I really, really wanted a rooster...after I had kept chickens for two years. I read everything I could about “raising a good rooster.” Most of what I read said to not handle the cockerels, after you know it is a cockerel, so at 5-7 weeks old, possibly. Soooooo, that’s what I did, with SIX different cockerels. Guess what? All six had bad blood against me and/or the girls, mostly me though.
Last winter I got a wild hair and hatched 8 chicks in an incubator, and 7 wound up being cockerels. Yep, my luck. Out of those 8 chicks I had two favorites from the get go - my very first one to hatch and then the chick I helped assist in hatching. I didn’t know the sex for several weeks.
Everybody always asks (with good intentions), “Why do you want a rooster?” My answer was, “Uh, for no other reason than I just want a rooster! Period!” No harm, no foul! It is what it is! I later added more reasons to why I wanted one, but that was my initial response.
So, with this many cockerels I thought surely one of these can be a keeper. Up until now, the hands off approach had not worked for me so I asked myself, what in the heck do I have to lose? I continued treating my two favorites like I have all my girls, even after I knew they were male.
As my story continues to unfold, my two “favorites” were definitely cockerels, affectionately named Rusty and Oreo. As time rocked on I had to separate the remaining five cockerels from the flock, leaving just Rusty and Oreo running with the girls. Those two had a few skirmishes, but nothing major. In time I decided to keep just Rusty, he was my very first chick that hatched under my care and maybe I imprinted on that little sucker. Who knows? He has been the best cockerel ever. He will be a full fledged rooster in about 6 weeks. I include him in everything and make no difference between him and the girls. He is a mixed breed (Welsummer over a Barred Rock), but he is as beautiful as he is sweet.
Long story short, the boy you have now may not be your forever rooster, as my Rusty may not always be, but you can try again and again. Another thing I’ve always read is, “There are too many good roosters out there to put up with a mean one.”
I think you have to do what seems best for you, but you may not know what that is if this one is your first.
I do have a bit of advice regarding that though. My current boy was brought up in a multi generational flock of biddies. I personally think this is a HUGE factor in the making of a good rooster...more so than how much they are handled. As he was maturing, he could not focus on me, the care giver. He was too busy trying to stay out of the way of all the old biddies. It was funny and sad at times, but I think my hens helped raise a respectable rooster.
You will hear two sides on the “raising a rooster” debate...they are both correct. It will be up to you to know both sides and try out whichever way you think is right for you. And remember, it may take several tries, but in the end it will all be well worth it.
Best of luck on raising a good boy.
That probably won't be a problem if they are closely confined in predator proof runs but if they ever free range, I prefer them to be skittish and aloof. Those birds are the survivors.
