How are roosters supposed to act?

[trentoldenburg]

It appears there's a bunch of different ways to handle roosters. It must have a lot to do with the individual bird is what I'm getting from this. Damn, I had 4 roosters to begin with and I kept the wrong one

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

It appears there's a bunch of different ways to handle roosters. It must have a lot to do with the individual bird is what I'm getting from this. Damn, I had 4 roosters to begin with and I kept the wrong one

I'm gonna stick with my way as I raise multiple roosters a year of various breeds without troubles. What works for one person with chickens may not be right for another keeper. An individual roosters personality can perhaps factor into it, but I believe the keeper and your attitude around them is a big factor as well. If you are fearful than you will have problems. I am never afraid of my roosters.

Next time you need to pick from a batch of roosters never pick the most bold. I start removing those that are showing signs of being too aggressive with the pullets first. I often end up with the best when I get down the line.

 

[trentoldenburg]

I hand raised them from chicks out of straight runs. And I never showed fear to them, I only had the one long enough to see how he turned out. My next rooster I will be more stern with. Not let him get away with curious pecks at my shoes and scoot him out of the way when I walk through

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I hand raised them from chicks out of straight runs. And I never showed fear to them, I only had the one long enough to see how he turned out. My next rooster I will be more stern with. Not let him get away with curious pecks at my shoes and scoot him out of the way when I walk through

Definitely don't let him into your personal space. If you observe how roosters interact with one another you will see the dominant bird keeps any submissive roosters about 10 feet away from him. He controls them by chasing them off. A submissive one never approaches a dominant rooster.

A dominant bird often will take food away and out of the mouth of submissive members of the flock. I personally never hand feed, and all treats and scraps are tossed away from me, and scattered.

You can definitely handle your growing roosters. It's good to give them a going over occasionally, but don't spend time stroking him. Even carrying them around isn't a normal thing to them and can be stressful.

Try the no handling next time. If you still are having problems than you will need to tweak your confidence. Never put up with aggression from a rooster. There's always another one to try.

In the end this is just how I do it, and what works for me. It may not be right for everyone.

 

[trentoldenburg]

You all have been very helpful and I appreciate every bit of advice. I will be more stern with cockerels in the future. I believe that's where I went wrong. Hens are a little more forgiving than roosters lol

 

[adstowe]

I do the hands off thing. I do my thing. They do their thing. If they are in my way they are going to be the ones moving. I'm not going to to step aside because a bird wants me to. Just don't baby them and be confident and bold when you are around them. That's not to say I haven't had any roosters who didn't get the message, but in general I think this approach is pretty solid.

 

[Folly's place]

I also don't make pets out of my cockerels; they need to move away from me, and generally get out of my way as I walk 'through' them. A cockerel who acts too interested in me at an early age, often tends to grow into a jerk, IMO. As the boys are growing, I observe their behavior, towards me, and towards the pullets and hens. It's good to have choices, and I do try to pick the cockerels that behave well and look good. Last fall the wrong Chantie male stayed, for a while. He was too aggressive with the pullets and hens, and is now in the freezer. This year I hope to do better!
Mary

 

[song of joy]

For those who have multiple roosters, do you think this influences their behavior toward you? When I had just one rooster in the flock, he seemed to view me as the competition and became aggressive toward me (although his personality may have just tended toward aggression). When I have 2 or 3 roosters in the flock, they seem to ignore me and focus on the other roosters as their "competition".

 

[Clucking_Caramel]

Handling a rooster isn’t the issue,handling him and babying him without also making him understand your boss is what messes things up.My rooster is a pet.He eats from my hands and even less me pick him up.I can do whatever I want with him and his girls without any issue.He always moves out of my way and never questions it.I raise all my roosters to be friendly but at the same time I make sure they know I’m running it,running it all.

I too have very handled roosters, one is aggressive to anyone but me (When he did try me I picked him up and he quit it). He is amazing with the girls though.The other is super friendly and lets you handle him, but is a turd with the ladies (He mounts them whenever he wants).

 

[trentoldenburg]

For those who have multiple roosters, do you think this influences their behavior toward you? When I had just one rooster in the flock, he seemed to view me as the competition and became aggressive toward me (although his personality may have just tended toward aggression). When I have 2 or 3 roosters in the flock, they seem to ignore me and focus on the other roosters as their "competition".

That seemed to be the case when I had multiple roosters also. They were more concerned with each other and I never had an act of aggresion. Not long after I got rid of one, the other one got nasty.