Is the disposition of chickens an inheritable trait?

[horsejody]

I have 5 two week old chicks in a brooder right now. 2 are roos. One of the boys is pretty fiesty. When I take them out to clean the brooder he always runs up and pecks my hand. About a week ago he started his attemps to crow. I have a feeling that he is going to be one with a little too much testosterone and will need a lot of reminding about who is in charge.

 

[ThePolishPrincess]

Mean Dad:

Meaner Son:

I just have the best of luck with my guys...

 

[sandypaws]

so far (knock on wood) even my OEG rooster respects me,, i did not treat him like a"pet" when he was younger,, and i always make SURE he gives me space and respect wheni am in "his" coop".. and so far he still ha not attacked me.. but i am ready for it..

 

[firedove]

I've only had one roo so far so not a vast pool of experience but our roo was scared of us as a chick and growing up. When he matured, one day he came at me sideways dragging a wing and I stomped on the ground and said "not a chance buddy" in a loud voice. From then on he just avoided me.

I really believe that roos who are given a lot of love and attention as chicks turn into mean roos in the end. I have seen it happen to roos that friends owned and I have heard so many stories of the sweet cockerel turned evil roo on here.

I have two groups of chicks right now. They started out in one brooder but when that brooder was getting too small for the whole bunch I took the 15 friendly chicks and put them in one brooder and left the other 11 in the original brooder. I pay attention to both brooders but those 11 just aren't coming around. I can tell you though, when it comes time to choose who stays I am far more likely to go with two of the 11 scared chicks for roos and keep most if not all of the 13 hens I want out of the friendly 15. Some of those 15 could be roos though so I may end up with a few of the scared chicks to keep as hens.

FYI: we have 9 grown hens with no roo so the two roos will cover 22 hens, not just 13.

 

[Solsken Farm]

Quote:
LOL, they do look mean.

Just so ya'll can put this into the equation, we have about 30 roos. Some have had very little attention, some have had more and some have had alot. None of them are like this "gentleman". So the idea that somehow the handling is the cause doesn't fit.

I put him into a small pen with 2 hens, and worked with him yesterday. So we'll see if he can change his attitude.

 

[mirecipes]

I used to have the sweetest hen..
She would follow me around and fly to my shoulder when the roo's were being mean..
She was killed by a dog..

I had some of her eggs and hatched them out..
Her 3 babies now follow me around just like she did..
It shouldn't be too long before the 2 hens start laying..
Even the roo is a sweetie.

She was not around to teach them that..
All the others I have hatched out are not nearly as friendly..

Who knows

 

[Omran]

Quote:
I think it is time for Dinner

some breeds are more agressive than others, after a little experiance with chicken, I decided not to have any rooster ever again, I don't really care about his services for the flock, because since my last rooster gone for dinner last week, my hens started to look way more happier than before.

Omran

 

[skya328]

Quote:
The 3 roos that I got from you follow us around. (Brownie's "kids" right?) When I pull up the driveway after work if I don't see them I just call out "Chickens!" and they come running. If we're in one part of the yard and they're in another and see us, they run to us. I don't think they ever met their mama, so it must be genetic...

 

[fowltemptress]

The hens I've had that I've held constantly from the very beginning grow up sweet and used to me holding them, but as for roosters . . . I've found the ones I cuddle most as chicks grow up without any fear of me, so they attack like crazy. It's the ones I ignore that grow into the sweeties, because they never learned to trust me enough to think I'm an easy attack target. Ever since this clicked in my mind I've quit handling my male chicks as soon as I start suspecting they may be male. Of course, there's always one that is my favorite, and I can't help but hold him . . . and sure enough that's the one that always grows into a stupid attack monster while the poor little ignored ones show me a healthy respect.