Is he gonna be mean??

[klf73]

I have a 3 week old roo, wattles and comb turning red already. I picked him up yesterday, he was always the first to come see me, but this time he bit me (pinched, pecked, whatever). He wanted me to put him down. Is this just the start of aggressive behavior or maybe just a bad day? The roos all come to check me out first when I go to the brooder and they always peck my hands, but he really grabbed me. I was hoping to keep one of the roos but I have 6 kids, 12yrs down to 7months, so I don't want one that is going to hurt the kids if he gets a feather across his butt. When they free range it will be in my fenced in front yard which is only 3 ft high. The kids frequently play in the street on their bikes (dead end) and I dont' want a roo to attack them. Am I just reading into this too early?
Krista

 

[gumpsgirl]

One of our BYC'ers, rooster-red, some very good information about roosters and how to make them behave. You need to make sure that he knows you are the alpha-roo, not him. I make a point of holding my rooster everyday. He is 13 wks. old now and so far, has been very good! He comes to me when I call him and follows me around the yard. Here's a link to rooster-reds info. https://www.backyardchickens.com/web/viewblog.php?id=2588-Roo_behavior Good luck!

 

[Chirpy]

Don't count him out as a "bad boy" at this early age. Most people don't see aggressive Roo behavior until the Rooster is around five months old or older.

I would gently hold him at times (I did an aggressive Rooster thread a long time ago and it was interesting that some people who held their Roos from birth had aggressive Roos while some people who never held their Roos had aggressive Roos.) So - I don't believe holding or not holding makes or breaks a Roos behavior after that poll. However, I think holding him at least a few times a week would be beneficial ... but, what do I know?