Questions about Rooster Behavior

[Celizwalsh]

This year is the first time I have ever owned a rooster so I don't really know much about their behavior and I would love some clarification on a couple things I have noticed. Here is some background info on him, he is a 5-6 month old splash ameraucana and he is the only rooster with 9 hens. He has been a very good boy so far but I am worried about him turning mean like so many other people have experienced with their roos. Lately he has been watching me more closely and making almost a growling noise when I go into the pen. He usually makes it when I am moving around him/his hens or cleaning but he stops and goes back to pecking around if I sit still/stay quiet. He always keeps his distance and respects my space by moving out of my way if I go towards him almost to the point of being fearful of me ... should I be worried about this noise? The other thing I have noticed is that occasionally he will approach a hen from the side and does a little dance around the hens with his wings down while making that same growling noise. I assume this has something to do with mating but I have never seen him mate any of the hens and he usually ends by pecking them on the head ... Is this normal behavior?

 

[sumi]

That is completely normal, yes. I have an older rooster that I've rescued and is keeping by himself and he makes all sorts of noises when I'm around. My favourite is the call to come eat that they usually do when they find something nice and want to let the hens know. My DH thinks it's hilarious that the old boy calls me to come eat crickets and stuff lol The dance with the wing drop you described is part of their mating ritual.

 

[toynutz]

My Ru has quite a vocabulary too. When I let them out he greets me with an ooooo-worra-worra, which might sound like a growl, but I think it's his happy to see me and be let free noise. He does the tidbit call and wing-drop dance for me on occasion... I ignore the dance unless he is persistant. When he insists on dancing for me, I pick him up and give a big hug and tell him how good he is... when he relaxes, I put him down and he struts away. He's only done it twice and is the sweetest Ru to his girls and me, so I think his dancing was overzealous hormones. Your roo is just starting to learn the courtship rituals and sounds pretty normal, it'll take him a little while to get it right and be successful.