Rooster breeds and behavioral differences

[Soon2BChixMom]

I just got a 7 month Wyandotte cockerel. When would you see aggressive behaviors? So far except for normal roo type stuff (crowing, mating, etc) he is not demonstrating any aggression towards me. He kind of grabs the hens, but I suspect he will become a ladies man sooner than later - he's got a lot of new peck marks on his comb. Other than that he alerts them to treats and such.
His father was pretty mellow too.

 

[Chickassan]

My dad has a RIR roo who is aggressive but he doesn’t charge at us. He just buffs up and tries to charge when we mess with his ladies. I have a Salmon Faverolle roo who is very sweet. He is very shy around the ladies and is scared of them. (Smart boy)

Faverolle is the only breed so far that iv'e not had any issues with.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I just got a 7 month Wyandotte cockerel. When would you see aggressive behaviors? So far except for normal roo type stuff (crowing, mating, etc) he is not demonstrating any aggression towards me. He kind of grabs the hens, but I suspect he will become a ladies man sooner than later - he's got a lot of new peck marks on his comb. Other than that he alerts them to treats and such.
His father was pretty mellow too.

Usually aggression shows up at 4-7 months as the hormones are surging. Thankfully the decreasing light this time of year tempers down those hormones.

Since your rooster is new to you I would watch him, and see. If he was aggressive at his last home he may start that behavior after he feels more comfortable.

He should generally give you his back or side and never stand square and face you. He should move away and should keep a respectful distance of 5-10 feet away from you.

I don't usually stare at them but I do watch them out of the corner of my eyes. Most of mine have learned to run from me, so I generally don't have to worry about the young ones.

Don't turn your back on him until you are comfortable and know him more, just in case.

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

I have an Oriental Gamefowl rooster and they are rarely human aggressive.

 

[Soon2BChixMom]

Usually aggression shows up at 4-7 months as the hormones are surging. Thankfully the decreasing light this time of year tempers down those hormones.

Since your rooster is new to you I would watch him, and see. If he was aggressive at his last home he may start that behavior after he feels more comfortable.

He should generally give you his back or side and never stand square and face you. He should move away and should keep a respectful distance of 5-10 feet away from you.

I don't usually stare at them but I do watch them out of the corner of my eyes. Most of mine have learned to run from me, so I generally don't have to worry about the young ones.

Don't turn your back on him until you are comfortable and know him more, just in case.

So far so good. Just wondering what to look for. Thanks! You are always very helpful And knowledgeable!

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

So far so good. Just wondering what to look for. Thanks! You are always very helpful And knowledgeable!

Thank you. My older roosters are all good boys and I never think twice about their behaviors towards me, and I don't mind them coming forward a bit. I often toss stuff to them so they can take credit for "finding" the treats for the ladies. They still stay a respectful distance away though which is a good thing.

 

[alexa009]

It's hard (well for me) to get a rooster that isn't aggressive. The best experience I've ever had with a rooster breed is the buff orpington, sometimes you will get mean ones but other times you get some that are friendly and wouldn't think for a second of ever trying to challenge you. Rhode Island Reds are definitely marked off the list though. If I ever found out I had a Rhode Island Red that turned out to be a cockerel, I would definitely rehome him. Bantams usually tend to have and attitude also. My bantam is only 7 weeks and his neck feathers raise when I put my hand close to him thinking if he should challenge me. I noticed that bigger heavier breeds don't charge you as much as the smaller lighter breeds.

 

[sourland]

Nature or nurture or a combination of both ? In my experience under my husbandry methods human aggression seems to be a genetic trait. Because of the fact that it has been stringently culled against, game fowl are the least human aggressive birds.

 

[Biddybot]

I think the different breeds and even strains within breeds still have their basic reputations when it comes to dispositions, but the individuality within those seems through the roof now! I started with purebreds, a few of those, a couple of these....mostly dual purpose and the common, easy bantams. I had good luck and the different breeds pretty much acted the way they were 'supposed' to. Barred Plymouth Rocks had a great reputation then and I wound up with the perfect rooster in the one I got...assertive, confident and dominant enough to rule as the chief rooster for eight years, yet so docile and friendly with people that I used to take him along to do pet visitations at seniors' homes. Ditto the chief banty rooster I wound up with, a tiny black-breasted red Old English game who bossed around all the bantams, yet he was also perfect for pet visitations...the nurses in particular used to love him because he'd strut around at their station, flap, and crow his little heart out while at the same time gratefully accepting bits of their sandwiches and donuts. On the OTHER hand, I also wound up with the one and only human-aggressive chicken I've yet had to date, a Cornish game cockeral, and he revealed that he was going to be a bad one long before he developed spurs so it wasn't a real problem. I just enjoyed an extra home-raised chicken dinner a few days after his fatal transgression. The Cornish game hen I wound up with and kept was fine, by the way, not overly aggressive at all. So individual variety even there within that first batch...

Personally, I make pets out of all my breeding roosters as a sort of 'test' of their personalities. Ideally, and strictly in my opinion, one ought to be able to walk out to any flock rooster at any time and be able to pick them up and instantly have them go limp in one's arms. Even better is if they shut their eyes, lay their heads against your shoulder, and even 'smack their lips', that mandible shifting thing they do, because it tells me that whatever bird I'm holding is really enjoying the attention in addition to simply accepting it. Never have I had a rooster that's become a pet go 'mean' on me. At the very worst, a subordinate rooster might come racing up to me for help if he's being chased by a dominant one, but so what? I'll just catch him in my arms if the subordinate's panicky enough to fly up and shoo the dominate one away and that's pretty much the end of it. Dominate goes off in a huff and subordinate gets a minute of petting to calm him down and I set him down and he toddles off and peace in the yard is restored. That's pretty much the way it's been between the two old dude roosters I currently still have for some time now...both staunch flock guardians...both lovable pets. Don't know about the seven new cockerals I have in residence right now. Still working with those guys yet! The two buff orpingtons both seem like dopes and immature babies yet...the five olive eggers run the full scale, from outrageously saucy and loving being handled to likewise babyish and scared to death. So it goes.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Personally, I make pets out of all my breeding roosters as a sort of 'test' of their personalities.

I wasn't sure how I felt initially after reading this, a while back...

But it's an interesting take, and I like to see differing methods!