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

[Mama_in_the_Dell]

I have a juvenile standard Brahma Rooster. He’s been penned with my older girls since about 8 weeks old. I was hoping they’d teach him some manners instead of being raised with his flock mates of the same age but they were just plain mean to him. He is now 5 months old. He will roost with them at night but every time I try to integrate them they start pecking his feathered feet causing him to bleed and I put the crate back in to let him heal. He’s so scared of those girls it’s sad. He will not come out of the coop if his crate is not in there for him to hide. However when I let him free range with some of my younger girls he will face off with a few but then still ends up running off. Yet he has run after my dog (lab mix) after I’ve scolded her for chasing him. I think he’s trying to find something to dominate. A few weeks ago he pinched my hand when I was putting his water in his cage. Didn’t even bleed but yet aggression. I quickly grabbed him out of the cage and he stopped for awhile. Then the other day when I had him out he went at my leg in a very weak attempt. He’s still very unsure of himself so I hope I can nip this but I want to be sure I’m doing the right things. I think his attempt may even be more like how he would treat a hen instead of a threat. Can this subside when he does get his girl to be submissive or will it just get worse? I read a lot of posts and there are so many mixed opinions on how to raise nonaggressive roosters. I did have to handle him a lot more than I intended to to put him in the coop at night and back in the pen in the day when it was cold at night so he is comfortable around me and even wants to stay around me when free ranging since the girls are so mean. I guess I’m the nice one though I try to show him I will not tolerate the his dominance over me. I just realized I don’t have any recent pictures of him but this is from November.

 

[azygous]

It's complicated being a rooster. A cockerel does better with guidance through his hormonal stage, which covers his first year. In a flock with a rooster, the cockerel is usually disciplined and schooled by this older roo. In a flock without an older rooster, you're it.

Without guidance and discipline, a young cockerel is left to find his way through trial and error. Yours is erring and the hens are trying to set him straight, and they may be being cruel about it to the point he's even more confused. Imagine having the urge to learn to mate and to learn to be a flock protector only to have it turn and bite you on the butt.

Therefore, his upbringing is up to you. Like dogs who do well with discipline to establish boundaries, so do cockerels. Proper discipline establishes boundaries and the cockerel will develop more self confidence from knowing where he stands with you and with the hens. You do need to be on top of correcting bad behavior when you see it. Immobilizing a badly behaving cockerel until he submits is the simplest method, but you need to be consistent.

Your cockerel might do well with a protective pen where he can have freedom of movement while observing the girls while remaining safe from the consequences of his mistakes. Spending a short period each day with the hens while you supervise can help him learn gradually without hammering his self esteem. If he's not protected, there's a chance he will become a sad little victim and not be able to fulfill his role as rooster of his flock. Within his safe enclosure, he'll have the opportunity to develop self confidence, and this will affect how the hens treat him as he grows into his role.

To summarize, a safe enclosure where he can spend most of the day safely, short periods where he can mingle with the hens under supervision, consistent discipline to establish boundaries of behavior, and roosting at night with the hens should get him to age one year and instill self confidence and manners in him.

 

[Chicken101-07]

It's complicated being a rooster. A cockerel does better with guidance through his hormonal stage, which covers his first year. In a flock with a rooster, the cockerel is usually disciplined and schooled by this older roo. In a flock without an older rooster, you're it.

Without guidance and discipline, a young cockerel is left to find his way through trial and error. Yours is erring and the hens are trying to set him straight, and they may be being cruel about it to the point he's even more confused. Imagine having the urge to learn to mate and to learn to be a flock protector only to have it turn and bite you on the butt.

I agree,cockerels seem to learn from older roosters if the older rooster is aggressive there's a high chance that the cockerel turns aggressive too.

 

[Mama_in_the_Dell]

It's complicated being a rooster. A cockerel does better with guidance through his hormonal stage, which covers his first year. In a flock with a rooster, the cockerel is usually disciplined and schooled by this older roo. In a flock without an older rooster, you're it.

Without guidance and discipline, a young cockerel is left to find his way through trial and error. Yours is erring and the hens are trying to set him straight, and they may be being cruel about it to the point he's even more confused. Imagine having the urge to learn to mate and to learn to be a flock protector only to have it turn and bite you on the butt.

