Replacing aggressive rooster

[Kmarkee]

I have a Rhode Island Red rooster that takes good care of my 8 hens, but he is aggressive toward me. I let my chickens out to free range every afternoon and sometimes he comes at me as soon as I open the coop door. I have taken to carrying a stick with me at all times. I have 6 chicks I hatched in an incubator and a broody mama sitting on 12 more. My question is when my chicks are older can I keep any of the roosters? I’m sure they will mate with they’re mothers and sisters. Will that matter or do I need to get rid of all roosters? I was hoping one would be a little more docile and Big Red might end up in the stew pot. I need a rooster to help watch over my girls because I have 30 acres and the move all over. He’s good at protecting them and keeping them all together.

 

[sourland]

Stewpot Big Red, and hopefully one of his sons will be more mellow; however, temperament is a heritable trait. Chickens handle line/inbreeding well. Coincidentally as a kid I had a RIR rooster named Big Red. He was fine with me, other kids, and women, but he would attack any man who entered the backyard.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

It's fine for them to mate with it's sisters/mother.

In fact many dog breeders will even do this. But it's not recommended to breed the next generations back to the first.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

It's fine for them to mate with it's sisters/mother.

In fact many dog breeders will even do this. But it's not recommended to breed the next generations back to the first.

 

[Wolfefarmyard]

I totally agree with @sourland

A lot of times aggression can be an inheritable trait, but hopefully you'll have at least one boy with a good personality

 

[Kmarkee]

My hens are 3 buff Orpington, 3 Wyandotte, 1 bared rock & 1 reddish hen I’m not sure of the breed. Hopefully one of those mixed will create a nicer rooster. The chicks I have now are really pretty.

 

[Kmarkee]

Here’s a picture of my newest additions. They have a different coloring and than any of my first chicks. They’re really pretty. Any thoughts on the mother’s?

 

[Shezadandy]

Just food for thought- when raising Big Red, how much handling did he have after he was obviously a boy? Many on here have noted that once you know you've got a boy, taking a hands-off approach leads to a better rooster. Giving them physical attention- petting and so on- past the baby baby chick phase breaks down the respect barrier- because they feel they can approach you at will... Which is all fine and good until the hormones really kick in- and they think of you as another hen to be wrangled, or as some kind of rival - or threat. Or maybe he's just a jackhole! A rooster who looks after his girls well is great -- but his job description shouldn't include attacking YOU!!!

We basically ignore our cockerels. They keep a respectful distance from us. Unless we have yummy treats and invite them closer with the treat, they consider that we've got a bubble around us that is not to be violated, and there was nothing special we had to do to establish this. It's tough sometimes because cockerels are usually the most outgoing as babies.

Some will be turd-faces no matter how they were raised or who their parents were. There are too many nice roosters out there to put up with that! You shouldn't have to arm yourself with a stick to feel safe around your rooster.

 

[Kmarkee]

Honestly I didn’t take that approach with him. Until hormones kicked in he would eat from my hands. These are my first chickens. I bought all pullets and didn’t even know he was a rooster until a couple months old. I’ll try that approach with my new roosters. I’m only keeping one. If I can’t find a new home for the boys I guess we’ll have chicken and dumplings. Lol

 

[Peeps61]

I've had several roosters, and the first was the only one I handled. He was mean as a snake and I was glad when a predator got him. The others I've had, I adopted a "hands off" approach with and they're fine with any human, including kids, although I don't let children around my chickens unsupervised. Good luck!