Teenage rooster in the spring

[Petaluma Petting Zoo]

I have two young roosters (6 month old english orpingtons) who were the sweetest and friendliest-my absolute favorites....until they weren't. I raised them from babies so I don't want to get rid of them unless necessary, and these are my first roosters too so I looked for any advice I could get.

These boys get quality 'me time' when they do not behave, which is just about every day. They never attacked me but growl and stomp their feet, run towards me and look like they are not pleased with me at all. I ALWAYS go straight towards them when I walk into any area they are in and stand my ground until they stand down. 'Me time' consists of me carrying each of them around and talking to them...they hate it but I think it lets them know I am the boss. Mainly we talk about how they may be too handsome for the BBQ but not too handsome for the fryer.....only time will tell but so far so good. FYI-I always wear gloves when I am picking them up and carrying them around just as a precaution. The ladies aren't too pleased with them lately either so they also get time outs in another bachelor area.

I hope they get better as they get older as these Roosters are absolutely huge already and will be a handful, they are more like the size of a turkey than a chicken.

 

[Folly's place]

Sadly, they are more likely to get worse, not better. 'Sweetest and friendliest' as chicks often means 'boldest' and turns into 'no respect' as those hormones hit.
Here we prefer cockerels who spend their time with their flockmates, and have adult hens and roosters to develop better social skills, and humility.
Some cockerels, no matter how they are raised, will decide to be human aggressive when they mature, because genetics plays a role in this behavior, maybe more important than management.
@Beekissed, @BantyChooks , and @Shadrach all have good articles about roosters, worth reading. Shadracks flock is managed differently than most of ours, so take that into account too.
Mary