Therefore, his upbringing is up to you. Like dogs who do well with discipline to establish boundaries, so do cockerels. Proper discipline establishes boundaries and the cockerel will develop more self confidence from knowing where he stands with you and with the hens. You do need to be on top of correcting bad behavior when you see it. Immobilizing a badly behaving cockerel until he submits is the simplest method, but you need to be consistent.

Your cockerel might do well with a protective pen where he can have freedom of movement while observing the girls while remaining safe from the consequences of his mistakes. Spending a short period each day with the hens while you supervise can help him learn gradually without hammering his self esteem. If he's not protected, there's a chance he will become a sad little victim and not be able to fulfill his role as rooster of his flock. Within his safe enclosure, he'll have the opportunity to develop self confidence, and this will affect how the hens treat him as he grows into his role.

To summarize, a safe enclosure where he can spend most of the day safely, short periods where he can mingle with the hens under supervision, consistent discipline to establish boundaries of behavior, and roosting at night with the hens should get him to age one year and instill self confidence and manners in him.

Thank you. You explained that so well. I really wish I did have an experienced rooster to train him. He’s not even started crowing yet but we do have a close neighbor with roosters so I wondered if that was why. I wish I would have gotten the daddy when they got rid of him. He was such a good boy but was very loud really early in the morning.

My guy has had his enclosure for safety most of the time but it’s not very big now that he’s grown. I figured he would have been able to integrate by now since he’s been with them so long. As he got bigger I’ve kept the door open but cornered it in a way where it gives him more room but is not easy for the hens to get in. Still occasionally one would and he’d run out to hide in the coop. I’ve since fixed that issue but i just wasn’t sure if I was hindering the integration process by keeping him penned up. I have a flock of younger hens that are about 6 months older than he is and wondered if they would be better for him. There are a few hens in that pen that are pretty submissive so he may even be successful in mating. My older girls are a mix of what’s left of my original flock of nearly 3 year olds and my 1.5 year olds. These are my most dominant hens.

 

[tdan]

I tossed my 1 yr bramha roo in with younger hens and 1 yr olds and he is plenty dominant. Now he doesn't have any confidence issues. Send him up with younger hens and once he starts mating good, put him where you want him.

With the younger ones, just make sure they aren't mistreated and nature will let him learn as needed.

 

[Shadrach]

I have a juvenile standard Brahma Rooster. He’s been penned with my older girls since about 8 weeks old. I was hoping they’d teach him some manners instead of being raised with his flock mates of the same age but they were just plain mean to him. He is now 5 months old. He will roost with them at night but every time I try to integrate them they start pecking his feathered feet causing him to bleed and I put the crate back in to let him heal. He’s so scared of those girls it’s sad. He will not come out of the coop if his crate is not in there for him to hide. However when I let him free range with some of my younger girls he will face off with a few but then still ends up running off. Yet he has run after my dog (lab mix) after I’ve scolded her for chasing him. I think he’s trying to find something to dominate. A few weeks ago he pinched my hand when I was putting his water in his cage. Didn’t even bleed but yet aggression. I quickly grabbed him out of the cage and he stopped for awhile. Then the other day when I had him out he went at my leg in a very weak attempt. He’s still very unsure of himself so I hope I can nip this but I want to be sure I’m doing the right things. I think his attempt may even be more like how he would treat a hen instead of a threat. Can this subside when he does get his girl to be submissive or will it just get worse? I read a lot of posts and there are so many mixed opinions on how to raise nonaggressive roosters. I did have to handle him a lot more than I intended to to put him in the coop at night and back in the pen in the day when it was cold at night so he is comfortable around me and even wants to stay around me when free ranging since the girls are so mean. I guess I’m the nice one though I try to show him I will not tolerate the his dominance over me. I just realized I don’t have any recent pictures of him but this is from November.

