Raising Roosters vs Acquiring One

[FlyAnywayAJ]

Roosters will pick a few favorite hens and mate with them often. He should mate with everyone though, but sometimes a hen can be too stubborn or mean to be mated. I had an older hen that the younger cockerels weren't allowed to touch... In order to make sure the right rooster mates with the right hens, the best way is to separate the hens and rooster in the same pen for at least a couple of months before collecting eggs. That way they'll get to know each other without the distraction of the male's favorite hens. I take it you don't have that old rooster now?

If your plan is for the new young cockerel to be the father of the babies, introducing an older one won't be a good idea. The older will most likely end up as the boss and mateYes with all the hens, and at the same time stop his subordinate doing the same.

If you keep all the birds together and monitor m as they grow, you can choose the cockerel that's the most integrated with the flock and on the best terms with the old ladies.

No we don't have the old rooster any more. We bred him for barnyard mixes for a while then he turned into dog food. We currently have 3 young cockerels that we are watching for "good rooster" behaviors to breed with the girls next season.
It makes sense that the older rooster would end up dominant and might work against what we are trying to achieve. Thanks

 

[FlyAnywayAJ]

This is just another one of those chicken hunches, but I think sometimes that less dominant birds are less dominant for a reason, like they aren’t good at chicken leadership or the others sense something dysfunctional about them. Not all, someone has to be on the bottom even when they’re all super, but I also have had birds on the bottom turn out to be weirdos when those above them were removed from the equation and they were put on top.

I think we made the same mistake with the chosen rooster for this year. We chose him because he was a total softie. We had a rooster talon our youngest in the chest last year and we culled him We did not want to repeat that experience so we picked a very docile bottom of the pack cockerel to replace him and he didn't protect his ladies at all and he only mated with a few of the ladies making for poor hatches all season. Live and learn year after year!

 

[Fishkeeper]

It sounds to me like the thing to do isn't to raise a cockerel with an older roo, it's to raise him with older hens. I know I've read elsewhere that giving a cockerel only older, confident hens for awhile will help to raise him as a polite rooster, since if he's not polite, the hens will smack him for it. Once he gets past the "too full of hormones to be nice" stage, he can meet other, less confident hens, and will hopefully be polite to them also.

 

[AmyJane725]

I also have had birds on the bottom turn out to be weirdos when those above them were removed from the equation and they were put on top.

@Harmony Fowl, what makes a rooster a "weirdo"?

 

[Harmony Fowl]

@Harmony Fowl, what makes a rooster a "weirdo"?

By no means a comprehensive list, but I've had one that matured super early and began causing fighting and chaos very young, like 12 weeks; one that was incredibly anxious to get in another's way, disrupting mating and causing fights, again, all the time; I still have a silkie roo as a pet (he lives with another roo) who only ever wants to chase hens and peck at them, he never seems to get the right idea about why he would be chasing hens; and the one that always makes me think of this because his behavior was related to dominance (or lack thereof) and his social status, I had one who was so low in ranking, I swore he was a hen for a long time, but when his hormones finally kicked in, it gave him desire but no confidence, so he began trying to mate with small chicks, like 4-8 weeks old. More often, I find the lowest ranking roo, when given the chance, is too much mating and not enough flock leadership, hurting hens, chasing other roos/cockerels, causing drama, not watching for danger or finding food, all the fun stuff without any of the responsibility.

 

[AmyJane725]

By no means a comprehensive list, but I've had one that matured super early and began causing fighting and chaos very young, like 12 weeks; one that was incredibly anxious to get in another's way, disrupting mating and causing fights, again, all the time; I still have a silkie roo as a pet (he lives with another roo) who only ever wants to chase hens and peck at them, he never seems to get the right idea about why he would be chasing hens; and the one that always makes me think of this because his behavior was related to dominance (or lack thereof) and his social status, I had one who was so low in ranking, I swore he was a hen for a long time, but when his hormones finally kicked in, it gave him desire but no confidence, so he began trying to mate with small chicks, like 4-8 weeks old. More often, I find the lowest ranking roo, when given the chance, is too much mating and not enough flock leadership, hurting hens, chasing other roos/cockerels, causing drama, not watching for danger or finding food, all the fun stuff without any of the responsibility.

Jeez, I was gonna make a joke about a rooster who only wanted to mate hens that look like his mom or something, but a real pedo chicken? Gross

 

[Mrs. K]

Not all roosters are the same caliber. If you have a couple to pick from it helps.

 

[suzfau]

Each rooster has their own personality. It is just like each person is different. However, I have found most roosters to traditionally be very good at taking care of hens, no matter how they were raised. It is their instinct. However, if you super concerned, why not simply adopt an older rooster from the animal shelter who will be less prone for aggression? Just look at Adopt a Bird Network - http://www.adoptabirdnetwork.com/listed.php they list roosters all over the US who need homes.

Yes, I can agree with adopting one that needs a home. I've had one that we raised from a tiny chick and one we literally rescued as an adult. Very different parsonalities and attitude towards humans, based on breed- each fit the general description to a T.
Both interrupted hawk attacks willing to lay their life down to save the girls. Both vigilant predator watchers. As far as breeding, my experience has been that the hen can have some say in it. I try to eliminate areas where a hen can be cornered and add areas they hang hop on or duck under to avoid unwanted physical contact from Mr. Rooster or bossy hens. Some of the girls are 'into' Mr. Rooster and some will chase him away releiving him of tail feathers if he doesn't take the hint.

 

[Chickassan]

Iv'e gotten MUCH better males by raising them!
The ones I hatch and are raised in the flock do their job and do it well.
Bonus, they have 0% beef with me.
Double bonus, no weird "quirks" like trying to mate chicks, or going flying mad over shoe noises....yeah iv'e seen both out of adopted boys.