Rooster questions. Need advice

[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]

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.

He hates us more at night. He beds down underneath the hens at night on their roosts. He gets super defensive & bite happy at night.

 

[Annalyse]

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.

 

[Skyleen13]

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.

Beautiful boys! Thank you for the advice. So far no problems but I’m ready if something should happen. Right now my young cockerel respects my rooster & they keep to themselves.

 

[Cee]

I'd continue with the wait and see. I don't think we really know what personality they end up with until they finish puberty. He could stay sweet or change to a jerk.
I also think having a plan is wise. Have a "ready cage" now to swiftly remove one of them should things escalate. In the meantime create a more permanent living place (if keeping both is a must).
Consider taking care of those girls by getting saddles to protect their bald parts before you get open wounds and infections.

 

[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

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

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!

Roosters will fight once in a while, but I have at least four roosters in a bachelor pen and they rarely ever fight, we also have four roosters in with our large flock of hens and they never fight at all, if you have enough hens to go around they mostly won’t fight a lot they may challenge for their dominant territory lines but that’s just about it.

Behaviors will change, for example my sister has a Bantam mix rooster and he is a sweet little boy but he went through this snippy phase, and then was sweet again once he got older. They just kind of fluctuate as they’re growing and trying to find out who they really are!

This is my experiences, just giving out some hopefully good advice!

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

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

My sisters Buff Brahma x Bantam Cochin mix rooster is just like that she gives hi. hugs and kisses pretty much every night.

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

Thank you. We’re taking a wait & see approach to our young one. We are constantly out in the yard handling him & giving him treats to hopefully decrease the chance that he will become hostile once he matures. Our older rooster is starting to become a real poop towards our hens. His favorite hens he won’t leave alone. He keeps mounting them constantly & both their necks & backs are becoming bald.

Sounds like a good move to me!

always give them treats and cuddles I did that and never once have I raised a mean rooster, hence my BYC name!

Then again I also have lots of bald ladies, but it’s not just the roosters doing it , hens will do it to each other, and the hens even pecked my main roosters tail so much he’s now a bobtail chicken!