The Evolution of Atlas: A Breeding (and Chat) Thread

[getaclue]

Your perimeter is fenced, right?

 

[speckledhen]

Your perimeter is fenced, right?

Yes, it is. Of course, livestock fencing is no match for a bear, who would just crush it.

 

[speckledhen]

Oh, dear. A woman who bought a Brahma pair from me when I had all those chicks PM'd me on FB to ask about the behavior of her splash cockerel, Zeus. She basically says he is a coward, takes food from the girls instead of feeding them and runs from trouble rather than defend his girl from the others. Mind you, he's still a baby, not a year old yet. I had to remind her that Brahmas are super slow to mature and if there is another rooster there (she has a D'Uccle), he considers himself not in charge and will act accordingly; size does not matter. She says the D'Uccle, Rocky, is no threat.

I told her that, in Zeus's mind, though she thinks Rocky is not threat, Rocky is the older rooster in charge and Zeus will act accordingly, especially as a youngster. We have to remember that they do not think like we think or act to suit our expectations. So, Rocky is the main rooster, no matter his size, in Zeus's mind, at least right now. I also told her no one can say how a rooster will turn out. They have breed traits that sometimes govern their behavior, if they are true to the breed as most breeder quality birds tend to be over hatchery stock, but they are also individuals and their behavior is influenced by that as well as situations they find themselves in, like being low on the totem pole or predator attacks, etc. She must remember that Brahmas take a very long time to mature. Also, what you expect from any rooster may not be reasonable. For instance, I told her how Isaac's M.O. was to get the girls back to the coop when in danger, not to confront a predator head-on unless it was unavoidable. That actually makes perfect sense because if he falls, they are completely vulnerable. He would pretty much throw his sons at the time into the front line and take as many hens as would follow him back to the coop and safety. So, what we think a rooster ought to do is sometimes not what is in his own mind as the best course of action.

In the end, I told her to give him time, give him space to do his roosterly duties and don't baby him as much (though he's hard to resist) and see what happens. Time will tell. She really is expecting Rambo Rooster, like many folks do, not a big fluffy, teddy bear like he is now.

She asked what I considered babying, picking him up? Then she put a crying emoji, LOL. I said, "Haha, I know, I know, Bash is so super sweet, it's hard to resist hugging and picking him up, etc. But, yes, when he is learning to be a rooster, he needs to have space, literally and figuratively, to do his job. If you have to pick him up to cut toenails or put him somewhere, that's fine, but just to cuddle him, yeah, back off that a little bit. It's hard! These Brahma boys make you want to hold them! They like it. You can do that later, at night, when he's "off duty", pet him on the roost, but during the day, he needs his feet on the ground to be on guard. And eventually, I think you'll see the behavior you expect, or closer to it."

 

[getaclue]

Good advice.

 

[speckledhen]

Good advice.

Thanks. Poor boy can't be a man and be a baby at the same time. She has to let go a little bit so he can grow up.

 

[getaclue]

I too suspect that age is the number 1 reason, as you stated. Again, I agree the number 2 reason is that he's not the alpha, so it's going to take him a bit longer to assume the role of protector. Exactly what is it that she's expecting him to defend her flock from? Maybe it's a bit of an unreasonable expectation of what they're to defend her flock from. They're roosters, not LGD's.

 

[speckledhen]

I too suspect that age is the number 1 reason, as you stated. Again, I agree the number 2 reason is that he's not the alpha, so it's going to take him a bit longer to assume the role of protector. Exactly what is it that she's expecting him to defend her flock from? Maybe it's a bit of an unreasonable expectation of what they're to defend her flock from. They're roosters, not LGD's.

What it is is older birds in the flock. Hera, the pullet, is picked on and she expects Zeus to protect her. Heck, he's just a baby, too.

 

[getaclue]

Um, pullets get picked on. If it gets out of hand, it's the alpha rooster's job to deal with it. She's making unreasonable expectations on Zeus.

 

[1muttsfan]

One of my roosters last year took forever to start caring for his girls, he was a food hog and ran at the first sign of danger. He is a great boy now, bold and watchful, and calls his girls in for food.

 

[speckledhen]

Um, pullets get picked on. If it gets out of hand, it's the alpha rooster's job to deal with it. She's making unreasonable expectations on Zeus.

Yes, and most definitely, of a Brahma youngster. They are very mild-mannered boys as it is. I've seen young cockerels step up to the plate in the face of real danger, but they were different breeds and that was not at all expected of them. For instance, the 15 week old son of Suede that my Atlas is named for left a playpen-like enclosure he shared with his brother and sister to jump into the fray when a Rottweiler pushed into my friend's coop. He didn't have to, he was safe in there, but he and his brother both jumped out and fought with several other grown roosters (and hens) to quash the threat. He lost his life, of course, but he was so unusually brave, I felt it was fitting to name my Atlas after him. But, that is not what you want them to do when they have zero weaponry. She may feel differently if she had to mop up blood from doofus roosters fighting each other for no reason, like Hector and Spike.

One of my roosters last year took forever to start caring for his girls, he was a food hog and ran at the first sign of danger. He is a great boy now, bold and watchful, and calls his girls in for food.

Yup, exactly. Time fixes that with most roosters.