Rooster questions. Need advice

[Skyleen13]

I’ve got a mixed flock of 18 birds. Half are full grown hens. Other half a pullets about to start laying in the next couple weeks. I’ve got 1full grown rooster that’s about 2 years old. He’s been a great breeder of my gals & super protector. Now however, I’ve got a 5 month old rooster who’s super nice & likes petting him. He’s so far way more friendly then our current rooster who doesn’t want anything to do with us. He runs away from us & bites whenever we have to catch him for his monthly check ups. ( I do that to make sure no one has any hidden issues or are getting mite/flea/tick infestations) My new young rooster willingly let’s us hold him & loves his chin scratched. He also lets us pet him all the time.

My questions are thus:

1.What age do roosters start crowing/maturing?
2. Should I be worried about my 2 roosters fighting once my little boy starts being a big boy?
3. Do roosters behaviors change once they start maturing?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

 

[SueT]

That your older rooster is standoffish isn't a bad thing. From BYC, I've learned it's preferable that they keep their distance. Overly friendly cockerels can become aggressive, so beware. They do change as they mature.

 

[sourland]

1) I've had some cockerels (bantams) crow in the brooder and others not until 6 months + (large, slower maturing breeds.)

2) Generally somewhere along the line the cockerel will challenge the flock leader.

3) Some do, some don't.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

I’ve got a mixed flock of 18 birds. Half are full grown hens. Other half a pullets about to start laying in the next couple weeks. I’ve got 1full grown rooster that’s about 2 years old. He’s been a great breeder of my gals & super protector. Now however, I’ve got a 5 month old rooster who’s super nice & likes petting him. He’s so far way more friendly then our current rooster who doesn’t want anything to do with us. He runs away from us & bites whenever we have to catch him for his monthly check ups. ( I do that to make sure no one has any hidden issues or are getting mite/flea/tick infestations) My new young rooster willingly let’s us hold him & loves his chin scratched. He also lets us pet him all the time.

My questions are thus:

1.What age do roosters start crowing/maturing?
2. Should I be worried about my 2 roosters fighting once my little boy starts being a big boy?
3. Do roosters behaviors change once they start maturing?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Some of mine started crowing at 3 mos, others not til 4 mos, and the 1st few weeks learning to crow sounded hilarious, like a young Roo gargling.

In a confined coop & pen there may be sparring, then maybe fighting, but it depends on personalities. A friend of mine has a few Roos with hens in about an acre fenced in, they seem to get along, but they grew up together & have a large area. I have a lot of predators & right now I have safe pens that are not as large as I'd like. I have 11 Roosters, 6 are a few yrs old. The 5 young Roos & 5 hens were just hatched 8-9 mos ago. I tried keeping them all together as long as they were friendly with eachother, but at 4 mos. of age the 2 chunk Wyandottes began bullying. So I tried to remaining 3 young Roos as a bachelor group but they just now started bickering with the RIR, so now just the Buff Orp & Easter Egger are together with no hens. Once they're separated it is nearly impossible to put them back together. In the spring I plan on another coop, with sections, so every Roo will have his own harem & space with his hens.

So mine have become more Roo-like with eachother, but I am happy to say that 10 of my Roos are sweet as can be with me, and that's probably because I pet and hug them every single day. I hope they stay sweet with me. The 1 Roo that was always feisty was my very 1st Roo 5 yrs ago, an ornery Barred Rock, but I know how to avoid being attacked, I talk sweet & say hi to him, do not get close to "his hen" or in between him & his hen & then he is calm enough for me to quickly scoop him up, tuck him under my arm or sit him on my lap. As grumpy as that 1 Roo is, he does enjoy being on my lap when I check him over or pet him, he's a funny boy.

I love my flock! They're so fluffy, funny & huggable.

 

[Skyleen13]

1) I've had some cockerels (bantams) crow in the brooder and others not until 6 months + (large, slower maturing breeds.)

2) Generally somewhere along the line the cockerel will challenge the flock leader.

3) Some do, some don't.

Thank you!

