Is it true that roosters are mean?

[debid]

I have an accidental roo (sexing mistake). Mine is the Woody Allen of roosters -- he was very reluctant to take the lead from the dominant pullet, cowers to all humans, and his advances are often ignored by the girls. He's still young so I can't say that he'll never be a jerk but the guy I bought from breeds for temperment (he has kids too) so I'm hopeful that this boy will remain docile.

Given the choice right now between the roo I have and another pullet, I'd keep the roo because he does things like place himself between potential danger and his girls and his presence means I COULD hatch a few eggs when one of my girls eventually goes broody. But I wouldn't buy one on purpose because of the kids and the chance that he might not be so meek.

 

[brandislee]

I've only had 3 (possibly 4 or 5, even though they're 6 months old now I still have two I'm not sure of...) roosters ever and I've had both the mean and the sweet. The three roosters I have were litter mates (well, hatched together, the Wyandotte obviously came from a different hen... the other two are Buff Orps) and from the start the Wyandotte and one of the buff orps were the absolute friendliest of all my chickens. The friendly Buff Orp went through a phase where he would follow me around the yard and peck my feet (especially if I was wearing flip flops, but in retrospect it's like he had animosity towards the flip flops, not me, because he didn't bother me if I was wearing anything else... and who wears flip flops around chickens anyway?). But he never flogged me and he never bothered my kids (although he will take a swipe at the dog if she gets too close... which is good). And even now he has stopped and is, well, not exactly gentle, but he's friendly. And he's a huge beautiful guy, so I'm glad he got less aggressive instead of more- I want a rooster to be protective, so I forgave him the little bit that he did, and I DEFINATELY want his physical genetics to stay around. The other, the Wyandotte, has never bothered me and is the alpha (even though he's smaller). He's indispensable as he warns the girls of danger when they're free ranging, lets them know when he's found something especially yummy, and most recently he let ME know when some kids were sneaking around in my yard trying to mess with his hens. The third rooster is a hot mess and will soon be soup- he's mean, he's scrawny, he flogs me if I get too close, and he terrorizes the hens. Nothing I want to propagate.

I could do without the crowing, but it's only been bothering me lately because with all the super nice weather we've had every window in the house open. You don't need a rooster, and if you're apprehensive it wouldn't be terrible to not have one (although I would be worried to free range without one...).

On having kids with chickens- I'm not the most protective parent. And assuming you're raising from chicks, the kids are there as the chickens grow and learn what to do and what not to do. Both of my kids have been pecked by the roosters when they did something (after me telling them not to) that the rooster felt was a threat. I don't know exactly when spurs become dangerous, but I know that my roosters (at 6 months) don't have any spurs to speak of yet (they have the bump, but that's it), so you have time to find out if your rooster is dangerous before they can do any real damage. Pecking and scratching hurt, but they're superficial.

And on the eggs, the others are right. A fertilized egg isn't going to turn into a chick at all if your hen doesn't sit on it, so there is still no potential for life unless your hen goes broody. Of course, that brings up the next issue to think of- if you are of the mind that the potential for life shouldn't be denied then you have to be prepared to hatch chicks whenever a hen goes broody. Which means you could have chicks several times a year. If you don't have the space or desire to do that, then you don't want to get a rooster.

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
X2. PLUS, THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY YARD CANDY BEAUTIFUL

BUT, our lover roo actually bit DS in the neck a few years ago. That led to teaching the kid how to notice behavior and language, and respect for others (the chickens are live, they're not toys). There's no teacher like pain!

When I worked neuroscience at a big university hospital, we had several head and neck injuries from dogs and cats. If I had a nickel for everytime the parents of a traumatized, jawless kid said, "that dog never hurt a fly, we don't know what happened..." so I have to say that I never advocate any pets around kids without supervision, kid training and patient stewardship.

Beware, kids can be just AWFUL to animals, don't kid yourself. Children really need a lot of patient training, stories, guidance, demonstration. Almost all animals have the potential to hurt back, if the kids are not thoughtfully guided in how to behave with animals.

We have put up APHIS's recommended No Trespassing signs and put up a gated fence around our property (talk about chicken math disease

) just to prevent unsupervised kids from relentlessly chasing our chickens. Once word got out around town that a rooster will fight, that became just irresistable to neighborhood kids.

So, I'd have to say that adding a rooster requires a little more responsibility. It will take a little more thought and planning. If you're up to it, it's a worthwhile endeavor

!

 

[Desirai]

hi, thanks everyone for all of your stories and input. I love reading the stories!!
Sorry about your injuries and mishaps though.

Yeah, the egg thing, if I had a rooster that would mean every egg has the potential to be a baby chicken, and I would ultimately end up keeping every single egg to hatch as opposed to using them for eating. This would not be a good thing!

Roosters definitely have pros and cons. Free ranging is my biggest concern because we have so many dangers around where I live because people don't keep their dogs where they're supposed to be.

