Help with cockerel.

[Thechickentrainer1999]

So apparently from my last post, everyone is telling me that one of my hens has turned out to be a rooster. I don't want to give him away but I do want to separate him? My question is, what age is a good age to separate him? How do I prevent him from turning mean leter on and if I build him his own cage, should I let him have eye contact with my hens or do you think that could possibly make him aggressive? I'm actually real nervous because my the family didn't want me to ever get a rooster and so I've never got one until now apparently. What are the best tips for someone who's never had a rooster to help him as he grows into a roo if he is for sure a roo?

 

[Norcal527]

Why do you want to separate him? Chickens are flock animals...keeping one separate is cruel to the bird. What are you worried about keeping him with the hens? Roosters are for the most part a lot of fun to have in the flock...they are beautiful, entertaining, protective...if you are able to keep one where you live it would do no harm to keep him in your flock.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

What do you mean, "beat up?" Most roosters breed their hens very quickly and do them little, if any, harm. They do a little dance around the hen to see if she is ready. If she is, she squats, he mounts her, and in two or three seconds he is done. He jumps off and walks away, she fluffs her feathers back in place and goes about her business. If she is NOT ready, she simply walks away from him and he leaves her alone. Nature is not brutal. Leave the rooster with his flock. He will protect them, comfort them, find them food goodies, alert them to danger, and keep them close together. They will appreciate him.

 

[featheredplanets]

It’s really not fair to keep single chickens. I’ve never agreed with it. They are flock animals and crave the company of their own kind. Separating him where he can still see the hens is very unfair. You’re denying him that natural companionship and even though he can see them, he can’t get to them. Unless you already know he’s aggressive, it’s not right to assume he is. Most roosters grow into beautiful, kind gentlemen. Usually aggressive roosters are OUR fault, whether it’s because we react to certain situations wrong or maybe we were too hands on and he now thinks we’re part of his flock. Cockerels that act like that towards hens are typically immature teenagers and soon grow up into respectful roosters. IMO, if you don’t have a bachelor flock (all male flock he can join) and you don’t plan on giving him any girls, he should be rehomed. Otherwise, my advice would be to just give him a chance. Let him grow up with the hens and become a rooster, I wouldn’t doubt for a minute that he’d defy your expectations.

 

[featheredplanets]

And yes, the GLW is a cockerel. I’ve never heard a bad thing about Wyandotte cockerels and roosters.

After a quick Google it seems that they are deemed: quiet, docile and friendly.

 

[Norcal527]

It would be cruel for me to put him with all the ladies and watch them get beat up.

I keep MULTIPLE roosters and my hens have never been beat up by them. The rooster watches over them...when I bring treats he stands over the treat and calls the girls over with a special call. It's quite awesome to watch. And out of the dozens of roosters I've raised I've had 1 aggressive one. Youd probably be surprised at what a nice addition a rooster is to a flock. I mean males are a natural part of a flock...

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I did have a rooster that was not gentle with the hens. I replaced him. There are abusive men out there, too. They too, are replaceable. There are very many excellent roosters available. They are not hard to find.

 

[Farmgirl1878]

And yes, the GLW is a cockerel. I’ve never heard a bad thing about Wyandotte cockerels and roosters.

After a quick Google it seems that they are deemed: quiet, docile and friendly.

I’ve had two Wyandotte roosters. The first, Javier, was in with seven pullets his same age. He was a little too rowdy and needed to be with some older girls who could help him learn how to be a gentleman. He’s a great protector now that he’s been rehomed to hang with the older “chicks.”

My BLRW, Flash, was part of the second batch of chicks, so he had the advantage of growing up with older pullets to interact with. Now, he’s eleven months old and he’s AWESOME!! He watches over his girls, breaks up fights, tidbits all day long, lets the girls groom him, lives to show them where the safe nesting spots are in the coop, dances like a mad man, keeps a eye on the sky, and leads them around the yard and woods like a tour guide. He’s also not too aggressive with me (tho he has decided that he likes to run up behind me when I’m not paying attention to him and poke me with his beak or chest. - Not peck me, just touch me.).

I’d say, if you are allowed to have a rooster, you should have a rooster. If, at some point, he gets aggressive toward you, rehome him then. In the meantime, give him a chance!

 

[Biddybot]

Wyandottes are awesome. My second chief rooster for the big mixed flock I used to keep was a silver-laced Wyandotte which I bought off a fancier when said bird was five months old. A big, beautiful, smug, proud fellow who always did his job once he assumed the top position and who never gave me any trouble. I named him Elvis for his, er, portly dimensions.

Anyway, if you're now a first-time rooster owner and somewhat nervous about it, please refer to one of the tutorials on this site about how to train your chicken for showmanship handling and get going on training your cockeral. It's the chicken equivalent of taking your young dog through a basic obedience school class. You will gain confidence in how to handle him and he will learn to behave in a docile and agreeable manner when you have hands on him, which will help a great deal in establishing a good relationship all around and make him more easy to care for in the future. No, you don't have to show him any more than people who take their dogs to obedience classes have to compete in obedience trials afterwards (although quite a few go on to enjoy the sport), but it's a START and the steps/exercises are usually well laid out and easy to follow. I used to advise oh, just handle your rooster enough when he's young to establish a habit of compliance and get him used to the idea that you're going to be a dominate force in his life and you'll have no trouble with him unless he's inherently bonkers and hyper-aggressive (which happens). But that's not enough for new owners, is it? It's too general and assumes you understand basic chicken behaviour. So if that's applicable to you, please do try the showmanship training route. Both you and your cockeral will likely enjoy it.

As for housing, since he's already partly grown up as part of a little flock, it would be cruel to now separate him entirely from the others and keep him as a singleton; he is already socialized to want to be with other chickens...you're just the occasional friend who drops in now and then. If you want to keep him, yet not let him run with the others for fear he'll harass them too much, the best solution is the small pen next to/within the bigger pen option. That way, he'll get to still socialize with the girls and be part of the flock, but in a restricted way. You also then have the easy option of letting him out to run with the others PART of the time...and you might find that he's actually a pretty decent guy who treats the ladies quite well. At the very least, he deserves to be kept through his raging teenage hormone phase, which is when cockerals are typically at their bitey, jumpy, obnoxious worst if they're prone to being obnoxious at all...not all are. I don't remember my own Wyandotte rooster ever going through an obnoxious phase. Never ever. Maybe yours will be the same.

Anyway, best of luck, and hope all works out whatever you decide to do. Have to admit, though...I'll always advise to favour the chicken, so, take what I've just written accordingly.

 

[Thechickentrainer1999]

What do you mean, "beat up?" Most roosters breed their hens very quickly and do them little, if any, harm. They do a little dance around the hen to see if she is ready. If she is, she squats, he mounts her, and in two or three seconds he is done. He jumps off and walks away, she fluffs her feathers back in place and goes about her business. If she is NOT ready, she simply walks away from him and he leaves her alone. Nature is not brutal. Leave the rooster with his flock. He will protect them, comfort them, find them food goodies, alert them to danger, and keep them close together. They will appreciate him.

What about all these people who have hens that are injured because of them? Some roosters jump on the hens even if they dont want the rooster on them.