How can I ensure a friendly Rooster?

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

I have a 16-week-old cockerel named Zuko that I didn’t plan on ending up with, but I’m trying to decide whether to keep him or eventually rehome him.

He’s a farmyard mix, possibly part Ayam Cemani (mostly black with some white penciling on his neck). I’ve had him for about 5 weeks along with 4 pullets, and they’ve integrated into my existing flock of 5 hens pretty well.

So far, he’s been very sweet. He’ll approach me when I go into the run, eats out of my hand, and hasn’t shown any aggression toward me or the hens. I don’t handle him much (I’ve never really picked him up), just normal interaction and occasional hand feeding.

My goal, whether I keep him or not, is to have a rooster that:

• respects people (including kids)
• doesn’t harass the hens
• is confident but not aggressive

My flock stays in a large run (about 300 sq ft), so they’re not free ranged.

I know a lot depends on genetics, but I’m wondering:

• At this age, how much can temperament still change?
• Is it better to handle him more, less, or just keep interactions minimal?
• What early warning signs of aggression should I watch for as he matures?

Would love to hear others’ experiences raising a well mannered rooster, especially from a similar starting point!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Some people swear by handling them, some people swear by leaving them alone. You will get all kinds of opposing advice. The truth is that it’s a crap shoot. At his age it could still go either way but a chicken who thinks you are part of the flock is more likely to consider you a threat (in my opinion). The first sign of an human-aggresive cockerel that I noticed was one who didn’t get out of my way. The roosters I have get out of my way and give me space. They are aware of where I am but they aren’t concerned about it, if that makes sense. Hope this helps and hopefully you will get some more advice that will help you feel comfortable with whatever you decide to do!

 

[CloneFly]

I have a 16-week-old cockerel named Zuko that I didn’t plan on ending up with, but I’m trying to decide whether to keep him or eventually rehome him.

He’s a farmyard mix, possibly part Ayam Cemani (mostly black with some white penciling on his neck). I’ve had him for about 5 weeks along with 4 pullets, and they’ve integrated into my existing flock of 5 hens pretty well.

So far, he’s been very sweet. He’ll approach me when I go into the run, eats out of my hand, and hasn’t shown any aggression toward me or the hens. I don’t handle him much (I’ve never really picked him up), just normal interaction and occasional hand feeding.

My goal, whether I keep him or not, is to have a rooster that:

• respects people (including kids)
• doesn’t harass the hens
• is confident but not aggressive

My flock stays in a large run (about 300 sq ft), so they’re not free ranged.

I know a lot depends on genetics, but I’m wondering:

• At this age, how much can temperament still change?
• Is it better to handle him more, less, or just keep interactions minimal?
• What early warning signs of aggression should I watch for as he matures?

Would love to hear others’ experiences raising a well mannered rooster, especially from a similar starting point!

View attachment 4322199

In my experience (6 roosters, different breeds/ages, 5 of which have been friendly- though one went chihuahua on me after being switched from an indoor to outdoor roo) Lots of friendly cuddles and treats/tibiting. My boys learned early on that I'm the boss, but so long as they're good, they get lots of love, cuddles and whatever bits of my sourdough that I don't want lol. Let him do his little tibit dance for you too- its so cute!

 

[Yardmom]

Is this bird crowing? What makes you think it is a Cockerel? Is the picture current for age reference.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

Is this bird crowing? What makes you think it is a Cockerel? Is the picture current for age reference.

He is not yet crowing. I am simply basing that assumption based off his current appearance at 16wks. Also he has always been more confident/braver than the pullets his age, but I know temperament isn't a hard teller. Do you think he looks like a she?

Here he is today:

 

[Yardmom]

He is not yet crowing. I am simply basing that assumption based off his current appearance at 16wks. Do you think he looks like a she?

Here he is today:
View attachment 4322315View attachment 4322313

It looks like a pullet to me. By 16 weeks Cockerels would likely have much larger combs and the pointed saddle feathers would be coming in. If there are not other males it would likely be crowing.

