Please tell me what my Rooster is doing

[Sunny Side Up]

You know how people do Freestyle Dancing With Dogs, for fun and in competition? Maybe you could start a new trend for Dancing With Roosters.

 

[SusanH]

Lololol

 

[lisahaschickens]

and for the record... I have definitely talked to people on here that have "babied" their roosters from a young age and the roos grow up to be snuggly lap-babies. So, trust me when I say that babying does not guarantee an aggressive rooster. I really and truly believe it depends on the individual bird. If you ask around, lots of people have roos that are total monsters and lots have really polite, friendly, even snuggly roos - everyone has their own way of raising and dealing with them, but treating them like pets most certainly does not guarantee bad behavior.

 

[SusanH]

Thank you, that's good to know. My rooster is a little wary today, so I believe he's already getting the message. I don't want to humanize him and say his feelings are hurt. But I think they are, as he's used to having undivided attention.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Agreed, babying them does not mean they will grow up to be aggressive. However, if you have a cockerel that has a tendency towards aggressiveness and you baby him, he loses his fear of humans. That's when the trouble begins.
It's what I've seen with my own two eyes and I'll never baby another rooster.

 

[lisahaschickens]

I would agree with that. It's like petting a barking or aggressive dog and telling him it's OK. It encourages the behavior. If the roo acts aggressively, then you have to take charge and dominate. In my own experience, my four boys never allowed babying and so I've just had to be dominant the whole time... not a question for me. I just also know that people have roosters who like to be held and petted and have "comb kisses," etc... so babying can turn out OK. Only if the roos is nice and submissive the entire time, though.

 

[gritsar]

Yeah, see the problem you run into is that you have no way of predicting what a immature cockerels ultimate personality is going to be like before those hormones kick in.
So you baby a 10 week old roo and he's all cute and sweet and then the hormones hit and it's Katy-bar-the-door. I prefer my rooster to keep his distance, although he will come to me for treats - but doesn't get too close. When I need to handle him I can no problem, no struggle. When I'm out and about, walking amongst them, he keeps his distance.

 

[SusanH]

I picked up the rooster I'm likely to keep yesterday. It's been the first time I've been able to get my hands on him in about 3 weeks. He was very calm and I was happy about that.

Now, question. If they are TOO docile with you, doesn't that mean they won't protect the hens?

As you can tell, this is my first ever time with chickens.