How to RAISE a good rooster.

[Mrs. K]

Dang it, I almost always look it up, so that I get it right, and this time I thought, I know how to spell it now... apparently I don't. My apologies.

 

[MNchickaroo]

Every bird is so different, even as chicks.
I would say go with your instinct, and wear gloves and a good pair of boots when working with the rooster if he turns out aggresive. I mistakenly thought I should be wary of our rooster's beak (I'd grown up with geese who have a powerful bite and wings) and was completely shocked by the damage his spurs did in about 15 seconds to my hands and wrist. Some days he stays clear, some days he walks right by me, and one day he pecked me right in the butt...but I always try and realize these are his chicken instincts, hoping they are useful to my hen, and give him the boot (a gentle lift and push) if he decides it's a day to give my rump a test peck!
This feedback is encouraging, as I was hoping to keep a few more roosters from our brooding chicks. I had thought that more than one per flock was asking for trouble, but I guess it may work out to have more than one (depending on the birds!).
Also, I never heard the word "poutier"...that's a fun word, I'm learning so much, and I just joined, thanks everyone!

 

[Kris5902]

Every bird is so different, even as chicks.
I would say go with your instinct, and wear gloves and a good pair of boots when working with the rooster if he turns out aggresive. I mistakenly thought I should be wary of our rooster's beak (I'd grown up with geese who have a powerful bite and wings) and was completely shocked by the damage his spurs did in about 15 seconds to my hands and wrist. Some days he stays clear, some days he walks right by me, and one day he pecked me right in the butt...but I always try and realize these are his chicken instincts, hoping they are useful to my hen, and give him the boot (a gentle lift and push) if he decides it's a day to give my rump a test peck!
This feedback is encouraging, as I was hoping to keep a few more roosters from our brooding chicks. I had thought that more than one per flock was asking for trouble, but I guess it may work out to have more than one (depending on the birds!).
Also, I never heard the word "poutier"...that's a fun word, I'm learning so much, and I just joined, thanks everyone!

Maybe one of your new boys will be better behaved! It’s getting them to the point where you can figure that out that I found most challenging, and the sheer numbers of cockerels I got. Look into cockerel pens before they reach maturity... greater distance has helped settle my remaining bachelors down a bit, but they can still hear the ladies egg song and they get a little riled up when they do... every day gets them further away from the girls though. I’ve also been leg banding to further observe and record behaviors for determining keepers.

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I’m not going to pry and ask the OP’s age, but it could be anywhere from 8-12. And I’ve met plenty of kids in that age group able to handle livestock well And responsibly. I was heavily supervised when I started working with our cattle two years ago, and I’m in my late 30’s !

It's okay, I wouldn't consider it prying. I won't tell you my age directly because that's against privacy policy (right?) but it is at least one year older than the range you gave.

Sounds like you’re considering things very well in advance, and are ready for the consequences if there is a problem that arises... you’ve gotten very good advice so far, and now you know what behaviors to look out for, including the innocent seeming ones. (“Oh, look... he’s tidbitting to me how cute” NOT good! I wish I’d known that starting out.) I would like to add, depending on how much younger your sibling is, to be very, very mindful of the behaviors around him/her.

My “good boy” has only made one aggressive move and it was on a very small boy. He managed to sneak past me and got a bite in, and I was watching for problems and still unable to predict or prevent it. He has been fine with 7 & 8 year olds in the past, is fine with adults, but something about this 4 year old set him off... probably his small size and that he was holding an egg and excited. I think my boy was confused by the size and behavior of the particular child and didn’t know what to think of it. No real harm was done. And he has never bit before or after that one time. And it was a bite, not an exploratory peck or looking for food.

Edit to add: as soon as I scooped the cockerel up he was calm and quiet and well behaved he was just reacting to the perceived “threat” of the strange small thing in the pen.

Every situation is different, males of any species are all different in demeanor, and their behavior can also be drastically changed by the presence of females, time of year, and #1 IMO... your behaviors around them. That said if it does turn out poorly, don’t blame yourself too much. And good on you for trying. Younger people and roosters are not automatically a horrible combination. Just use caution, common sense, and do your best.

Best wishes!

I have a younger sister who is 7. She feeds the chickens once and a while, collects eggs and pets the chicks. Should that stop?

To the OP - I am a teacher, and I do love kids like you that have some get up and go, the willingness to try things, to figure things out. The fact that you are asking questions and making a plan, just makes me smile. I wish you the best of luck with your new flock.

Mrs K

Thank you.

I too, have many kids that have worked livestock well. I raised 4 kids on a ranch. However, the adults around my kids had a great deal of experience with livestock, and little romantic notions about intact males. I am not sure the OP has this support.

For many of us, this is a life long hobby, with many aspects, no need to do it all the first year. For anyone strange to chickens and livestock, I think that starting with an all hen flock is a better way to go.

