I got a 10-week-old cockerel for my hens. Was it a mistake?

[JuliaSunshine]

I had Light Sussex one-year-old rooster and 10 hens that were raised together as chicks by me and the rooster turned out to be human aggressive.
He kicked everyone but me and even attacked mother hens for some reason.
After trying hard to fix him, I eventually gave him away and got a 10-week-old cockerel of the same breed.
I could've gotten one that's 11 month old but I wanted to make sure my husband and I could tame our new rooster since young. That's what the farmer suggested too because she didn't know much about the older one's dispositions as she had many other chickens.

Anyways, it's been a week since I got the tiny cockerel and he went into the main coop with 6 other hens for the first time tonight.
A couple of the hens still chased him away during the day but it didn't look too bad.

Was it the right decision to get such a young cockerel for my one-year-old hens?
They free range and now the flock is more vulnerable without a rooster. I sort of wish I had gotten the older rooster.

I read that cockerels that grow with mature hens become better roosters but someone also said that a young cockerel will have a hard time as mature hens will bully him and they wouldn't respect him.

Will this young cockerel become a scared, nervous rooster while growing up with bigger chickens?

 

[TheFatBlueCat]

It can go either way. It's my preference to add a fully mature rooster to a flock of hens, but I have also raised up a young rooster in a flock of older hens. I had to rehome my boss hen and her best mate, as she never accepted the rooster once he grew up. Once he got old enough, and all the other hens thought he was just fine except these two, he tried to kill one of them, and chased the boss hen relentlessly.
I rehomed the two hens. Peace has reigned ever since and the rooster is a fabulous guy. He's never shown any aggression to any of his flock, chicks, people, young cockerels, the neighbors hens.... he's just a really good guy.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

It can go either way. It's my preference to add a fully mature rooster to a flock of hens, but I have also raised up a young rooster in a flock of older hens. I had to rehome my boss hen and her best mate, as she never accepted the rooster once he grew up. Once he got old enough, and all the other hens thought he was just fine except these two, he tried to kill one of them, and chased the boss hen relentlessly.
I rehomed the two hens. Peace has reigned ever since and the rooster is a fabulous guy. He's never shown any aggression to any of his flock, chicks, people, young cockerels, the neighbors hens.... he's just a really good guy.

Thank you for sharing your experience.
I hope my hens accept the young cockerel once he's old enough.
Then how do you know whether hens accept a rooster or not?
My hens used to follow the previous rooster around but they didn't squat down for him voluntarily.
He had to grab them suddenly to mate but some hens tried to get away harder than others.
He was good at alarming the hens but he was the first one to run away at the sight of predators and he didn't even go to the coop to collect the hens after they laid eggs. He just squacked from far away when he heard an egg song.
Does it sound like the hens didn't accept the previous rooster?
I still miss him and his warning calls though. Now we have to go out so often to check on the hens.

 

[maceleneo]

I started with 5 pullets who were almost 11 months old when I added a 4 months old cockerel. He was super intimidated at first, he didn't crow until he was 7 months old and some hens did not allow him to mount them for almost a year and a half... but now they all love him. He's very sweet, he dances and tidbits for them, runs everytime a hen sings the egg song and he fought against foxes twice to protect them... luckily I was home and I could intervene, so he's still alive to tell the tale. He definitely didn't grow up scared or nervous because of the older hens (even if they bullied him at first!). In any case I wouldn't say a rooster who runs away from a predator is a bad rooster: no rooster can stand up to a fox or a weasel, the most important thing is he warns them!
So, as I see it, it wasn't a mistake choosing the younger cockerel as long as you are prepared to be patient! On the other hand, I don't think a younger cockerel is easier to tame, but I don't think it makes things harder either!

 

[JuliaSunshine]

I started with 5 pullets who were almost 11 months old when I added a 4 months old cockerel. He was super intimidated at first, he didn't crow until he was 7 months old and some hens did not allow him to mount them for almost a year and a half... but now they all love him. He's very sweet, he dances and tidbits for them, runs everytime a hen sings the egg song and he fought against foxes twice to protect them... luckily I was home and I could intervene, so he's still alive to tell the tale. He definitely didn't grow up scared or nervous because of the older hens (even if they bullied him at first!). In any case I wouldn't say a rooster who runs away from a predator is a bad rooster: no rooster can stand up to a fox or a weasel, the most important thing is he warns them!
So, as I see it, it wasn't a mistake choosing the younger cockerel as long as you are prepared to be patient! On the other hand, I don't think a younger cockerel is easier to tame, but I don't think it makes things harder either!

Thank you for telling me about your chickens.
He sounds like a great rooster I'm glad that your patience was rewarded.
I would've kept my old rooster too if he hadn't attacked my husband and visitors so often.
I would be happy as long as the new one is not human aggressive and it warns the hens timely.
He was sleeping on the floor of the run last night so I put him in his box in the corner of the run to sleep in. Hopefully the hens don't bully him too much until I let them out.

 

[maceleneo]

Mine slept on the floor for a while too... but it's just a matter of time, he's going to grow up and he will find his place on the roost! Let us know!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

A couple of the hens still chased him away during the day but it didn't look too bad.

Hens naturally chase cockerels to put them in their place, do not worry about that unless it gets serious.

Was it the right decision to get such a young cockerel for my one-year-old hens?
They free range and now the flock is more vulnerable without a rooster. I sort of wish I had gotten the older rooster.

A young cockerel, as you stated before, will be easier to tame if he does not end up having an overload of hormones. That is, in my opinion, better than getting a full-grown rooster who is more wary and likely to attack you.

Will this young cockerel become a scared, nervous rooster while growing up with bigger chickens?

That is all depending on his personality. Likely, he will end up not being scared or nervous unless you have other cockerels/roosters in the area, either in the same pen as him or in a nearby one. Once he matures into a full-grown rooster, the hens will leave him alone and stop pecking on him.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

Mine slept on the floor for a while too... but it's just a matter of time, he's going to grow up and he will find his place on the roost! Let us know!

I will! He went into the coop voluntarily last night after all.

 

[JuliaSunshine]

Hens naturally chase cockerels to put them in their place, do not worry about that unless it gets serious.


A young cockerel, as you stated before, will be easier to tame if he does not end up having an overload of hormones. That is, in my opinion, better than getting a full-grown rooster who is more wary and likely to attack you.


That is all depending on his personality. Likely, he will end up not being scared or nervous unless you have other cockerels/roosters in the area, either in the same pen as him or in a nearby one. Once he matures into a full-grown rooster, the hens will leave him alone and stop pecking on him.

Thank you. I was a bit worried about taming the big cockerel that hadn't been socializing with people much.
Hopefully this young cockerel grows up alright.
The previous rooster happened to be the most scared chick among his siblings and grew up with the other dominant cockerel who was too rough with the pullets and crowed too often to keep.
Again hopefully the third time is the charm.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Thank you. I was a bit worried about taming the big cockerel that hadn't been socializing with people much.
Hopefully this young cockerel grows up alright.
The previous rooster happened to be the most scared chick among his siblings and grew up with the other dominant cockerel who was too rough with the pullets and crowed too often to keep.
Again hopefully the third time is the charm.

You're welcome, I hope your cockerel turns out to be a good one!