But I don't plan on ever allowing my chickens to free range unsupervised. (But I think the city has a law where it's not allowed, I have to find more details because I don't understand it)

Well, I suppose I'll just start with hens and maybe when I become more familiar with chickens and chicken behavior I may get a rooster.

My neighbor (somewhere, not sure exactly which neighbor) has a rooster that crows alllllllll day. Somewhere behind our house and a few streets over I think.

 

[The Red Rooster]

No, not all roosters are mean. There are some that need to visit freezer camp, and there are some that are sweeter then some hens!

 

[brandislee]

6chickens in St. Charles :

Quote:
X2. PLUS, THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY YARD CANDY BEAUTIFUL

BUT, our lover roo actually bit DS in the neck a few years ago. That led to teaching the kid how to notice behavior and language, and respect for others (the chickens are live, they're not toys). There's no teacher like pain!

When I worked neuroscience at a big university hospital, we had several head and neck injuries from dogs and cats. If I had a nickel for everytime the parents of a traumatized, jawless kid said, "that dog never hurt a fly, we don't know what happened..." so I have to say that I never advocate any pets around kids without supervision, kid training and patient stewardship.

Beware, kids can be just AWFUL to animals, don't kid yourself. Children really need a lot of patient training, stories, guidance, demonstration. Almost all animals have the potential to hurt back, if the kids are not thoughtfully guided in how to behave with animals.

We have put up APHIS's recommended No Trespassing signs and put up a gated fence around our property (talk about chicken math disease

) just to prevent unsupervised kids from relentlessly chasing our chickens. Once word got out around town that a rooster will fight, that became just irresistable to neighborhood kids.

So, I'd have to say that adding a rooster requires a little more responsibility. It will take a little more thought and planning. If you're up to it, it's a worthwhile endeavor

!

I agree- it's more about "training" the kids. I have the world's sweetest dog who absolutely adores kids, but she has bit my kids before when they deserved it. I know people think I'm awful but that is how kids learn, and if you have common sense it's pretty easy to tell the difference between an aggressive dog and a dog who got annoyed and nipped. It's how kids learn NOT to annoy animals to the point where the animal rips their jaw off. And supervision is key, of course, both for the well being of the animals and kids/

I've said it before and I'll say it again A FERTILIZED EGG IS NOT POTENTIAL FOR LIFE. Not until a hen expresses the desire to incubate it. In fact, some argue that eating fertilized eggs is MORE humane because the hens having access to a rooster to, ahem, scratch their itch, so to speak, is more humane.​

 

[6chickens in St. Charles]

Quote:
X2. PLUS, THEY'RE ABSOLUTELY YARD CANDY BEAUTIFUL

BUT, our lover roo actually bit DS in the neck a few years ago. That led to teaching the kid how to notice behavior and language, and respect for others (the chickens are live, they're not toys). There's no teacher like pain!

When I worked neuroscience at a big university hospital, we had several head and neck injuries from dogs and cats. If I had a nickel for everytime the parents of a traumatized, jawless kid said, "that dog never hurt a fly, we don't know what happened..." so I have to say that I never advocate any pets around kids without supervision, kid training and patient stewardship.

Beware, kids can be just AWFUL to animals, don't kid yourself. Children really need a lot of patient training, stories, guidance, demonstration. Almost all animals have the potential to hurt back, if the kids are not thoughtfully guided in how to behave with animals.

We have put up APHIS's recommended No Trespassing signs and put up a gated fence around our property (talk about chicken math disease

) just to prevent unsupervised kids from relentlessly chasing our chickens. Once word got out around town that a rooster will fight, that became just irresistable to neighborhood kids.

So, I'd have to say that adding a rooster requires a little more responsibility. It will take a little more thought and planning. If you're up to it, it's a worthwhile endeavor

!

I agree- it's more about "training" the kids. I have the world's sweetest dog who absolutely adores kids, but she has bit my kids before when they deserved it. I know people think I'm awful but that is how kids learn, and if you have common sense it's pretty easy to tell the difference between an aggressive dog and a dog who got annoyed and nipped. It's how kids learn NOT to annoy animals to the point where the animal rips their jaw off. And supervision is key, of course, both for the well being of the animals and kids/

I've said it before and I'll say it again A FERTILIZED EGG IS NOT POTENTIAL FOR LIFE. Not until a hen expresses the desire to incubate it. In fact, some argue that eating fertilized eggs is MORE humane because the hens having access to a rooster to, ahem, scratch their itch, so to speak, is more humane.

Oh yah, overheard DH telling a visitor, "...no, you don't need a rooster to get eggs. You just need him for the sex" ...before our rooboy got mature, the hens would run up to DH and squat. He would yell, "SIT!", "Good Kitty", but their requests went unheeded. Then the testosterone turned on in the rooboy, now its all work, all the time............ but he does as well as he can, as often as he can.

 

[jeepguy982001]

In my experiance not all are mean. But then again it depends on your definition of mean. I'd rather have one a lil mean to keep the rest of my chickens safe when i cant watch them, then have one that doesn't protect anything.