My Orpington "chicken" just started crowing!

[DownwardDog]

That's so funny now! He looked TERRIBLE when I got him -- the 2 other girls were GORGEOUSLY filling in and here he was, all shiny and greasy-looking and looked so scrawny, I was convinced he was sick:-( Now he's turning out nicely but I just don't want to have to worry about having a rooster!

 

[speckledhen]

He had shiny feathers all over from the beginning -- they looked greasy, like he was sick -- do all Orp roosters look like that from the beginning? The fluffy undercoat feathers just started coming in about a month ago or so. Now I'll know

How are these roosters temperaments, generally? I never wanted a rooster as our chickens free-range, and I never wanted my kids (7 and 10) to worry about being outside with them. The hens are their pets!

The shiny hackle and saddle feathers are a characteristic of those male feathers, a sex trait.

My own big blue guy (who passed away in Sept 2012 at almost 6 yrs old) was a love. He did not have a mean bone in his body, never showed aggression to any human. I'm not sure you can generalize about the breed too much because it's truly more of an individual thing, however, temperament is a heritable trait. People wanted sons from Suede and his hens because 99% of the time, they inherited his easygoing, sweet nature. And you don't want a 14 lb rooster to be human-aggressive. They can knock you off your feet if they hit you and you don't see it coming.

Just remember, even a sweet rooster can react differently to a hyper child than to an adult. Kids make sudden moves and are often loud and raucous and make even the sweetest rooster uneasy sometimes. Kids must be taught how to behave around roosters, who have an instinct to protect the hens. The Delaware in my avatar is a lovebug, but kids screaming and playing in the neighborhood make him visibly nervous. You never want to put a small child around a rooster without you being right there, but your kids are older and taller and should be able to learn how to act around a rooster.

 

[bobbi-j]

From what I've read, Orpingtons tend to have a more gentle personality, but every chicken is different.

 

[speckledhen]

From what I've read, Orpingtons tend to have a more gentle personality, but every chicken is different.

Yup, agreed. Never assume just because a breed may have rep for being more easygoing that your male in that breed is automatically going to be a lap dog type.

 

[DownwardDog]

Thanks for your reply. Drop is the only one we can pick up (the other 2 girls were too scared and flighty). I wonder how long it will be before we might see a change in hormone levels where we might see more of his protective/challenging behaviors? He is definitely way larger than any of my girls, so I also don't want him beating them up! I have 2 Barred Rocks, 3 Speckled Sussex, a sex-link, 2 Easter Eggers and 3 RIR-types.

 

[speckledhen]

Thanks for your reply. Drop is the only one we can pick up (the other 2 girls were too scared and flighty). I wonder how long it will be before we might see a change in hormone levels where we might see more of his protective/challenging behaviors? He is definitely way larger than any of my girls, so I also don't want him beating them up! I have 2 Barred Rocks, 3 Speckled Sussex, a sex-link, 2 Easter Eggers and 3 RIR-types.

You may never see him be challenging toward you. You'll see him be more interested in the hens and more vigilant about what's around them, but my own Suede never tried to protect the hens from us-that would be unacceptable. An intelligent rooster understands who is above him in rank (us) and that we bring the food, water and that we can handle his hens whenever we want. I always want to propagate those "smart genes", breed from the intelligent males, so if any are human aggressive when mature, they can't stay and can't reproduce. Fortunately, with the males I have, bred for temperament, I haven't had to deal with it except on very rare occasions; those were prior to Suede and Isaac, though (my avatar).

He won't beat them up, most likely, but he will be a big boy for those breeds and mating can appear rather rough. I never put smaller hens with Suede, only Orps and Brahmas, who could handle him. Orps don't tend to be overly aggressive breeders, though. The old heritage line of Barred Plymouth Rock hens (not hatchery stock, which tends to small body size) could have handled Suede's size. Those are some big hens.

 

[bobbi-j]

At roughly 5 months, his hormones are starting to change now - hence the crowing. That doesn't mean he's going to "turn mean". The last 3 roosters I've had have been good. By "good" I mean that they are good to their hens, find and show them the treats, and keep their distance from me. I do not want my roosters to be pets and think they are equal to me in the "pecking order" so to speak. I want them to know that I 'am the boss. If he were mine, I'd give him a chance, but I don't have kids around anymore, either. You have to put your kids first and do what you think is best there.

 

[speckledhen]

Yes, kids and roosters are different than you just having a rooster with no kids around. Yours are bigger than toddlers, though. You'll have to observe how he reacts to the kids. Teach them not to chase him or grab hens suddenly in his presence. If he becomes frightened of them or thinks they are a threat to the hens, he may react in a way you won't be happy with when otherwise, he would have been okay around them. A bad incident in his formative period as maturing flock protector can change his behavior permanently. The kids have to respect his role and you'll have to be watchful until you see what he's going to do around them.

Folks have said that a rooster is like a stallion or a bull in a smaller package. It's sort of true. They are the male of the species and have a job to do. Some do it well and have the smarts to know who is a threat and who is not. Some are not as bright.