How do you get a good rooster????

[Alaskaliz]

Your "Ameraucana" is also an Easter Egger since he came from a hatchery.

not necessarily, I know Cackle had some breeder quality Black variety birds.

 

[BDutch]

All three of my boys have been raised by their “Uncle” most mommas are done at 5-9 weeks.

The flock takes over. All flock members contribute in learning social behaviour.

As for boys I have not much experience. But the 4 month old cockerel I have now is from another breed (bantam RIR) and certainly more timid than the other 2 I had.

He is raised by 2 broodies with 2 sisters and I opened the divider between the two coops after 3 -4 weeks. Maybe such circumstances help. But this breed is known for it’s calm roosters too.

I believe genes are the most important factor for good chances on good behaviour.
And the only way to predict this, is buying eggs from a reliable hobbyist. Or buying an nice adult rooster from someone who has too many roosters and claims this rooster is okay.

 

[BantyChooks]

I won't be keeping any roosters, but I'd love to read the articles, if you wouldn't mind linking them.

Sorry about your bad rooster luck, OC. How is your son?

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/
This is my personal favourite among all that I have read on here.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-viewpoint-on-managing-roosters.74690/
This is one that I wrote that details my opinion (not facts) on raising cockerels and the topic of aggression.

 

[aart]

In my opinion, aggression in roosters is mainly due to the body language of their keepers.

Ditto Dat!!

I also received some good advice and altered how I interacted with my cockerel.

Every human involved needs to learn how to behave around male livestock.
It can be much harder for young kids to learn this.

Luckily the cockerel doesn't have spurs yet so he hasn't been able to successfully injure anyone.

Beaks and toenails can cause just as much damage, especially on the face.

 

[Isadora]

All three of my boys have been raised by their “Uncle” most mommas are done at 5-9 weeks.

I should have said flock raised then, vs a hatchery chick raised by a human with no adult chicken influence.

 

[Chickassan]

This is smart.
Older kids are much less triggering.

They both came from a hatchery. One was an Easter egger, a little brute. But the other one, who was left, is an Ameraucana. He was always so good to his pullets but we can't let him go after our kids. Perhaps hatchery cockerels run a higher risk of human aggression? Or maybe I should just wait on trying my hand at a rooster until my kids are older.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

I've had mixed luck with aggression from both handraised and broody raised males. I get far less males from broodies, which tends to mean I have more aggressive ones from handraising over all just because of numbers, but neither one seems for certain less likely to cause jerks growing up

 

[McChooky]

Were yours hatched naturally in the flock meaning not an incubator chick?

I don't know that it matters.

The flock takes over. All flock members contribute in learning social behaviour.

As for boys I have not much experience. But the 4 month old cockerel I have now is from another breed (bantam RIR) and certainly more timid than the other 2 I had.

He is raised by 2 broodies with 2 sisters and I opened the divider between the two coops after 3 -4 weeks. Maybe such circumstances help. But this breed is known for it’s calm roosters too.

I believe genes are the most important factor for good chances on good behaviour.
And the only way to predict this, is buying eggs from a reliable hobbyist. Or buying an nice adult rooster from someone who has too many roosters and claims this rooster is okay.

WE all learn by watching the mistakes and successes of others .Roosters that aren't raised in a flock by a hen and a rooster in a mature flock will lack social skills and/or good judgment.If you want a good rooster get one that was hatched and raised in a flock by mature chickens around other roosters.Our roosters never had the bad traits I've read about here and we didn't have to carry a stick to gather the eggs.I can't stress enough the need to keep small children and visitors away from your roosters if you don't want to see anyone get hurt. Roosters have spurs that can cut deep and leave scars.

 

[McChooky]

OzarkChooks​

Edited:
It might help to "fence" the chickens out of the yard so the children and mother aren't around the flock. Its easier to train a good rooster if other peoples behavior doesn't trigger them. I don't know if free ranging them is a good idea if you don't have anymore roosters.Their job is to protect the flock with alerts

 

[OzarkChooks]

OzarkChooks​

Edited:
It might help to "fence" the chickens out of the yard so the children and mother aren't around the flock. Its easier to train a good rooster if other peoples behavior doesn't trigger them. I don't know if free ranging them is a good idea if you don't have anymore roosters.Their job is to protect the flock with alerts

Yeah we decided a little while ago that a free ranging rooster and kids was not a good fit for us. My husband is in the process of fencing in a chunk of one of our pastures for the chickens. I've decided to wait until my kids are older to raise another rooster. Just seems safer to me. I should probably view them the same way I view bulls or bucks around the kids. Hard to remember that since they are significantly smaller!