Such a polite guy...?

[KBaker71]

My strong-willed rooster will not eat out of my hand, although his "ladies" will. I'm always trying to gain his trust, so this morning I fed them mealworms as a nice treat. He would take one, then drop it, keeping his beak close to it and cluck until one of the ladies ate it. He did this 4 or 5 more times, so I barricaded the ladies in the coop and offered him another. He took it, dropped it, and refused to eat it. He would not take another one. Eventually my Polish hen snuck past me and ate it. Is this "polite" behavior normal?

 

[Aapomp831]

My strong-willed rooster will not eat out of my hand, although his "ladies" will. I'm always trying to gain his trust, so this morning I fed them mealworms as a nice treat. He would take one, then drop it, keeping his beak close to it and cluck until one of the ladies ate it. He did this 4 or 5 more times, so I barricaded the ladies in the coop and offered him another. He took it, dropped it, and refused to eat it. He would not take another one. Eventually my Polish hen snuck past me and ate it. Is this "polite" behavior normal?

Yes! That’s exactly what a rooster is supposed to do. Don’t worry about having a good relationship with him; as long as he is respectful of you and your space, don’t push the issue. Roosters should be fierce and protective, and IMO a cuddly rooster is a worthless rooster (yes, yes - before people freak out about their personal stories of cuddly yet protective roosters - this is just what I’ve experienced personally with mine).

 

[JacinLarkwell]

It's a sign of a good flockmaster. They should care more about their ladies being happy than he is

 

[Anne02]

I agree. I can't get my roo to eat out of my hand. The closest he's willingly come to me was to peck my boot this morning.

 

[Sally PB]

When I have offered my cockerel treats out of my hand, he will take them and pass them to one of the pullets. He will eat the 4th or 5th one. But if the ladies are nearby, he will pass it on or drop it.

 

[RiverOtter]

Sounds like a perfect gentleman to me

 

[JaeG]

Sounds like a perfect gentleman to me

x2.

One of our cockerels recently got the chop because he did not do this - he'd take the biggest piece (if it was food scraps) and run for it before anyone else could nab a bit. Or if it was just loose feed he'd be in first to be stuffing his face, while making the tidbitting sound, but he really couldn't have cared less how the ladies were faring. At 9 months old he was also abusive towards our hens and he frequently gave them bloody combs. We kept our little bantam cockerel who is, like your boy, the perfect gentleman. He takes such sweet and good care of his girls, calling them for food then standing back and proudly watching them all eat.

We have another younger cockerel in another pen who has started grabbing a mouthful of whatever he can find (even dead grass) and tidbitting to the pullets, and sometimes even to me. It's quite funny.

 

[kcan2]

My strong-willed rooster will not eat out of my hand, although his "ladies" will. I'm always trying to gain his trust, so this morning I fed them mealworms as a nice treat. He would take one, then drop it, keeping his beak close to it and cluck until one of the ladies ate it. He did this 4 or 5 more times, so I barricaded the ladies in the coop and offered him another. He took it, dropped it, and refused to eat it. He would not take another one. Eventually my Polish hen snuck past me and ate it. Is this "polite" behavior normal?

Nice guys finish last!