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.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!
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.
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