Is my Geraldine actually a Gerald?

[gemd]

Bottom right chick in both the group and 2-chick pic. His/her comb is more developed and redder. Leghorns, about 4 weeks old. Supposedly all pullets but that is always a gamble in statistics.

 

[Mr Beaks]

Yep, that's a Gerald alright.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Absolutely a gerald

 

[gemd]

Ok I need rooster raising advice then. We are allowed to have them, so Gerald wont become dinner or adopted out, but my only experience with a rooster is a Rhode island red when I was a toddler and he was psycho evil. Do fertilized eggs if picked that day taste different?

 

[grayjay11o]

No, they taste the same, you just have to be careful that your hens don't run off and come back with chicks.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Ok I need rooster raising advice then. We are allowed to have them, so Gerald wont become dinner or adopted out, but my only experience with a rooster is a Rhode island red when I was a toddler and he was psycho evil. Do fertilized eggs if picked that day taste different?

I suggest taking a look at posts by @Beekissed & @centrarchid on cockerel and rooster management. More often than not, the keeper interprets behavior as affection and cuteness when the young male is being disrespectful and aggressive, so they end up reinforcing and rewarding the bad behavior....and one day the "sweetest bird in the whole flick just turns on me"...when, in fact, its been happening all along. Learning to see a cock for a cock and work with their mature makes a happier bird and human in the longrun.

 

[gemd]

Now people have said oh boy, you dont want a rooster... that I will never sleep again and all roosters are complete jerks. That I will make him into dinner soon enough.... sigh....can roosters be pleasant enough to own?

 

[NatJ]

You mostly see/hear the stories with problems. Some roosters and some owners do just fine.

It looks to me as though most rooster problems happen with people who are new to chickens, or new to roosters, and who have only one rooster.

People who have been raising them for years, and people who have multiple roosters, seem to have a smaller rate of problems.

And people who are willing to eat badly-behaved roosters do not have problems for long!

 

[DuckGirl77]

Certainly not all roosters are problematic. I've had my share of aggressive ones, but that was on me for misreading "friendly" behavior when they were younger. With proper management you should be ok. I enjoy having one now, I was more careful raising him and he's respectful of people and a good flock leader.
In my experience, less handling when they're young helps. I didn't try to tame mine like I did my hens. The goal is not to make him terrified of people but rather to not have him be so confident around people that he thinks he can challenge them.
You are wise to think about it now, it will help long run. Definitely look into it more as some previous people have suggested. Here's one good article:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/a-viewpoint-on-managing-roosters.74690/

 

[Angileen]

I have 4 rooster in my flock of 39. A Black Jersey Giant, 1 Buckeye, 1 Midnight Majesty marans and 1 Lavender Orpington. They were raised together and get along great, they get into very mild disagreements once in a while to reinforce their pecking order but they have never hurt each other. None of them are aggressive to humans but I spend a lot of time with my chickens. My Midnight Majesty Marans got mildly aggressive once with me when he was young. But I held my ground and picked him up and carried him around for a while to let him know who was the boss. He has never tested me since. If your Roo tries to test you at all don't back down. Make sure you hold him and carry him around alot, start when he is young and you should have a well behaved Rooster. You should have around 10 hens per Rooster or your hens could get overbred and end up with scratches and missing feathers on their backs and neck.