Rooster Management Questions

[rural mouse]

Keen eye. Yes he managed to finagle his way from #3 to #1 and I never saw it coming. He is tough with the hens when he can get to them. When I say he is rough with the hens, he is a neck grabber. He won’t dance, he just rushes in, grabs them by the neck or where ever he can get a bite and tries to mount. He bites hard (he’s bitten me once when I picked him up) and pulls out feathers frequently. He isn’t people aggressive, which I don’t mind much, but his rough handling with the hens is a no no. It wasn’t an issue when he was not allowed to mate much by the former top rooster, but now he’s an issue. I keep them separated most of the day. He’s the rooster in my avatar. Pretty good looking fella, but I do not care for him much at all. I’m concerned a bit about his progeny acting like him. I’m looking at, at least 3 chicks that I think he may have sired. If they’re hens, I’m wondering if they will be flighty like their aunts were.

I was good with how the pecking order was. Any of the other roosters would be ok. I hope that the rooster following the one on his way out doesn’t move up. However it goes, I think things will improve once I eat the problematic rooster.

I have a little gold penciled hamburg rooster. One of his offspring in the 1st batch of chicks was from my brown leghorn hen. This fellow teamed up with an unrelated hatch mate cockerel. The pair of them would grab a hen and have a go while the other stood guard. Then they'd swap places. We sent eggs to a family member with an incubator for a joint hatch. The same day, the pair got into a fight with each other, ranging across the yard, endangering hens and ignoring obstacles.

They both went in the freezer. Fast forward to incubator hatch.

this was one of the cockerels, hatched from one of the EE eggs, from the leghorn mix.

and today, he's current flock king, well mannered, liked by the hens, fine with people. Doesn't care for the previous flock king, but only chases him out of general vicinity. Change over occurred during fall moult with no fight.

Personality can vary dramatically from one generation to another. His grandparents are still part of the flock too.

 

[Ridgerunner]

1. How likely is it that they will exhibit some of his traits having never met him?

The age old question. How much of behavior is genetic, how much learned. In a fantasy there would be a simple answer but this is reality. Each individual is an individual. With some individuals genetics has a large influence on certain behaviors. With other individuals learning could be the significant impact.

A couple of stories. Years ago on this forum a gentleman had a rooster that had been great with his hens and was not the least bit human aggressive. Then one day that rooster started attacking the man's 5-year-old son. If that rooster saw the boy a long distance away he would attack. A total change of behavior. It turned out that man thought it was cute the way the boy was chasing the hens around. The boy was having so much fun. But the rooster saw that as a threat to his hens and changed his behavior. Genetically the rooster was keyed to protect his flock. Most of us consider that a good thing but not when he learns that protecting his flock means attacking a child.

Rhode Island Reds have a reputation on this forum with some people for being aggressive, either to humans or to other chickens. One gentleman on here bred RIR's for show. It pained him to read some of those posts. His RIR's did not act that way. He purposely bred them with behaviors in mind. Certain behaviors were not allowed to breed. He also knew how to handle them so he did not teach them to be aggressive to humans.

I’m concerned a bit about his progeny acting like him. I’m looking at, at least 3 chicks that I think he may have sired. If they’re hens, I’m wondering if they will be flighty like their aunts were.

They might be, they might not. The only way to find out is to try. I know I say this a lot but you really do not get guarantees with chickens and their behaviors. Anything can happen.

2. I spoke with the breeder about replacing some chickens that I lost. She says she has more of his breed. The two hens I had like him were flighty and were both killed. I’m under the impression that the parents of these birds are not the type of birds I’m looking for. On top of that I think they all have the same parents. Can you share some specific questions that you think I can ask the breeder about this line without offending her?

Three chickens is not a strongly statistically significant number but it is all you have to go by. If I got three chickens from a specific source that all had a physical fault, cross beaked or curled toes for example, I would not get any more of that breed from that source. Obviously you really want some of that breed. I'd consider a different source. But to answer your question, I'd explain what my issues were and see what she has to say.

