For those of you who have had a nice cockerel that turned into a mean rooster, can you tell us how old he was when his personality changed? thanks. (I'm asking because I'm considering adopting a rooster, but I want to make sure his personality is mature.)
Yep, I agree withe silkie. For me 18 weeks has usually been the turning point for staying or going. bigzio
My Australorp Roo went 'bad' at five months old. He was actually the perfect Roo as he was very protective of his girls and took good care of them. He just didn't let my kids in the run anymore and even took after them when he was free ranging.
my first roo turned bad at around 8 months, the next one was roughly a year old, and the last was around 18 months. I guess it just depends on the bird? Right now I have 5 roos, and they are all perfect angels!
When adopting a rooster though it will be hard to judge their personality as each roo will have a different reaction in different environments. The roo that watches my flock now doesn't attack anyone and is a very good boy. However, I also adopted him from a home where he attacked any other rooster around and took an eye from his own father. Here he hasn't been a problem even for the other roosters. He is top roo here though. A rooster can turn at any time and pick any new target as he feels depending on the situation. Agressive roo's generally stay that way though and you're pretty safe after about a year I'd think.