General Genetics Help Needed, Please.

[AnneGirlGG]

If you're able to hold onto them for longer I certainly would. A sweet 4 week old cockerel who gets along splendidly with everyone could turn into a complete menace at 8, 10, 12, 16 weeks or sometimes even a bit older.

My husband already said he'd build a spot just for boys. He was always on board with my chicken craziness, but he definitely goes above and beyond for me since we've gotten them.

 

[FunClucks]

Some of the longtime chicken keepers on here have noticed that the rooster's temperament is not really done developing until after a year or possibly 2 years. If you have a nice roo and he's over a year old, your odds are good he'll stay that way, but of course there are no guarantees with live animals.

I've taken that as my guideline, and have seen that it works for me. Everyone who was even a little human aggressive after 1 year old was already showing signs before then too, even if they were small or we weren't quite sure. We got really attached to our first roo, and it was heartbreaking to put him down. But he was not safe for the kids, so he had to go. Now, we don't name them until after a year old. They have band numbers if they need to be told apart.

We finally seem to have a nice roo, he's about a year and a half, going on two. We were starting with hatchery stock, and it took two breeding roos from two different breeds, and 25+ candidate roos that we hatched ourselves to get a nice one. Now, is he fertile? Will he hatch out calm chicks? Will hens he fathers lay a good amount of large eggs in an appealing color? All of these are still unknowns. But he's non-human-aggressive, a decent size for an egg layer roo, and very pretty, so we're willing to wait and see how he does this next year.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

Some of the longtime chicken keepers on here have noticed that the rooster's temperament is not really done developing until after a year or possibly 2 years. If you have a nice roo and he's over a year old, your odds are good he'll stay that way, but of course there are no guarantees with live animals.

I've taken that as my guideline, and have seen that it works for me. Everyone who was even a little human aggressive after 1 year old was already showing signs before then too, even if they were small or we weren't quite sure. We got really attached to our first roo, and it was heartbreaking to put him down. But he was not safe for the kids, so he had to go. Now, we don't name them until after a year old. They have band numbers if they need to be told apart.

We finally seem to have a nice roo, he's about a year and a half, going on two. We were starting with hatchery stock, and it took two breeding roos from two different breeds, and 25+ candidate roos that we hatched ourselves to get a nice one. Now, is he fertile? Will he hatch out calm chicks? Will hens he fathers lay a good amount of large eggs in an appealing color? All of these are still unknowns. But he's non-human-aggressive, a decent size for an egg layer roo, and very pretty, so we're willing to wait and see how he does this next year.

That's good to know. We have kids as well, and also won't be keeping any aggressive roosters around. I didn't know it could take quite so long for them to fully develop personalities and tendencies.

 

[FunClucks]

That's good to know. We have kids as well, and also won't be keeping any aggressive roosters around. I didn't know it could take quite so long for them to fully develop personalities and tendencies.

Most roos will show human aggression much earlier than a year, but for some it can take a while. I'm cautiously optimistic if they make it to 6 months, and then after a year, I'm pretty confident. Still, we never fully trust a rooster. Someone always needs to keep an eye on them when doing chicken chores, and you really need to wear jeans. Or so I tell my children.

I've had male chicks that showed human aggression at 3-4 weeks. Those were marked for consumption and doing chicken chores around them is a two person job until processing age (12-14 wks). The second person holds a stick and stands around while the first person does chicken chores. Just in case the roo gets ideas. Children should not be around them if you can manage it. At the minimum, an adult is present.

 

[AnneGirlGG]

Most roos will show human aggression much earlier than a year, but for some it can take a while. I'm cautiously optimistic if they make it to 6 months, and then after a year, I'm pretty confident. Still, we never fully trust a rooster. Someone always needs to keep an eye on them when doing chicken chores, and you really need to wear jeans. Or so I tell my children.

I've had male chicks that showed human aggression at 3-4 weeks. Those were marked for consumption and doing chicken chores around them is a two person job until processing age (12-14 wks). The second person holds a stick and stands around while the first person does chicken chores. Just in case the roo gets ideas. Children should not be around them if you can manage it. At the minimum, an adult is present.

Absolutely. I don't know that all people realize just how much damage an aggressive rooster can actually do.