Is it possible to train a rooster to mate with a hen gently?

[justplainbatty]

This may sound odd, buy my rooster has been introduced to cougar hens. They are a few years older than him but I swear her was dancing of for them, he was cirlcing one and was doing this weird thing with his wings, he wasn't hurting them, I haven't seen him get it in with nay of the chickens, but he was doing weird things I havent see before.

You saw the dance I mentioned in post #15! He is trying to convince the hen to allow him to mount her. If she decides she likes him then he is in business!

 

[justplainbatty]

This rooster attacked me today while he was out with one of these hens. he has never shown me any signs of aggression, I've even picked him up a few times without a problem. I had to kick him a few times until he stopped trying to attack me. How do I handle this? Should I not let him see these hens anymore? I tried to catch him, but he kept running away from me, half an hour later, he still won't let me go near him. If he's scared of me, what was the point in attacking me?

He is seeing you as a threat. It's either fight or flight, fighting you didn't work so he ran. I have 3 roosters. In the coop I move around very slowly and deliberately. I never chase a bird inside or out. I hand feed daily to assess everyone. If there is no emergency, I wait until night time to remove a hen for treatment. I talk softly and look birds in the eye the whole time I am in the coop. I always fill feeders, waterers, hand feed and collect eggs in the same order every day. I frequently pick up the roosters and just chat with them and when I set them down, I will not let go of them until they stand still. There are various theories on how or if you can tame a rooster but, I believe violence begets violence. There are some physical but non violent ways to try taming but they don't always work. It takes time and patience and you can never show or feel fear, they know. In the past 7+ years, I have only had to cull 2 rotten roosters. Good luck, whatever you do.

 

[chickengr]

I want him to be a gentlemen. I've only ever heard him crow, never call out for predators or call the hens over for food.

it is natural that roosters chase hens. the problem is that pullets are not hen and do not know what is going on. I have the same problem but time is the only solution. if you can, separate pullets from him till they get older.

In my case, my cockerel was about 4 months old when started mating and pullet about 5 (hybrid chicken, red sex link pullet, not sure about cockerel, RIR over either RIW or W leghorn).

 

[307151]

He is seeing you as a threat. It's either fight or flight, fighting you didn't work so he ran. I have 3 roosters. In the coop I move around very slowly and deliberately. I never chase a bird inside or out. I hand feed daily to assess everyone. If there is no emergency, I wait until night time to remove a hen for treatment. I talk softly and look birds in the eye the whole time I am in the coop. I always fill feeders, waterers, hand feed and collect eggs in the same order every day. I frequently pick up the roosters and just chat with them and when I set them down, I will not let go of them until they stand still. There are various theories on how or if you can tame a rooster but, I believe violence begets violence. There are some physical but non violent ways to try taming but they don't always work. It takes time and patience and you can never show or feel fear, they know. In the past 7+ years, I have only had to cull 2 rotten roosters. Good luck, whatever you do.

it's just so odd, I wasn't doing anything unusual. I've picked him up before with no problems, he didn't make any noise, and didn't fight me when I set him down. But now all of a sudden he got cocky after hanging out with these cougars. I definatly don't fear him, but I will continue occasionally picking him up and having a little chat with him. I tried to yesterday but he wouldn't stop running away from me which just made me laugh. You attacked me and wouldn't stop until you got knocked down, now you fear me?

 

[eggorthechicken]

Some roosters just mate rough and I think it depends on the breed. I have had several "favorite" hens that just look awful during the summer.

My main roosters are good boys though...their feet are big though. I have a huge cochin rooster that is growing out now and he has big fluffy feet so I'm interested to see how his mating habits will be this spring.

Roosters need time to figure out how to be roosters. Sometimes it's because they are the low man on the todem pole and they don't get a chance because of the older roos. Other times it's just age of the rooster. Some develop earlier than others. I always watch mine when they start to show interest in the females but also give them time to figure it out. If they turn out to be jerks...they are gone. I always watch for aggression with the hens, other roosters and me. I look to see if he calls out the ladies for food and he lets them eat first. I look to see if he is on the look out for predators too. If he shows ANY aggression towards me....he's OUT period. I don't have the time for that. I watch the hens too...if they want to be around him that's a good sign. I have a few good roosters right now and I can look in the coop and some of the hens are snuggled up tight to them. I have some older hens who will put younger roos in their place (that's funny to watch). It's good to have some older ladies too.

 

[307151]

At what age should I expect them to feed the girls and watch for predators? How do I know they're watching for predators?

 

[justplainbatty]

At what age should I expect them to feed the girls and watch for predators? How do I know they're watching for predators?

My roos started feeding hens at about 6 months and warning for predators around 7 months. They are 8 months now and doing very well at both.

 

[centrarchid]

[VIDEO]

 

[CrazyTalk]

Also, I've been reading about roosters being aggressive towards humans or pets, so I was wondering what at one age would a rooster try to be aggressive so I could watch for it? The younger rooster actually lets me pet him and pick him up

The best way to end up with an aggressive rooster is by inserting yourself in the pecking order by doing things like pushing him off of hens.


Leave it alone - everything here is normal. Nature isn't romantic.

 

[centrarchid]

The best way to end up with an aggressive rooster is by inserting yourself in the pecking order by doing things like pushing him off of hens. 



Leave it alone - everything here is normal. Nature isn't romantic.

Yes.

Avoid over managing. Sometimes what appears violent to us is not for animals that are much smaller than we are. Look at the rooster in video above with 2.75 inch spurs. Despite how nasty they appear they do not actually poke the hen and he appears careful to ensure they do not poke her.