Take a step back and try to forget about all the dominance talk you've read.
Roosters don't try to dominate humans, or hens There is no incentive to do so.
Hens don't submit to roosters either. They may crouch for a rooster if they are interested in having that rooster fertilize their eggs but after that, given the space, if they don't want the roosters attention they will avoid him if possible and fight him if necessary. Hens even have the ability to prevent unwanted sperm from reaching their egg.
Bearing in mind hens choose the rooster they will mate with and follow helps. In a run where a hen can't escape things aren't quite so simple but the basic principle is still sound.
No adult hen in her right mind is going to be the slightest bit interested in some young unproven upstart who hasn't even grown a decent set of spurs yet
So, that's your first problem; your cockerel isn't grown up enough for your hens yet. Time will sort that out.
Meanwhile, he's going to try out all his courting techniques, or lack of them on the nearest creature he has to a mum and that's going to be you. Most of the behaviour reported as aggressive cockerel behavior isn't straight forward aggression at all. Often it's an attempt to mate; other times attempts to show he can defend his hens. There are many reasons for what may seem to be aggressive behaviour that just get made worse by misunderstanding how the rooster sees his world and where you the human fit into it.
I wrote this article to help people understand their roosters a little better. It may not solve your problem but it may help you understand why you have one.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/understanding-your-rooster.75056/

 

[Acre4Me]

he’s a bit young still at only 5 months old. Hormones are ramping up, but the older girls are generally going to treat him like the low one that he is.

we gave a 4.5 month old male to our neighbor with pullets about 8 weeks older than this male, so they were over 6 months old. This male was treated like the lowest member of the flock that he was. it took a solid 2 months plus for him to gain much ground. Luckily he had good chicken instincts and came out on top fairly unscathed, but missing many hackle feathers. It took him quite some time to convince the top pullet to accept him, in particular.

we have a mixed flock and head rooster. We have 3 juvenile males (different ages). It has been very good for these younger males to be disciplined by the head rooster and the older hens. We’ll be getting rid of some of these males this year.

 

[azygous]

It sounds like this cockerel is a recent addition, is that correct? Then he may need a gradual integration because of his timid temperament. I wrote this article after I integrated a rescue hen into my flock. https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/introducing-a-single-hen-to-an-existing-flock.71997/

It elaborates on what I've briefly touched on. A gradual integration preserves a chicken's self confidence while getting everyone used to one another. When the going gets rough, the chicken is placed back into the safe pen just as they're starting to get pounded. It took my hen three weeks to fully integrate. She would run to me when things got rough and I would carry her back to safety. She gradually began to hold her own and stand up for herself, and then I knew she no longer required the safe pen.

Part of the gradual integration is having full access to food and water without having to compete. This keeps their energy level up so they don't lose weight and become weak which aggravates the process.

By the way, chickens continue to grow and bulk up during their second year, so a tiny chicken likely won't remain that size. Also, some people toss the new roo right in with the flock and he may do fine, but a timid chicken may have an extremely rough time and will do much better with some help. Each case is different.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I'll offer yet different opinions. It's not surprising to me that we have different opinions. We all raise them differently with different goals, flock make-ups, management techniques, and different set-ups. So we will have different experiences and observations.

I grew up with a free ranging flock on a subsistence farm in Appalachia. We had a flock of one rooster and about 25 to 30 hens. We relied on broody hens to hatch and raise replacements. Other than gathering eggs we had little daily interaction with the flock. In good weather they'd feed themselves. If snow was on the ground we'd feed them corn. The flock, which scattered all over, was far enough from the house that we did not interact with them except when we were taking care of the cows, pigs, and horses. That was basically just to walk by them. The only human aggression I remember was when a broody hen thought someone was threatening her chicks.

I don't raise them that way. My goals are to raise them for meat and to play with genetics. I can't free range because of predators. I have three different coops/shelters to lock them up at night, a 12' x 32' main run, and an area about 45' x 60' in electric netting. My climate is such that they can be outside practically every day of the year. I overwinter one rooster and 6 to 8 hens, but I incubate about 20 chicks every February and raise them with the flock with my brooder in the coop. Then when hens go broody I let them hatch and raise another total of 25 or so chicks with the flock. In summer I may have over 50 chickens in this area, most of them growing to butcher age. I generally keep one cockerel to replace my rooster every year as my playing with genetics requires. I typically eat the rooster when the replacement cockerel is about 7 months old. The rest of the cockerels are butchered by 23 weeks. I butcher most of the pullets around 8 months, after I have decided which ones to keep as replacements. I interact a lot more with them since they are confined and I'm retired and spend a lot of time outside where I can and do observe them.


