I thought roosters were mean...

[bobbieguyette]

Dont give up and think they all will be mean.I have a 4 year old polish fella called rambo (the name dont fit him!) and hes a sweetheart I have brought him to a pet expo and everyone loved him at first they thought I had a fuzzy cat ! and i have a 3 yr old silkie roo named doodle and hes a sweatheart also it all depends.
now I have had ugly roos and they dont stay here for long once they show the ugly sid and along time ago had a americana roo named grumpy and the name fit him! he hated everyone except for me and hubby and would attack strangers that came on the property. I Kept that boy!!!LOL (kept the inlaws from snooping all the time he he he) even when i lost him he stayed 'alive' for 2 more years till they found out he was gone I need another ugly roo again me thinks! so dont give up some are good some turn out bad it depends. bobbie

 

[jjthink]

Long story short, it depends on the roo.

I have lucked out with the sweetest roos you can imagine. I've only had 4 in the course of many years but every one was a doll. I've treated them gently and with respect and even kisses and hugs and they have never once responded with aggression. BJ roo - the roo I've known for 7 years now - treats hens like princesses and any lucky enough to live with him (generally one at a time, I adopted Annie after Betty died) have wanted for nothing, nor were they abused in the least by him. He protects them with his life, is the best guard you could ask for, makes nests for them and finds them yummy treats. Denies himself his favorite treats so he can offer to them. Hens ADORE him and won;t consider laying an egg without him by their side - it's very sweet. He will stand next to Annie (and Betty before) for hours if need be till the egg comes along. When I need to do stuff to him, like put bagbalm on his feet/legs, or whatever, I scoop him up (he is nervous about this because he feels he's being taken away from his job of watching out for his lady friend) and he lets me do whatever I need to do - trusts me - and then when done I give him a treat for his patience!

I have met other roos that are aggressive, including 2 that were dumped on me by a neighbor without warning and that I spent weeks looking for homes for. These guys were mean but I don't know what the poor things had been through or whether I could have calmed them in time (I couldn't keep them with only 1 hen).

JJ

 

[seriousbill]

Okay, the scoop on roosters. Yes, baby roosters are nothing like adults. So, oblio and MissP are right. Give them some time. Let the male hormones kick in.

I've had quite a few roosters ranging from ragingly aggressive to extraordinarily mild over the years. But one thing to remember is that most of them do have the potential to at least take a momentary swipe at you if they think their hens are threatened (like when you run them out of the flower bed). So, aggression can be triggered (and it's important not to judge a bird's temperament too harshly when the behavior clearly triggered and situational), but overall, birds do have an individual temperament that is based primarily on genetics/nature/instinct, and breeding is the key to it.

 

[conny63malies]

Just think ofthis one , even a serial killer was a cute baby once. Its during the teenage years when everything goes down the hill.

 

[speckledhen]

My late great Hawkeye was the least aggressive rooster you can imagine. Yes, he would defend the girls and did very well once when Suede got into his pen, but he was an absolute sweetheart with us, very sociable. Suede is very sweet, too, and he needs to be at his size. He's a year and a half old and has never shown people aggression.
My Ameraucana roo was very nice till he was almost a year old, then he suddenly bit me. Since I was already deciding to quit breeding them, I sold him to someone else (who knew what he'd done). He was great with her, too, till recently when the weather became very hot. Now, he's probably going to be leaving her place, too.

 

[ticks]

The friendly creature at 7 weeks is in no way going to resemble the fully grown rooster in one year. Yes, they may be nice to you at 1 year but a mature rooster can be aggressive and show aggression for any number of reasons. Many mature roosters will sit in your lap and be hand fed but just as many will not and will remain aloof. Not all roosters turn mean but they can be mean under certain circumstances. If a rooster turns on you and becomes hostile and agressive by all means he goes in the stew pot.

What if you paid 20$ into the rooster, and spent money on gas to get him, that is a lot of money for a 3 pound (my rooster is small) dinner.

 

[Nupine]

Usually at around 8 months, is when I start to see meanness.

 

[Nupine]

Quote:
Great point. Just think of Sadamm Hussein as a cute little laughing baby. Scary thought huh??

 

[Cuban Longtails]

Quote:
Thats what exceptions are for.

 

[FLchook]

My roosters have all be sweet hearts. My current roo I adopted as an adult, so he is rather stand offish....but he is in now way aggressive to me or any other person. It really does depend on the roo.