Roosters galore!

[Kymw90]

Can we pin this please? Have a thread dedicated to rooster experiences. The good the bad and the really ugly plus all the inbetween bits.

How do you manage your rooster/s?

Have you tamed a wild beast?

Do you only have roosters?

(As I'm typing I have a family of rats enjoying the poison I put down. **** rats!!)

Your really mean roosters?

 

[chfite]

We had two roosters. They got to where they were overmating the hens all the time. One of them went to live elsewhere.

The other one gets along with his nine hens. He has a couple of favorites. They have aprons to prove it.

He tends to want to peck some folks when they come around. If it gets out of hand, the freezer is right over there.

Chris

 

[Mrs. K]

Darth Vador is being invited to dinner on Sunday. He is just to aggressive to me and the hens. He is just plain mean. I would have liked to keep him through the summer, but he is getting meaner and the hens are getting more ragged looking. He is going to taste just fine!

 

[shmccarthy]

I've had various experiences with roosters.

Giovanni was one rooster I had. He's a Mille fleur d'uccle and was extremely sweet...as a cockerel. Once his hormones kicked in he became very aggressive. I almost didn't believe it at first because he was always so nice to me. My mom went to see them one day and he puffed up and jumped at the fence. He found a new home quite quickly. I did tell the new owners he's had a history of aggression and to make sure he has plenty of hens. I believe he was aggressive because I had another bantam rooster and only one bantam hen.

Rico was my smallest rooster. He is a Golden Sebright mix. That didn't keep him from being top of the pecking order though. He had big spurs and a big attitude. He jumped at my face and went to flog my face and after that he also found a new home with a lot more hens.

Hermes is the only rooster I have now. He is an Easter egger and is the best rooster I've ever had.
Initially I didn't want a rooster yet, being my first time raising chickens by myself. I got some factory sexed pullets and he always concerned me. He was bigger than the others and I just told myself "she" was a fast grower. I knew it was over when I heard him crow for the first time at 9 months.
When he finds treats he makes loud noises and looks at the treat (usually a worm) and keeps looking at the hens. He always gives treats he finds to his hens first and after they've all had some, he then eats. He's not rough on his girls and likes to show of his dancing skills. He starts to crow at 4:45 on the nose and stops around 5:30. He's never been aggressive with me but I learned from the other roosters I had to keep that. I pick him up, not to pet him or hold him, but to let him know I can pick him up if I want. He pecked my foot, really hard, one time when I walked past him and I picked him up by his feet and held him upside down until he calmed down. He's never done anything like it since. He will take treats out of my hand but he gets out of my way if I walk at him. He's a real sweetie and the best rooster I've ever had.

 

[RoostersCrow HensDeliver!]

Past roosters :
Scotts Dumpy mix (Scott)- very good to his girls, terrified of me (can be a good thing); was killed by raccoons
3 Barred Rock cockerals - ganged up on the hens, fought each other, flew at my face my face during a fight ; were killed by me
1 Rhode Island Red - attentive to hens, aggressive with dog, spurred me in the face when I got eggs out of the nest box ; shipped to auction for meat
Current Roosters:
1 EE (Czar)- very subordinate to me, very good with ladies and good fertility rate with 23 hens ; I gave him to my mother in law because he would NEVER attack anyone & she needed a trustworthy Roo. I am going to hatch some chicks from him
1 Black Australorp (Big)- not a great hawk watcher, doesn't breed many hens, lazy and eats a lot of feed ; he will be processed after I hatch some chicks from him
1 Black sex Link (Rob) - very alert for predators, very attentive to the hens food giving and otherwise, subordinate to me but not skittish ; he will be kept unless his attitude changes

I will be getting some Black Copper Marans so I will see what their temperaments are like.

An important thing to keep in mind is HOW the roosters are raised. I have noticed that the roosters raised like pets are more aggressive than the roos raised like livestock.