 

[ChickenShepherd_6116]

It looks like a pullet to me. By 16 weeks Cockerels would likely have much larger combs and the pointed saddle feathers would be coming in. If there are not other males it would likely be crowing.

Really?? I am shocked. Yeah, no crowing yet, and no other roo's around. But this is what my pullet who is the same age looks like (Ignore her looking ill, she wasn't feeling great here but is fine now):

As you can see, her comb is much smaller, almost non-existent. Honestly, it would be great if Zuko turned out to be a pullet! Could part of the reason why he isn't crowing be that he is a farmyard mix? Could that effect how quickly things develop?

 

[AinaWGSD]

I agree, I'm not sure that's a cockerel. I often have a harder time seeing saddle feathers on solid colored birds (especially white and black) but I can't see any male saddle feathers. And the silver on the tackles looks like the female birchen pattern to me. Usually by 16 weeks I'd expect to hear crowing unless you have a mixed generation flock with a dominant rooster (and even then most cockerels are starting to crow by 16 weeks).

 

[fowltemptress]

It looks like a cockerel to me. I hope I'm wrong! I'm terrible at sexing through pictures unless it's super obvious.

You will get different opinions, and all I have to give you is my personal experience, so take that as you will. I've had chickens nearly all my life. Every year I hatch a new batch of chicks, leading to a bunch of cockerels going in and out of my life. Very rarely do I have a human aggressive one. Some are wary and keep their distance, some are friendly and come up to be handfed, and most are somewhere in the in-between of that spectrum. My roosters and cockerels have been all sorts of breeds and mixes from several different hatcheries, and they've all been their own individuals. However, the few human aggressive cockerels I have had have always had one major thing in common, and that is that for whatever reason, I wound up having to handle them as they were growing. When I plan on keeping a cockerel, I make a point of not handling him if I can help it. Once they're older and have established themselves as human friendly roosters I will sometimes pick one up just because he's being friendly and adorable, but that's an impulse I ignore until I'm sure they're good boys. My roosters are friendly, always come to me to be handfed, and don't run or struggle at all when I scoop them up in my arms, so I don't think I'm stunting any sweetness in them by not being more cuddly sooner, but boy howdy did I ruin a few of my favorite boys early on with too much handling before I learned my lesson.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'm getting mixed feelings on that one. The comb could go either way but the wattles look a little big for a 16 week old pullet. The posture looks upright, which implies boy. Legs are a little heavy but not that much so inconclusive. I don't see any pointy saddle feathers which a boy should have by now but I think I see pointy hackle feathers. That may be from the lacing. With it being an Ayam Cemani mixture the pigmentation doesn't make it any easier.

I'm getting boy vibes but I'm not 100% sure.

At this age, how much can temperament still change?

Assuming a cockerel, at 16 weeks - dramatic change is possible. There are two concerns. At some point he will want to mate with the hens. Some start younger than him, some wait another month or more. Some cockerels mature younger than others. I can't tell you what will happen when he tries to mate. It could go extremely smoothy or it could turn really vicious. Usually if there is resistance, it can be vicious for a bit but they soon work it out. There was a recent story on here where a hen was injured during this. Most of the time mine work it out pretty smoothy, I don't notice anything until one day he is in charge.

A totally different thing is human aggression. Out of the blue, often for no apparent reason, they can attack you or some other human. Some appear to just hatch that way, with some it seems to be a learned behavior, often related to his "protect the flock" behavior. I remember one story on here from years ago where a rooster started attacking a 5-year-old boy anytime he saw the boy where he had been fine around the whole family. Any time he saw that boy, even from way across the yard, he would attack him. It turned out the dad thought it was cute the way that boy would chase the hens around the yard. The roster thought his girls were under a threat so he defended them. Of course that rooster had to be put down. The reason there was fairly easy but often you have no idea what triggered the behavior.

Is it better to handle him more, less, or just keep interactions minimal?

People get mixed results. Some people handle then a lot and get attacked. Others that handle them a lot never have issues. People that show chickens tend to handle them a fair amount so they can show them without a lot of dramatics. Same thing with people that never handle them. Some get attacked, some never do. I cannot recommend one way over the other.