IHe stopped doing it when he was repeatedly chased off my the first male.

Kind of sounds like learned behavior, doesn't it. I wonder how many cockerels lose their lives each year because of something like this?

 

[redinator]

Kind of sounds like learned behavior, doesn't it. I wonder how many cockerels lose their lives each year because of something like this?

Neither of my males are human aggressive, so I had no 'good' reason to cull the second other than his behavior towards the girls.

Adding the divider fence was a bit of a test to see if the second male's behavior would change if he had access to the girls without constantly being chased and pummeled by the first male.

It took a few weeks for him to settle down, but now he courts the girls rather than forcing them into submission in a hit and run fashion.

It also isn't a set group of girls. When I open the divider gate whichever ladies (6-7) choose to follow him out are his for the day.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Ridgerunner Well I have my eye on a few of Hawk’s offspring. I’m not so keen on that variety, but their white color helps in this heat. And 3 is a small sample size, but that is all I bought from her along with my BCMs. The BCMs turned out to be good looking and laying birds to me.

I like RIRs. My first flock was a small group of reds. I realize that you were addressing another member, but I am particularly fond of an aggressive rooster, or most male animals. As long as they don’t pose a lethal threat to humans, I can deal with it. Aggressive bulls with whom I’m not well acquainted make me nervous, but I have effectively dealt with a couple of them.

When it comes to roosters, I prefer aggressive over docile. My aggressive boy tried to sneak me this morning. I know his habits, so I know what to expect from him most days. I think he is really good for the flock. I’ve seen him stand up to predators and he backed down a good sized dog. He’s been humbled some, but he still has some spunk in him. Roosters that run and won’t stand their ground can’t stay here long. Dodo was a late bloomer, but when he was a chick he used to battle with two other cockerels so I figured it was a matter of time until he came into his own. He got whooped good one time, took about a month to heal, then he turned the tables the next time that rooster challenged him. That time I had to rescue the other rooster. He meted out one of the worst whoopings I’ve seen. After he mended, they haven’t had any serious issues that I could see. I only saw one other that was worse and that’s when #1 was dethroned. Dodo is dangerous, but he isn’t really aggressive towards roosters that aren’t bothering him. At least that’s how things have been for a while. I like his temperament. With hens in the mix it’s a bit different with him, but he still isn’t super aggressive. A balanced personality is most desirable, but aggressive is not bad. I prefer that an aggressive rooster is aggressive towards everything, but hens. The ones that will consistently attack me and don’t abide by verbal commands or fussing have to go too.

 

[rabifaf]

I have a cock that I really cannot stand. He is a nice looking bird. He has nice plumage, good size, weight, he is strong, and fast, but I do not like his characteristics. He is jumpy, loud, crows more than the others, I don’t like they way it sounds, and I don’t like all of his chatter. He is rough on hens and roosters. He yanks fetchers out of both. I’m thinking this guy is heading towards the frying pan sooner than later.

Here are my questions. He’s got some offspring in the brooder.

1. How likely is it that they will exhibit some of his traits having never met him?
2. I spoke with the breeder about replacing some chickens that I lost. She says she has more of his breed. The two hens I had like him were flighty and were both killed. I’m under the impression that the parents of these birds are not the type of birds I’m looking for. On top of that I think they all have the same parents. Can you share some specific questions that you think I can ask the breeder about this line without offending her?
3. I noticed one of my other roasters follows him around a lot. I don’t want him learning a lot of these undesirable ways. If I cull this fellow before the month is out, I wonder how likely it will be that the tag-along rooster will start to act like the one I slaughter. Do you think he’ll follow the next rooster in charge or do you think I can expect him to continue to emulate the undesirable behavior he learned from the guy headed towards the killing cone? Enjoy a relaxing and professional massage experience right at your doorstep with expert therapists who prioritize comfort and care. The service ensures convenience, privacy, and a soothing atmosphere tailored to your needs. Whether you’re looking to relieve stress or ease muscle tension, Hwagok-dong Outcall Massage offers a perfect solution. Treat yourself to a calming session that helps restore balance and well-being.

