How to raise a rooster right.

[bock]

I am planning on getting a BO roo this coming spring for breeding. I realize that they all have different personalities, but is there any way to try and make him nicer towards people? Should we handle him a lot as a chick so he will see us as part of the flock, or not socialize with him so he will fear us and leave us alone? Thanks for the advice, I really don't know which way to go with this one!

 

[poultrycrazy]

My experiences have been that the more i handle my roosters as chicks the nicer they are. I bought a white rock roo and he was never handled, he turned out to be the meanest chicken i ever had. Every time i turned my back on him he would attack. I handled his offspring and the roosters turned out to be great pets. Hope this helps.

 

[sonew123]

Funny I get the xact opposite. For two years I pampered all my babies and as they grew the roos were nasty with a capt N! The ones I didnt develope an relationshi with are sweet as pie and dont bother me at all!!

 

[Rare Feathers Farm]

I handle them a lot...a lot, a lot! LOL From the day they hatch. As they get older, I handle them less. I want them to respect my space but not completely flip out if I have to catch them to trim their spurs or something...right now, all of them keep their distance, but I can pet them and they will eat out of my hand. I only have one with a bit of an attitude problem and that's my MFC bantam roo! He has had minimal handling...but I am starting to see a pattern with this line of them...so he's heading down the road and I'm getting a new rooster from an outside line to hope like heck that works! LOL

Otherwise--ninja roos make new stew!

 

[DAFox]

Have you ever watched adult roosters together? The dominant roo will chase other roosters from food so that the hens get first pick. He will knock a roo off of a hen. He won't back down from a fight.

I am the dominant rooster.

My girls eat first when I bring food out. I shoo the roos away. If I am near a rooster who has mounted a hen, I knock him off. If I have a rooster that is even thinking about bullying me, I become "aggressive" and puff up and charge. When I catch him, I pinch and pull a couple of feathers. I never back down. I demand respect. And this means that I don't pamper my roos the way I pamper my hens.

Chickens don't speak our language. We have to speak theirs.

Dale-Ann

 

[Mervin]

Quote:
X2. You also have to realize that some are simply beyond being taught though. I had a BCM/Wellie mix roo that gave me a wide birth b/c he knew I was the boss. He didn't have the same respect for my little girl though. She wanted to baby him and he took advantage. He became Paprikash.

 

[gritsar]

I totally agree with DAFox. Sometimes you can get lucky if you handle a baby roo alot. If he doesn't have an ounce of aggression in his genetic make-up, that is. However if you have a baby roo that somewhere deep down inside has some aggressive genes, handling him alot as a chick removes his fear of you. Fear, call it respect if you want, is what is going to keep that roo in check.

 

[swordgeek]

It's really interesting how people handle their roosters so differently! Even feeding time.

When I bring snacks out for them every morning, I have a routine, and the birds all know exactly what I'm going to do. I walk to the far end of the run with a pile of stuff on a tray. This is where the rooster waits for it. It's like he feels I'm respecting his status as Prime Protector by offering it to him first. He takes a few bites of food, then maybe scratches the pile a bit, then steps back, makes some noises, and the older hens (by old I mean 2 years) go for it. Then I move to the first end of the run, and put down a small tray for my former house chicken, who used to be barred from eating by the other hens. She gets first crack at that. The rooster often goes over there and either takes a bite from hers, or just stands guard to make sure none of the young'uns eat her stash. Then I put down another pile specifically for the pullets, and for some reason, he doesn't go anywhere near that. (They're getting bolder about horning in on the other two areas, which is good.)

He knows I'm the boss, but we have an understanding. And he also knows that I'll pick him up any time I want and plop him on my lap for a good back scratching, which he still loves, or just carry him around to remind him of his place in the pecking order.

 

[kano]

Quote:
I agree. I had a very disagreeable experience as a kid with a little chick that a raised as a pet. When he became a big and mean roo, I couldn't go to the pen, anymore. Now, with them, I dont aloud them to mount the hens in my presence,or get to close to me. I scare them away.