Juvenile Rooster. Will he just get more aggressive or us there hope?

[Shadrach]

I just don't buy this all chickens are different stuff. It doesn't really get us anywhere.
It's a species and much like any other species including humans. You don't have to study every individual in a species to come to many valid conclusions regarding their nature in a given set of circumstances.
There are certain things that all chickens (there are always exceptions and always reasons for them) will do under a particular set of conditions. It's how we know what we know about chickens, many behaviors are testable and repeatable.
Even the assertion made by some that everybody keeps their chickens differently doesn't stand up to scrutiny. You could easily allocate most peoples keeping arrangements into 4 broad categories.
We need to do better than just believe that the differences between individuals and keeping arrangements is so complicated that we can't possibly hope to arrive at some conclusions relevant to the entire species.

 

[Mama_in_the_Dell]

I had then out yesterday and while I was taking care of my youngest flock I felt something bump into my leg. It was him! I’m pretty sure he’s just trying to mate with my leg. It was so nonaggressive and he took off before I could even grab him. Then today I let them out just for a few minutes before dark and when I was trying to get the girls to go into the coop he went in first and actually successfully mated with one of them before another girl came in and he took off to the coop to hide. I think he will be okay for now.

 

[tdan]

Maybe let him out a few more times under watchful eye. If he looks good, let chicken stuff happen.

My bramha is a great rooster and he has shut down an owl that I know of and a hawk i think, however the camera lapse didn't show him attacking the hawk but it was unsuccessful taking his girls. Brad is a big roo and he gets aggressive with me any time I startle his girls or the ducks. If they make noise and run from me because I bang a pan or try to catch a young pullet he will spur at me for a week or so.

My point is, I don't automatically view my roosters being aggressive to me as a bad thing. I can hold, inspect and clean him. If he thinks I am or have recently attacked his flock, he is grade A butthead. He has saved me from losses in multiple events that I know of so he's a resident for life.

I had then out yesterday and while I was taking care of my youngest flock I felt something bump into my leg. It was him! I’m pretty sure he’s just trying to mate with my leg. It was so nonaggressive and he took off before I could even grab him. Then today I let them out just for a few minutes before dark and when I was trying to get the girls to go into the coop he went in first and actually successfully mated with one of them before another girl came in and he took off to the coop to hide. I think he will be okay for now.

 

[Mama_in_the_Dell]

Maybe let him out a few more times under watchful eye. If he looks good, let chicken stuff happen.

My bramha is a great rooster and he has shut down an owl that I know of and a hawk i think, however the camera lapse didn't show him attacking the hawk but it was unsuccessful taking his girls. Brad is a big roo and he gets aggressive with me any time I startle his girls or the ducks. If they make noise and run from me because I bang a pan or try to catch a young pullet he will spur at me for a week or so.

My point is, I don't automatically view my roosters being aggressive to me as a bad thing. I can hold, inspect and clean him. If he thinks I am or have recently attacked his flock, he is grade A butthead. He has saved me from losses in multiple events that I know of so he's a resident for life.

I was inspecting one of the girls today that is in another run than he is and he got quite upset about her ruckus. I was perfectly fine without having a rooster but since this summer hawks have been constant and I can’t keep them out unsupervised. One always comes by even when I am out there so I would feel better with one keeping watch as long as he is a good fit. Right now I just think he is trying to figure everything out. He acted like he really wanted out to go after some of my younger hens but when I tried to let him out to see what he would do he wouldn’t come out. He kept just pacing next to the wired side.

 

[tdan]

You are on the right track. Just don't turn your back and understand he hears them fuss and will react sometimes. He will take care of his girls once he settles.


Good choices

I was inspecting one of the girls today that is in another run than he is and he got quite upset about her ruckus. I was perfectly fine without having a rooster but since this summer hawks have been constant and I can’t keep them out unsupervised. One always comes by even when I am out there so I would feel better with one keeping watch as long as he is a good fit. Right now I just think he is trying to figure everything out. He acted like he really wanted out to go after some of my younger hens but when I tried to let him out to see what he would do he wouldn’t come out. He kept just pacing next to the wired side.

 

[Chicken Heel]

You are on the right track. Just don't turn your back and understand he hears them fuss and will react sometimes. He will take care of his girls once he settles.


Good choices

This is exactly how I am handling a young Black Australorp rooster at this time. It should be noted that this rooster has always shown a tendency to be aggressive going back to a five weeks old chick. At around 20 weeks of age, I had integrated him into my flock of almost 3 years old mixed large breed hens about a month ago. The hens accepted him a little better than I thought they would although his energetic rousing them off the roost in the mornings is a daily thing. I just fall back to the advice my Dad gave me when I was young, which was, "There are two things a rooster is looking to do first thing in the morning and one of them is eating".

Over the past month, the rooster would on occasion come into the coop when I was filling the feeder or gathering eggs and hackle up. At these times, I have simply backed him out of the coop with my muck boots while never kicking him. This morning when I went in the outdoor pen to check on one of my Buff Orpington hens he came at me and once again I backed him down with my boot. He then quickly huddled all the hens into a corner while keeping check on what I was doing. This along with other desired habits like calling the hens to food and being vigilant with alarm calls for a Cooper's Hawk that hangs around my property makes me think he will be just fine. And besides, he is one gorgeous rooster which is probably why my ladies accepted his presence so readily.