump on. The hens did not like it. Overmating is not just bad because feathers get pulled, but because of stress. Normally a single rooster will mate with each of his hens once per day, which is normal and healthy. But I've noticed when there are multiple roosters, both of them will mate with each hen MULTIPLE times a day. (poor hen, she's definitely not having fun anymore.)
Your chickens are free range, so you may not have as big of an issue with this, but I wouldn't count on it either. If you want to see how things go, you can and make adjustments as needed. However, I normally don't recommend multiple roosters unless each rooster can have about 15 hens each, AND they free range.

Another little known alternative that a lot of people overlook, is a bachelor coop. A coop with all boys can be a very peaceful and pleasant thing. As long as they are not too close to a pen of hens, they usually won't fight because there is nothing to fight over!

As far as your child chasing hens, I'm not going to be arbitrary because if depends on your rooster. I personally chase my own hens around in front of my rooster and I have no problems, but that's because my rooster is a coward and wouldn't dare raise an objection with me. He also knows I'm not going to hurt them. If your rooster starts to exhibit protective behaviors towards his ladies when your child chases them, you may want to be ware, that means he views your child as a threat to their safety and he may retaliate. It just kinda depends on his demeanor.

You are AMAZING! Thank you so much for the insight! I would love a bachelor coop, but I’m sure my neighbors would be too fond. I’ll try to find a good home for one of them They’re such beautiful and sweet birds, it’s going to be so hard to choose which to keep!

 

[Leatherworker]

This was super helpful, thank you! We ended up finding a good home for this sweet boy.

We raised Ayam Cemani EE mix chicks, they’re 11 weeks old, and 2 of them turned out to be roosters. Their long, skinny saddle feathers started showing last week. We are going to try to keep one and see how it goes.

1. We have 9 hens and the 2 roos. Can we keep both roos? I know there’s always the risk of over-mating. If we keep saddle covers on the hens and if the roosters get along, is it possible to keep both or should I look into rehoming one ASAP? They’re such great buddies and free range everywhere together.

2. Can my toddler chase the hens around still? Or should I just teach her to stop doing that?

Thank you for all of your help!

Just wondering? Are you letting your toddler chase your hens for fun? Perhaps teach your toddler to care for them instead? My girls come when I call them, and we have a respectful relationship all around. I want them happy and healthy and to give me beautiful eggs. I sit with them and they come all around me and get in my lap or want to be petted. I spent a lot of time with them when they were chicks. Children get get a lot of pleasure from caring for animals and learning that they have feelings also. They hurt like we do and get scared as we do. This is a lovely thing to teach your child. The only time I have to corral one of my girls is if they got themselves into a dangerous situation and I have to help them. Or they need care. I don't know your situation, just sharing my thoughts. My soon to be daughter-in law takes care of a little boy. When she brings them over here and he wants to get at my chickens, thats a no no. He just wants to chase them cause he thinks thats great. I do not. Nor do the hens.

 

[Erwilcox]

Just wondering? Are you letting your toddler chase your hens for fun? Perhaps teach your toddler to care for them instead? My girls come when I call them, and we have a respectful relationship all around. I want them happy and healthy and to give me beautiful eggs. I sit with them and they come all around me and get in my lap or want to be petted. I spent a lot of time with them when they were chicks. Children get get a lot of pleasure from caring for animals and learning that they have feelings also. They hurt like we do and get scared as we do. This is a lovely thing to teach your child. The only time I have to corral one of my girls is if they got themselves into a dangerous situation and I have to help them. Or they need care. I don't know your situation, just sharing my thoughts. My soon to be daughter-in law takes care of a little boy. When she brings them over here and he wants to get at my chickens, thats a no no. He just wants to chase them cause he thinks thats great. I do not. Nor do the hens.

Oh no, my chickens love it. She definitely doesn’t chase them around to taunt them or anything. They always squat down for her and are super friendly when she holds them. She’ll sit on a chair and sit with one for 10 minutes. It won’t move, it’s completely relaxed. She loves to love on them and they really do enjoy it (possibly because they know she has snacks ). She’s very respectful, she’s just a toddler and is a free spirit, that’s all. She fills their feed, water, helps keep the run clean. She’s very involved with them and I’m unsure if the rooster would be accepting of that like the hens are

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I lot of people say that roosters are going to be bad news but my first rooster, Buddy, is a Rhode Island Red, and I thought he was going to be bad. But he loves to be petted and follow us and he is 3 1/2 years old.

 

[McChooky]

Oh no, my chickens love it. She definitely doesn’t chase them around to taunt them or anything. They always squat down for her and are super friendly when she holds them. She’ll sit on a chair and sit with one for 10 minutes. It won’t move, it’s completely relaxed. She loves to love on them and they really do enjoy it (possibly because they know she has snacks ). She’s very respectful, she’s just a toddler and is a free spirit, that’s all. She fills their feed, water, helps keep the run clean. She’s very involved with them and I’m unsure if the rooster would be accepting of that like the hens are

I lot of people say that roosters are going to be bad news but my first rooster, Buddy, is a Rhode Island Red, and I thought he was going to be bad. But he loves to be petted and follow us and he is 3 1/2 years old.

Next month I'll have over 20 chickens when I release the pullets. I expect the dynamics of the coop to change dramatically.My cockerels are doing great with my 8 hens

 

[NagemTX]

Love the roosters! When working with them know that they are all individuals and not every technique works with every rooster. I've done both hands on and hands off and well had the same issues and non issues with all my roosters. I have 13 in a bachalor pen right now and 4 in with 13 hens. I also have another pen of 40+ growing (both pullets and cockerels) up both bantam and LF that are about 14 weeks old. Just pay attention to them and you will know them.

 

[ssferret]

Between me hatching 7 chicks of my own and buying what I thought were 6 sexed pullets I ended up with a total of 5 cockerels. (Luckily I knew of someone that would take them.)

I raised them all and they were sweethearts. Puberty struck at 4 mo. so i didn't waste time giving 3 to my friend and kept 2.

At 5 mo. I decided I needed to re-home 1 of the 2 cockerels I kept not because of them being aggressive toward me but because my pullets are being doubly harassed.

None of my boys have ever been aggressive toward me or anybody else. Right now I have a yr old rooster and he still sits on my lap.

I've read that some chicken breeds are more likely to be aggressive than others. I've only ever had Light Brahma so I can only vouch for them.

Someone probably already said this but I wouldn't let your little girl to even chase the hens. Roosters can be very protective over their flock.