My rooster is a duck...

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I got a rooster from a friend after my sweet girls were attacked by a hawk. All are fine! Apparently this rooster, Sig, has never been near chickens but was tossed out with the ducks. He is wild, but doesn’t have an ounce of mean in him at this point. He’s 5 months old. He doesn’t know how to roost. He doesn’t know that his new girls are HIS. He doesn’t know what “candy” is. He hides under a bush by himself all day. He is extremely fast, and afraid of me. When he walks, with every step he lifts his feet up to his chest. Will this little guy come to be a real rooster, or will he always be a fake duck? My plan is to start carrying him around every morning and night for about 10 or 20 minutes. I really don’t have any other ideas on what to do. I would so appreciate any suggestions! My first rooster was horrible to me and had to be removed. He also told my hens to hate me. I will not let that happen this time!

 

[LizzzyJo]

I got a rooster from a friend after my sweet girls were attacked by a hawk. All are fine! Apparently this rooster, Sig, has never been near chickens but was tossed out with the ducks. He is wild, but doesn’t have an ounce of mean in him at this point. He’s 5 months old. He doesn’t know how to roost. He doesn’t know that his new girls are HIS. He doesn’t know what “candy” is. He hides under a bush by himself all day. He is extremely fast, and afraid of me. When he walks, with every step he lifts his feet up to his chest. Will this little guy come to be a real rooster, or will he always be a fake duck? My plan is to start carrying him around every morning and night for about 10 or 20 minutes. I really don’t have any other ideas on what to do. I would so appreciate any suggestions! My first rooster was horrible to me and had to be removed. He also told my hens to hate me. I will not let that happen this time!

A lot of people disagree with carrying roosters and babying them if you want him to respect you. He seems to not be aggressive, so that is good news! I would just let him slowly acclimate to his new home and not bother him too much.

 

[JaeG]

Once hormones hit he's either going to be nice and respectful of you, or he is not. How you handle him has nothing to do with how he will turn out.

We had 2 cockerels raised exactly the same way. One is the perfect gentleman, the other was abusive towards the hens and started to challenge our 10 year old son. We kept the gentleman.

At 5 months your cockerel is still a baby. Over the next few months he will start to mature and establish his place in the flock, if he has some manners. Hens and laying pullets won't give him the time of day, and will in fact run him off if he misbehaves or thinks to challenge them, until he has matured.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

A lot of people disagree with carrying roosters and babying them if you want him to respect you. He seems to not be aggressive, so that is good news! I would just let him slowly acclimate to his new home and not bother him too much.

Wow! I’m really surprised by that. I hardly ever touched my last rooster that was so mean, so I thought the opposite approach would work. Maybe there is no hope. A gun might be a better alternative to a rooster.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

Once hormones hit he's either going to be nice and respectful of you, or he is not. How you handle him has nothing to do with how he will turn out.

We had 2 cockerels raised exactly the same way. One is the perfect gentleman, the other was abusive towards the hens and started to challenge our 10 year old son. We kept the gentleman.

At 5 months your cockerel is still a baby. Over the next few months he will start to mature and establish his place in the flock, if he has some manners. Hens and laying pullets won't give him the time of day, and will in fact run him off if he misbehaves or thinks to challenge them, until he has matured.

Thank you for your advice. Do you think I can at least do something to help him to not be so afraid of me? I like my chickens to be friendly. We don’t ever eat them. Some people have roosters that are wonderful pets and I don’t know how they accomplish that. Except maybe raising them as babies only?

 

[JaeG]

Thank you for your advice. Do you think I can at least do something to help him to not be so afraid of me? I like my chickens to be friendly. We don’t ever eat them. Some people have roosters that are wonderful pets and I don’t know how they accomplish that. Except maybe raising them as babies only?

Food is your best bet for gaining his trust but you might have to be quite sneaky about giving him treats so your hens don't realise he's getting a something they are not.

Our original chickens were bought as pullets close to or already laying and they aren't as friendly as those we have handled right from the start. They'll eat out of your hands but good luck trying to touch them. Raising them from chicks does make a difference as they instinctively see you as the bringer and provider of food so they do trust you a little more, though they still have their individual personalities and some are friendlier than others.

 

[TheAlrightyGina]

Thank you for your advice. Do you think I can at least do something to help him to not be so afraid of me? I like my chickens to be friendly. We don’t ever eat them. Some people have roosters that are wonderful pets and I don’t know how they accomplish that. Except maybe raising them as babies only?

Try hand feeding him treats, but it really does seem to be the luck of the draw. I've had some awesome roosters, and I've had many many roosters that decided to buy a ticket to freezer camp by attacking people or being too rough with the hens. It's unfortunate, but their behavior as youngsters has no bearing on it. The only thing I've ever seen change a rooster's behavior is a solid butt whooping by other roosters, but that would be cruel to do on purpose.

 

[janiedoe]

I'm just curious by what you mean when you say "he lifts his feet up to his chest"??
Does he have a physical problem?

 

[LizzzyJo]

Wow! I’m really surprised by that. I hardly ever touched my last rooster that was so mean, so I thought the opposite approach would work. Maybe there is no hope. A gun might be a better alternative to a rooster.

There are so many differing opinions about 'how to make a good rooster' that your head will spin! And for every one that sounds logical there is another person logically arguing that the opposite is true I would start by reading some of the articles on here, but read a lot of them so that you get the full view.

 

[Dinosaur Village Keeper]

I'm just curious by what you mean when you say "he lifts his feet up to his chest"??
Does he have a physical problem?

I don’t think he has a physical problem. He appears very healthy, though quite thin compared to my plump hens. He just walks really weird. With each step his feet are raised so high. I will check the bottom of his feet tonight, the only time I can touch him. I thought he was just trying to be a duck.