This is what I base my opinions on. Your set-up, management techniques, and goals are certainly different from mine. But at least you can see where I'm coming from.

The behavior and interactions of that immature cockerel are really familiar. Until he matures enough to dominate and be the flock master the others will resist any of his attempts to take over. Chickens are often bullies. Size doesn't matter, its the spirit of the individual. I'm kind of weird on here, I believe the females have a part to play in this process. Different females have different personalities so the interactions are not always the same. I also think the maturity levels of the females play a part. Social interaction is complicated, each group each year is different.

I've seen a 5 month old cockerel able to take over a flock of mature hens. I've seen most hens in the flock accept a cockerel but the dominant hen did not submit to him until he was 11 months old. If he tried to mate one of her flock she's knock him off. I've seen a 13 week old pullet submit to a 13 week old cockerel, none of the mature hens would. I've seen a lot in between. The best way I can describe it is dominance. Some males and some females want to dominate more than others. That can generate a lot of conflict, especially if they are housed in fairly tight conditions. Eventually, when they all mature, it tends to become a peaceful flock but it can be pretty wild getting there.

I don't know what your set-up looks like, how much room you have, or even your tolerances. I tend to let my cockerels, pullets, rooster, and hens work it out as log as no one is getting hurt. If someone is getting hurt I generally lock up the aggressors more than the victims but I base my actions on what I see. I don't know what your best course of action is. I could see locking him up, either alone or with some females, until he matures. That could be months.

On human aggression. Growing up that wasn't an issue. We did not handle them, try to make them pets, or interact with them that much. It is more of an issue now since mine are confined and we interact with them a lot more. I don't handle them that much or try to make them cuddly pets but I am around a lot more. Occasionally a cockerel will threaten me, usually flaring his hackle feathers and trying to intimidate me. He may even attack me, generally from behind. When this happens I walk him down. I face him and slowly move toward him. If he attacks, which is rare, I gently toss him back with my foot. I wear long pants, he wont hurt me. Most of the time he backs down and runs a short way back. I stand still for a minute to see what he does. If he goes about his business I move away, never turning my back. If he doesn't walk away or moves toward me when I try to move away I walk him down again. I keep doing that until he lets me walk away without threatening me. I may have to do this two or three times but generally they learn I'm not to be attacked. I've only had to eat one because he didn't learn. Others do this differently. I can think of one person on here that wears long pants and ignores them when they attack. He says they learn it's no use so they quit. Other may chase them down, pick them up and carry them, or hold them down and "peck" their head with their fingers. I'm not saying my way is the only way or the best way, just the way that I go about it. It doesn't always work but usually.

There is another part of this though. Occasionally I get one that learns to leave me alone but will attack other people. I've had them attack my wife if she went down there without me, she'd carry a broom. I've had a couple that would attack the chicken sitter when she fed and watered them. They can learn to leave certain people alone and not others. Most of mine don't do this but I've eaten a couple because of this.

From my experience you don't get guarantees with living animals and their behaviors. Each one has their own personality and even if raised under the same conditions can react differently. I don't know your goals or even why you want to keep a male around but that's your business. Hopefully you can get something out of this that might help you.

 

[Chicken Heel]

I'll offer yet different opinions. It's not surprising to me that we have different opinions. We all raise them differently with different goals, flock make-ups, management techniques, and different set-ups. So we will have different experiences and observations.

I grew up with a free ranging flock on a subsistence farm in Appalachia. We had a flock of one rooster and about 25 to 30 hens. We relied on broody hens to hatch and raise replacements. Other than gathering eggs we had little daily interaction with the flock. In good weather they'd feed themselves. If snow was on the ground we'd feed them corn. The flock, which scattered all over, was far enough from the house that we did not interact with them except when we were taking care of the cows, pigs, and horses. That was basically just to walk by them. The only human aggression I remember was when a broody hen thought someone was threatening her chicks.