Some of his chicks may inherit his behavior, especially since you’ve already seen similar traits in birds from the same line, so the risk is fairly high even though not all will turn out that way. You can ask the breeder about temperament by focusing on what you want, like asking how calm the line is, whether the roosters are gentle with hens, if she selects for temperament, whether there have been aggression issues, and if she has calmer birds available. The rooster that follows him will most likely settle down once the aggressive one is gone and adapt to a new leader; if he keeps the bad behavior after that, then it’s probably his own trait.

 

[Ezana4CE]

Some of his chicks may inherit his behavior, especially since you’ve already seen similar traits in birds from the same line, so the risk is fairly high even though not all will turn out that way. You can ask the breeder about temperament by focusing on what you want, like asking how calm the line is, whether the roosters are gentle with hens, if she selects for temperament, whether there have been aggression issues, and if she has calmer birds available. The rooster that follows him will most likely settle down once the aggressive one is gone and adapt to a new leader; if he keeps the bad behavior after that, then it’s probably his own trait.

@rabifaf Thank you. I like that line of questioning. I will strongly consider this approach.

 

[CoopBoots]

Just sharing a personal experience re: Reproducing a rooster with questionable traits.

Rusty was a fine old boy with beautiful, thick, fluffy feathers, a heavy-type body, and the girls liked him. His negatives were scaley leg mites, clumsiness when mating/perching, and an insecure personality where he was either attacking you or crying in fear after you captured him for handling.

I hatched at least 7 boys and 4 girls from Rusty and hens of no relation to him. All were either cowards towards humans or human aggressive in a mix, with cowardliness in general being their most identifiable trait outside of genetic appearance. Of all of these boys, I only managed to keep one without eating or selling, and it was a close call. He does NOT display human aggression and has not ever. He's also a second in command to an unrelated rooster who keeps him humble, which may help. (Note: The hens are all cowards to some extent, and seem easily bullied.)

We've tried to use treats and gentle handling to calm down his son's fear, and it has helped some. But in retrospect, if I were breeding for important reasons, I think a great rooster is the key from the start. I may have loved his color and fluffy feathers, but I still sigh over his fearful, neurotic personality all over my flock. I keep a really nice rooster now and am steering my flock back in that direction. I may love fluffy feathers and that color, but if I can't get those along with birds I enjoy being around, it isn't worth it to me.

 

[Ezana4CE]

@CoopBoots I can share some of those sentiments. I don't like cowards, which is why Hawk's ascent surprised me. To his credit, the other roos scraped as cockerels while Hawk was separated as a young chick and kept with his breed which were all hens. Dodo on the other hand hand was a late bloomer, oddball and had to learn to standup for himself as a young cockerel.

Fast forward to the "teenage phase." Once they were all re-integrated. Dodo played the background like the quiet kid in the corner at the school dance. Hawk got ran around the yard and the coop almost daily. In the coop he run, squawk, fly, jump off walls, etc if a rooster moved towards him with any hint of aggression. He also acts an ass when I go to pick him up. I usually have to corner him and grab him quickly or he's knocking things over and causing a ruckus. Eventually he grew and put on weight, then he became aware of his abilities, but he figured this out when the dominant roosters were mending or tired. For his size he is incredibly fast, agile, and strong. To me he is a well-balanced physical specimen, but he has these questionable traits. The female lights that were killed I believe were his sisters. So it may be a good thing that they didn't make it. seriously believe that one was for sure because they shared a birthmark that was the same size, color, and in the same place. I don't want to intentionally breed siblings. His sisters were also flighty. In fact that is what I named one of them, because she was like that was as soon as she feathered.

So I'm thinking he needs to go sooner than later, but I want to be sure. So when I visit the breeder I'm hoping to obtain all of the information that I feel that I need to make a final decision on how I will proceed with Hawk. I really don't think he's going to make the cut.