Let's Talk Nice About Our Roosters!

[janiedoe]

I had a bantam rooster about a decade ago named Yahoo (because that was his crow... every other rooster around here goes Cock-a-dooooooo-dell-oooo, but not him... Ya-hooooooo!) We had a tiny hen that loved to brood, and we let her... but she always weened them at about three weeks. Yahoo took it upon himself to mother the chicks for another week or two after their momma threw in the towel, going so far as to tuck them under his wings on the roost at night, and tid-bitting for the babies in the day and sometimes giving the chicks piggy-back rides in the daytime. Never met a more patient rooster.

That sounds like Magpie. He has so many chicks tucked under him now he is about a foot off the ground. Between the two broodies in his run they hatched 14. When they weened them about 4 wks ago he took over. Now they are 9 to 11 weeks and he is still mothering them. He has neglected his hens (much to their delight) for the last few weeks. He, unfortunately is not the casanova that your Yahoo was.

 

[BeccaDoe]

Love these good rooster stories, if word gets out, everyone will want a rooster.

So great to hear good examples for a change.

I'm so happy this thread has become so lively, too! I feel like I'm meeting new friends ❤

 

[GoatDragonFarms]

Oh, yes, another pro-rooster thread! Love these!

Damian, formerly Macadamia. Silkie. 1 year.122% fabulous. Tidbits me every time he sees me, no matter what. Bitten me once, because I was stressing his hen, and I deserved it. Loves booty scratches and beard pets.

Dettlaff van der Eretein, the Beast of Beauclair "Beau"
Ayam Cemani, eBay eggs. 18 mos. Lives in a mixed flock. Father of many. Never pecked or spurred.

Sir Chonk, 3 mos, standard cochin. Adorable and awkward. Loves food and sitting on my foot.

Mango, Gold Spangled Spitzhauben packing peanut, 3 mos. Beeps rather than clucks. Better hair than anyone I know.

 

[BeccaDoe]

@Virginia and James
Aaaaa~ I love their names so much! And boy do I admire Ayam Cemanis! Gorgeous!

 

[janiedoe]

Oh, yes, another pro-rooster thread! Love these!
View attachment 1866153

Mango, Gold Spangled Spitzhauben packing peanut, 3 mos. Beeps rather than clucks. Better hair than anyone I know.

Wow! That packing peanut is the cutest thing! I hope he passes that hair along to a daughter someday.
The others are pretty cute too.

 

[drumstick diva]

Mango is the best packing peanut anyone ever got, I bet. Hang on to him(?)

 

[lulu99]

This is Rosencrantz, he was supposed to be a pullet ... he's coming up on three months old now, he and five pullets. Also in the flock is our 14-month old Australorp hen, Belly, who was the only survivor of a rogue dog breaching three months ago . So far "Rosie" is skittish and tentative, and apart from some strutting and goofy crowing that just began, he behaves pretty much like the other young'ns. Everyone's intimidated by Belly, so I'm hoping that might help make a kind roo of Rosie. It's so good to hear happy rooster stories, cuz frankly I'm anxious about having a boy in our tiny flock. I hope I have good stories to add! Thanks for this thread, it's encouraging.

Here he is in his "pullet" phase, just a few short weeks ago:

 

[BeccaDoe]

@lulu99
Rosie is super cute! And I feel that so much with my Dorothy. Surprise cockerel! I'm cheering you on, friend!

 

[Eggscaping]

Hi all! I'm relatively new here and I just was told by a few of y'all that my Dorothy is a cockerel, not a pullet. This has, quite frankly, put me in a highly anxious state as I have read here and there on this forum all about roosters. The general idea is that they are mean, mean, mean. ESPECIALLY if you raise them with pettings and love.

So I want to hear about experiences with happy, friendly roosters! I want stories about how they came to be that way. And I'd rather not hear about the "hard truth" about "coddling them into dominating" because I need to hear that that doesn't always happen. Please be kind. Tough love isn't always welcome.

I love my Dot and don't want to see that side of her-er, him, so after reading them mean stories, I'm terrified and depressed. So let's hear some happy things about your boys!

Here's my Dorothy, who will remain Dorothy

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Thank you SO very much for making this thread! We have laughed and 'have you seen this story?' several times as we've made our way through the pages of replies. Very well done, and please do update us when you have further experiences with Dot!

 

[GoatDragonFarms]

I know I read the rooster horror stories and wonder if we will some day run out of luck. But rest assured, my dears, roosters can not only be lived with, but can be awesome.