I don't raise them that way. My goals are to raise them for meat and to play with genetics. I can't free range because of predators. I have three different coops/shelters to lock them up at night, a 12' x 32' main run, and an area about 45' x 60' in electric netting. My climate is such that they can be outside practically every day of the year. I overwinter one rooster and 6 to 8 hens, but I incubate about 20 chicks every February and raise them with the flock with my brooder in the coop. Then when hens go broody I let them hatch and raise another total of 25 or so chicks with the flock. In summer I may have over 50 chickens in this area, most of them growing to butcher age. I generally keep one cockerel to replace my rooster every year as my playing with genetics requires. I typically eat the rooster when the replacement cockerel is about 7 months old. The rest of the cockerels are butchered by 23 weeks. I butcher most of the pullets around 8 months, after I have decided which ones to keep as replacements. I interact a lot more with them since they are confined and I'm retired and spend a lot of time outside where I can and do observe them.


This is what I base my opinions on. Your set-up, management techniques, and goals are certainly different from mine. But at least you can see where I'm coming from.

The behavior and interactions of that immature cockerel are really familiar. Until he matures enough to dominate and be the flock master the others will resist any of his attempts to take over. Chickens are often bullies. Size doesn't matter, its the spirit of the individual. I'm kind of weird on here, I believe the females have a part to play in this process. Different females have different personalities so the interactions are not always the same. I also think the maturity levels of the females play a part. Social interaction is complicated, each group each year is different.

I've seen a 5 month old cockerel able to take over a flock of mature hens. I've seen most hens in the flock accept a cockerel but the dominant hen did not submit to him until he was 11 months old. If he tried to mate one of her flock she's knock him off. I've seen a 13 week old pullet submit to a 13 week old cockerel, none of the mature hens would. I've seen a lot in between. The best way I can describe it is dominance. Some males and some females want to dominate more than others. That can generate a lot of conflict, especially if they are housed in fairly tight conditions. Eventually, when they all mature, it tends to become a peaceful flock but it can be pretty wild getting there.

I don't know what your set-up looks like, how much room you have, or even your tolerances. I tend to let my cockerels, pullets, rooster, and hens work it out as log as no one is getting hurt. If someone is getting hurt I generally lock up the aggressors more than the victims but I base my actions on what I see. I don't know what your best course of action is. I could see locking him up, either alone or with some females, until he matures. That could be months.

On human aggression. Growing up that wasn't an issue. We did not handle them, try to make them pets, or interact with them that much. It is more of an issue now since mine are confined and we interact with them a lot more. I don't handle them that much or try to make them cuddly pets but I am around a lot more. Occasionally a cockerel will threaten me, usually flaring his hackle feathers and trying to intimidate me. He may even attack me, generally from behind. When this happens I walk him down. I face him and slowly move toward him. If he attacks, which is rare, I gently toss him back with my foot. I wear long pants, he wont hurt me. Most of the time he backs down and runs a short way back. I stand still for a minute to see what he does. If he goes about his business I move away, never turning my back. If he doesn't walk away or moves toward me when I try to move away I walk him down again. I keep doing that until he lets me walk away without threatening me. I may have to do this two or three times but generally they learn I'm not to be attacked. I've only had to eat one because he didn't learn. Others do this differently. I can think of one person on here that wears long pants and ignores them when they attack. He says they learn it's no use so they quit. Other may chase them down, pick them up and carry them, or hold them down and "peck" their head with their fingers. I'm not saying my way is the only way or the best way, just the way that I go about it. It doesn't always work but usually.

There is another part of this though. Occasionally I get one that learns to leave me alone but will attack other people. I've had them attack my wife if she went down there without me, she'd carry a broom. I've had a couple that would attack the chicken sitter when she fed and watered them. They can learn to leave certain people alone and not others. Most of mine don't do this but I've eaten a couple because of this.

From my experience you don't get guarantees with living animals and their behaviors. Each one has their own personality and even if raised under the same conditions can react differently. I don't know your goals or even why you want to keep a male around but that's your business. Hopefully you can get something out of this that might help you.

Just want to state how much I enjoy your posts. And as a Tar Heel, I like the Dean Smith quote which is very true.