 

[halefamily_flock]

I've had good experience keeping multiple roosters. My original roosters all grew up together, and I've introduced young cockerels to the flock successfully as well. It sounds like your boys are already together now? If so, that's a good start. I have had a few major bloody battles, but I actually think I caused them by disrupting the pecking order for my breeding projects. If you really like this new rooster, I would suggest letting him stick around until there's actually a problem. In the meantime, be sure to have a separate coop or pen, large dog crate, etc. so you can separate them if they get into a bloody battle that lasts more than 15-20 min. Also, be prepared to remove one of them, if they don't work out together, or if your hens show signs of "overuse" (e.g. missing back feathers, damaged combs, etc). By giving them as much time as possible, if/until it's absolutely necessary to remove one, you'll get a chance to see how the cockerel will turn out before getting rid of your other rooster. You should have a pretty good idea of his adult personality within the next few months.

Here are some more details & rooster stories, if you're interested...
too many roosters

 

[Skyleen13]

I've had good experience keeping multiple roosters. My original roosters all grew up together, and I've introduced young cockerels to the flock successfully as well. It sounds like your boys are already together now? If so, that's a good start. I have had a few major bloody battles, but I actually think I caused them by disrupting the pecking order for my breeding projects. If you really like this new rooster, I would suggest letting him stick around until there's actually a problem. In the meantime, be sure to have a separate coop or pen, large dog crate, etc. so you can separate them if they get into a bloody battle that lasts more than 15-20 min. Also, be prepared to remove one of them, if they don't work out together, or if your hens show signs of "overuse" (e.g. missing back feathers, damaged combs, etc). By giving them as much time as possible, if/until it's absolutely necessary to remove one, you'll get a chance to see how the cockerel will turn out before getting rid of your other rooster. You should have a pretty good idea of his adult personality within the next few months.

Here are some more details & rooster stories, if you're interested...
too many roosters

Thank you! Yes both of them are in the same run together. Have been for the last month. My adult rooster put him in his place once by pinning him down & that was it. They get along just fine right now. My juvenile is named Rowdy. Adult is Heyhey.

 

[bobbi-j]

I’ve got a mixed flock of 18 birds. Half are full grown hens. Other half a pullets about to start laying in the next couple weeks. I’ve got 1full grown rooster that’s about 2 years old. He’s been a great breeder of my gals & super protector. Now however, I’ve got a 5 month old rooster who’s super nice & likes petting him. He’s so far way more friendly then our current rooster who doesn’t want anything to do with us. He runs away from us & bites whenever we have to catch him for his monthly check ups. ( I do that to make sure no one has any hidden issues or are getting mite/flea/tick infestations) My new young rooster willingly let’s us hold him & loves his chin scratched. He also lets us pet him all the time.

My questions are thus:

1.What age do roosters start crowing/maturing?
2. Should I be worried about my 2 roosters fighting once my little boy starts being a big boy?
3. Do roosters behaviors change once they start maturing?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

You have a mature rooster and a cockerel. Your cockerel could start crowing any time. I agree that at some point he will challenge your rooster. There is no way to know how that will go until it happens. My neighbor had a young rooster kill her older one. I would suggest you have a plan ready ASAP to separate the two if things get ugly (and that can happen fast). Your cockerel may or may not continue to enjoy being handled. You’ll find out as he matures. Personally, I prefer a stand-offish rooster that respects my space. Have you tried handling and checking yours over at night? He might handle it better.

 

[Liz Birdlover]

My experience with one rooster. My first rooster well he was an accident. he turns one in March but he was pretty aggressive and just recently he started to cuddle with me. If they become aggressive towards you try to tame them. first show them you're the boss, second show them that you not scared and can pick them up. Mine doesn't like tall men because they think of them as an acomptiosion.

None of my birds likes tall or really big people....the chickens, pigeons or house birds, LOL, I'm very petite. They don't like guys wearing baseball hats either, my Roo wanted to kick that guy's butt til the hat flew off his head while running from Roo, too funny. Once the hat hit the ground Roo pranced around like nothing happened.

 

[Annalyse]

None of my birds likes tall or really big people....the chickens, pigeons or house birds, LOL, I'm very petite. They don't like guys wearing baseball hats either, my Roo wanted to kick that guy's butt til the hat flew off his head while running from Roo, too funny. Once the hat hit the ground Roo pranced around like nothing happened.

Ha I'm very tall for my age but my rooster figured out that I'm the boss and only listens to me. Right now hes in a mood because I didnt cuddle him yesterday so now I have to start all over again to regain his trust lol