Roosters

[Ridgerunner]

what I want to know is what is good and proper behavior for a young rooster? As far as how he treats the ladies… should he ever chase them or should he wait till they squat??

You can get different behaviors as they go through puberty. The girls each have their own personality and have an effect on this too, both the mature hens and the immature pullets. Not all mature hens and immature pullets act the same either. Some can be brutal, many are more subservient.

Some boys can be intimidated by more dominant males, even if they are the same age. They do not crow or show any interest in the girls. Some don't worry about any of that, they can't be intimidated. Some boys will fight each other, at least until they are defeated a few times. Some fights may be to the death but usually when one starts losing he runs away. Sometimes the boys may gang up on the girls where they all (or several) forcibly mate with one or more. The boys can often set up a ranking where one is dominant over the others. Often they can split the girls between themselves with each keeping his own harem but you generally need a lot of territory for this to work.

But at some point they usually mature enough to start acting like adults. With pullets, that's typically when they start to lay. It can vary a lot with cockerels, it is hard to generalize. Some older hens can adjust to a rooster in the flock easier than others. With the majority they settle into a pretty peaceful flock but some individuals never seem to grow up. Some hens can never allow a male to become flock master, that can get bloody. Some boys are wimps all their lives. Most flocks will settle with a male flock master where they all get along really peacefully but occasionally you get one that never becomes peaceful. The rooster is just a brute. Some hens can be pretty brutal, especially if the rooster is a wimp. Some flocks can keep different males, especially if you have enough room for them to set up a separate flock.

A lot of different things can possibly happen, some depending on individual personalities and some depending on how much room they have, among other things. No one can tell you for sure how your situation will work out.

 

[WhoDatChick]

You can get different behaviors as they go through puberty. The girls each have their own personality and have an effect on this too, both the mature hens and the immature pullets. Not all mature hens and immature pullets act the same either. Some can be brutal, many are more subservient.

Some boys can be intimidated by more dominant males, even if they are the same age. They do not crow or show any interest in the girls. Some don't worry about any of that, they can't be intimidated. Some boys will fight each other, at least until they are defeated a few times. Some fights may be to the death but usually when one starts losing he runs away. Sometimes the boys may gang up on the girls where they all (or several) forcibly mate with one or more. The boys can often set up a ranking where one is dominant over the others. Often they can split the girls between themselves with each keeping his own harem but you generally need a lot of territory for this to work.

But at some point they usually mature enough to start acting like adults. With pullets, that's typically when they start to lay. It can vary a lot with cockerels, it is hard to generalize. Some older hens can adjust to a rooster in the flock easier than others. With the majority they settle into a pretty peaceful flock but some individuals never seem to grow up. Some hens can never allow a male to become flock master, that can get bloody. Some boys are wimps all their lives. Most flocks will settle with a male flock master where they all get along really peacefully but occasionally you get one that never becomes peaceful. The rooster is just a brute. Some hens can be pretty brutal, especially if the rooster is a wimp. Some flocks can keep different males, especially if you have enough room for them to set up a separate flock.

A lot of different things can possibly happen, some depending on individual personalities and some depending on how much room they have, among other things. No one can tell you for sure how your situation will work out.

Thank you!
So basically, time will tell
I would like to get rid of the two younger ones and just try the older and if he turns out badly then get rid of him too! The problem is, no one wants a rooster! So at this point I don’t know what to do…

 

[McChooky]

Thank you!
So basically, time will tell
I would like to get rid of the two younger ones and just try the older and if he turns out badly then get rid of him too! The problem is, no one wants a rooster! So at this point I don’t know what to do…

Being chased is reason enough for the hens to quit laying in this heat. Maybe locking the cockerels up in a separate pen or run 1/2 the day would give the hens some peace?

 

[arazla]

Consider an all rooster flock. It works great for some people. They establish a new pecking order and a new head rooster. It's recommended to separate the roosters from the hens so they don't see them, but apparently hearing them is okay, though I'm getting slightly different results as anytime a hen does the egg song, one of my separated roos echos her cry and comes running in alarm.

I currently have a flock of 2 roos and another flock with 2 roos and 4 hens. They were all raised together though and for some reason head roo still wants the #2 roo with the mixed flock. They get along really well. We have healthy eggs so far and everyone's feathers are gleaming and gorgeous compared to everyone else's chickens I've seen, but maybe it's because they're still young (6 months). My only worry is that it will stress the girls out eventually so I'm adding more hens to the main flock. I'm also not sure whether 2 roosters is enough for a roo flock. Head roo in the rooster flock wants human attention at all times. It's sort of like having a dog that wants to be with you, humps your foot and then jumps in your lap. Just replace barking with sad crowing when you leave. And a lot of biting because that's what roosters do when they mate. So you gotta wear high boots, which I do anyway. I don't know what the answer is, but it's sad to go to the chicken classifieds and see "rooster to a good home" over and over.