Naked Neck/Turken Thread

[DesertChic]

That is a gorgeous boy you're lucky with all those good boys you have too. I'm just hoping for non human aggressive if our chick is a roo.

It's taken a lot of time and determined breeding to breed the aggressiveness out of my birds. I had one gorgeous NN rooster named Goldie that absolutely hated my husband and son and would tear across the half acre chicken yard to attack them. Even the hens I bred from him were a bit "tougher" in character than my other hens. I didn't keep a single one of his sons and was very selective about his daughters, and then only bred them to much friendlier roosters, culling out consistently bad behaviors. It's taken four years of focused breeding and culling to reach this point.

 

[igorsMistress]

It's taken a lot of time and determined breeding to breed the aggressiveness out of my birds. I had one gorgeous NN rooster named Goldie that absolutely hated my husband and son and would tear across the half acre chicken yard to attack them. Even the hens I bred from him were a bit "tougher" in character than my other hens. I didn't keep a single one of his sons and was very selective about his daughters, and then only bred them to much friendlier roosters, culling out consistently bad behaviors. It's taken four years of focused breeding and culling to reach this point.

It's nice to achieve a goal you've worked toward for so long I know. Congratulations!

How do you make early decisions on who to keep vs not? What are you looking for as the boys grow up? Are there early signs of what their personality will be like when they're grown?
Also, what happens in those teen months that is an absolute no that won't work for behavior?

 

[cactusrota]

It's nice to achieve a goal you've worked toward for so long I know. Congratulations!

How do you make early decisions on who to keep vs not? What are you looking for as the boys grow up? Are there early signs of what their personality will be like when they're grown?
Also, what happens in those teen months that is an absolute no that won't work for behavior?

I don't know about DesertChic, but one red flag for me with the teenagers is if they are going after me in full daylight or during twighlight/dark hours. Because once it gets dark and they can't see me very well they could be be going after an unknown threat/predator, and I don't want to blame them for that. But in full daylight, especially if I kick them off and they keep coming, that's not cool. And learning the difference between healthy sparring with the other birds and outright bullying is important. Full on pinning into a corner and not letting up, even after their victim has their head tucked and cowering, that's totally not cool. Extensive chasing, around and around and around nonstop, that's not usually good either and it will raise stress levels in the whole flock.
That said, my Remmy will do that, but only with fully feathered birds.. He's feather racist.. It's so weird. If another NN mounts a hen he walks up and supervises like he's just making sure they're doing it right. A fully feathered roo tries to mount a hen and he's on them like cheetah after an impala. It's nuts to watch. So I've separated him into a pen with his own hens for now so my JG roo can have his chance in the main flock... haha!

 

[igorsMistress]

@cactusrota

Remmy sounds like a hoot

Thanks for your input! Very helpful.

 

[DesertChic]

It's nice to achieve a goal you've worked toward for so long I know. Congratulations!

How do you make early decisions on who to keep vs not? What are you looking for as the boys grow up? Are there early signs of what their personality will be like when they're grown?
Also, what happens in those teen months that is an absolute no that won't work for behavior?

For behaviors, there are definitely a few consistent tells I've picked up on. Friendly little cockerel chicks that become teenagers that MUST get attention from me and behave with obvious frantic need or jealousy have got to go. They typically turn aggressive (one nearly pecked my eye out when he felt ignored) and can become so easily panicked over nothing that they injure themselves or you. And any bird that bites down hard on my arm and then tries to mate with my arm has got to go. Every bird I've ever had do this turned out to be super aggressive in mating with females no matter how much time they had with them or how many females they were kept with, and also became increasingly aggressive with us over time as well as more combative with other roosters on the property.

Nearly all of the teenagers will either bite and jerk around as if they're going to bite when those hormones first start raging. I try very hard not to react, and once they let go or back off I make sure to pick them up and carry them around. Typically, after doing this consistently for a couple weeks, the "good" ones will stop trying to bite unless badly startled. The "bad" ones will either continue their behavior, or even become more aggressive.

In reference to what @cactusrota said about one cockerel pinning another in the corner, I've found this to be normal behavior when they're trying to establish pecking order until and unless they continuously attack one certain bird repeatedly. Sometimes they'll only corner the less mature bird, not just the lowest one in the pecking order. If you have one cockerel in the pen that's making nesting gestures where he routinely goes in the corner, digs down into the dirt or bedding while cooing invitingly....that boy's reaching full sexual maturity. If housed with cockerels that aren't as sexually mature, the more advanced boy will become aggressive towards them and even rape them. This doesn't necessarily mean he's a bad rooster....just more mature and very sexually frustrated. He can actually turn out to be a very good rooster to his hens when he gets them and may be worth keeping as long as he doesn't show any aggressive behaviors to his humans.

If I see an undesirable behaviors in certain young cockerels housed together I will sometimes separate them to determine if it's just too stressful an environment or if they have genuine personality issues.

 

[BlueBaby]

That is a gorgeous boy you're lucky with all those good boys you have too. I'm just hoping for non human aggressive if our chick is a roo.

His daddy Charley isn't aggressive, and always moves out of my way.

 

[CannedMonster]

@cactusrota
@DesertChic
Very useful advice! Thank you to you both.

Angus was almost the lowest in the pecking order of the 5 cockerels I had.
There were 3 NNs and 2 bantams: a black Cochin and a partridge Silkie.
The only chick lower in the pecking order than Angus was Silkie.
At 4 months my bantam Cochin, Frodo, would beat Angus up and chase him all over the yard constantly.
Frodo matured very quickly, his first crow was at 4 weeks!
He would grab Angus by his comb and pull his head down and not let go.
I ended up rehoming Frodo because he wanted to rule the entire yard.
He wasn’t human aggressive but he definitely dominated Angus and I was getting pretty sure that he was the one I’d keep.
The other two NN cockerels were either human aggressive or very competitive with each other.
My poor hens were very stressed so I knew I had to choose one since I couldn’t separate anyone.
I’m glad I chose Angus.
The NNs and Silkie are 6 months old now.
I still have Silkie since I have 6 bantam pullets for him but they’re a month or so younger.
Earlier today Silkie tried to breed one of my NN pullets, Emily.
He’s obsessed with Agatha and Emily and always tries to get them if Angus isn’t looking.
Angus was digging in one of my large pots and heard Emily screaming and he was out of there and running like a shot.
He rushed over and kicked Silkie off of her.
I like the fact that Angus isn’t overly aggressive with Silkie.
He’s tolerant but not of sharing his girls.
And the girls don’t want Silkie either.
They always protest.
Angus will occasionally chase Silkie if he crows but never relentlessly and he never attacks him.

I’m planning to lock Silkie and the 6 bantam pullets in the prefab coop/run for about a week so they will bond with him...hopefully. At least two of them are mature enough to have red combs and wattles.

 

[igorsMistress]

@DesertChic

Thank you for your insight. Right now I have just the one chick and popular thought is that it's a cockerel. Hopefully the third time is the charm!

 

[igorsMistress]

7 weeks and getting big now

 

[aliciaplus3]

View attachment 1537419

7 weeks and getting big now

Ok I am ready for my Saturday hatch! I can't wait to see how many NN I get. Oh and I get to pick up a dorking roo..... obviously I will be mixing him with my necked necks....