Many inexperienced people will write here that the darling went to a nightmare in an instant. Probably not, but without experience, they did not recognize the signs of aggression. Roosters tend to attack children first.
Mrs K

I did start with an all hen flock. Before owning chickens, I kept turkeys (granted they started out as Rio Grande wild turkeys, but the experience was the same). I then got Broad Breasted White turkeys, along with some chickens (unfortunately all but one died as chicks). This was last spring. This spring is when I got the cockerel (which again was totally by accident).

 

[Shadrach]

So I've seen a lot of threads where people are asking for help with already adult, aggressive roosters. I have an approximately 7 1/2 week cockerel, and I really want him to turn out well-behaved. So, rather than wait till he's aggressive, is there a way to keep him from being aggressive ever in the first place? Thanks.

No, there probably isn't. Roosters are meant to be aggressive.
After you accept this then it's a matter of working to ensure that your rooster doesn't see you as a threat, or a flock member.
I've read lots of 'aggressive rooster' threads here and all the usual stuff gets trotted out, genetics, natural aggression, various ways to 'tame' a rooster etc, etc.
I can more or less guarantee the problem is with the person and not the rooster.

 

[roosterhavoc]

No, there probably isn't. Roosters are meant to be aggressive.
After you accept this then it's a matter of working to ensure that your rooster doesn't see you as a threat, or a flock member.
I've read lots of 'aggressive rooster' threads here and all the usual stuff gets trotted out, genetics, natural aggression, various ways to 'tame' a rooster etc, etc.
I can more or less guarantee the problem is with the person and not the rooster.

You’re treading on thin ice!

 

[Kris5902]

It's okay, I wouldn't consider it prying. I won't tell you my age directly because that's against privacy policy (right?) but it is at least one year older than the range you gave.



I have a younger sister who is 7. She feeds the chickens once and a while, collects eggs and pets the chicks. Should that stop?




Thank you.



I did start with an all hen flock. Before owning chickens, I kept turkeys (granted they started out as Rio Grande wild turkeys, but the experience was the same). I then got Broad Breasted White turkeys, along with some chickens (unfortunately all but one died as chicks). This was last spring. This spring is when I got the cockerel (which again was totally by accident).

Once he starts to mature, I would not let your younger sister out unattended in the pen with him... just to be safe. And always watch him very closely, with yourself and others. I don’t let other people (even adults) in without myself there. Exception to that being my husband, who also sometimes takes care of them. But also, I had the little boy in my cockerel pen as well, (having already culled most of the aggressive ones that were taking runs at me when I was feeding) and there were no problems there. He got to pet my Sammy.

You will have to asses your situation as you go. It will be unique to you. You have received a lot of great advice from very knowledgeable people on what to watch for and how to behave to prevent problems. Even then, sometimes things can go sideways or an individual will have an attitude problem. Don’t be afraid of an intact male, be aware of them, and cautious. Remember that even a good/sweet boy can be unexpectedly triggered by a situation and react strongly. You sound like you’ve got a good understanding of things though.

 

[Kris5902]

No, there probably isn't. Roosters are meant to be aggressive.
After you accept this then it's a matter of working to ensure that your rooster doesn't see you as a threat, or a flock member.
I've read lots of 'aggressive rooster' threads here and all the usual stuff gets trotted out, genetics, natural aggression, various ways to 'tame' a rooster etc, etc.
I can more or less guarantee the problem is with the person and not the rooster.

Do you mean to say that there aren’t the occasional just rotten, aggressive individuals? I’ve treated my cockerels the same to 6 months of age, and have seen a wide variety of behaviors and attitudes amongst them, towards me, and towards each other and the pullets.

I’m not disagreeing that the way a keeper behaves around them is not probably the biggest factor in “aggressive” roosters, but I do also think there’s some room for predisposition to certain behaviors and more aggressive tendencies. Just as some roosters are not very good with alerting to threats, others are a little overzealous and see everything as a personal affront to be destroyed. One of my guys actually started posturing and made to attack my bull...

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Both of my neighbors own flocks, and both of them have roosters. I could always throw mine over the fence to them I guess .

and little romantic notions about intact males.

I've already rid myself of this romantic notion when we got our first male cat. (Thanks for the warning though!)

Thank you everybody for all the information!

 

[aliciaFarmer]

I've only ever had about a dozen roosters out of 80something chickens that I've raised or hatched from babies and all of them have been extra sweet with the exception of 1. I'm atypical though in that I like to hold and hand raise everybody, boys and girls alike. All of my boys are super sweet and will eat out of my hand and let me pet them. A couple will let me pick them up. I actually only have two in my flock now but everybody I have sold or given roosters to have remarked about how docile and friendly they are. With the exception of one... It was a little fella I decided to try the hands-off approach with before giving him to my neighbor at 12 weeks for his flock. He ended up a bit aggressive with his girls but more aggressive with humans. He was just sent off to another farm who will probably end up eating him. So for me, I like the Hands-On approach. I will not ever put up with an aggressive rooster towards any of my girls or myself. With so many nice roosters out there, there's really no need to keep a jerk.