Tips on raising a nice roo

[Diveks]

hey everyone so im raising 5 chicks and 3 of them turned out to be cocks, 2 campines started crowing and my one brahma started growing a comb somewhat early. They are now 6-8 weeks. well i am thinking of keeping the brahma as my roo as my two campines keep terrorizing the pullets, while the brahma will break up the fights, share his food, and let everyone sleep on him. i am going to get 2 brahma pullets for the roo so he won't go for the smaller hens too much. well not i am wondering how to raise a good roo that won't terrorize the hens.

my old roo terrorised the hens so bad they won't go 6 feet near him and is now terrified of everything that moves. He also turned really mean to people (he was raised as a solo chick and was very attached to humans). he will try to peck humans and do the mating dance for them and will also turn agressive to people. im guessing this is because he is trying to mate with people and trying to put us below him in the pecking order... my roo wouldn't even fertilize the eggs just constantly plucking feathers even when the hen submits. when a hen gets near his food he will chase her away just like a head hen.

Well i wanna raise a gentleman roo now. the chicks i am raising are sweethearts that will perch up on my hand and ask for pets, the brahma roo will not complain too much if i pick him up too, and he likes pets on the chest but im not petting him on the back as im worried he might not like it. How do i keep this rooster in line while he still does his job with the hens?

 

[Disheygirl]

I read somewhere on this site that you treat Roos like animals and hens like pets. If you treat the roo like a pet, when he gets his hormones, he won’t respect you and will see you as something he needs to dominate.

I’m sure there is a spectrum to this - breed, the temperament they’re born with, etc., but it seemed like good advice. The other was that farmers who raise gentlemen Roos have the sharpest knives. As in, the mean ones are culled / the herd is thinned by temperament alone.

 

[HappyClucker7]

I have seen all kinds of different methods for handling roosters, and raising cockerels to become good roosters. I'm going to tell you what I did with my boys, and what worked for me. However, there is no guarantee that this will work for you as well.

I have two roosters. One is a cochin bantam, the other is an EE. They are about 1 1/2 years old now. They were both raised by a broody hen.
I spent a lot of time with them, sometimes holding and cuddling them, sometimes just watching them be with their mama.
As they grew older, I continued to pick them up often and cuddle with them.
Once they started to get their "manly" hormones, they both reacted differently. The cochin bantam stayed friendly the whole time (he is still an absolute sweetheart).
The EE, however, decided that he was in charge, including over the humans. He started to peck at me, and sometimes charge at me and attack my boots. (It's important for me to mention here that cockerels can often get more aggressive during this time, and this is where you need to show them who is in charge, if they decide to challenge you.)
So, what I did was, every time he tried to attack me, I grabbed him, held him down, and then pushed his head down until his beak touched the ground. I did this all gently, because the goal was not to hurt him, just show him that I'm in charge. After doing this a few times, he pretty much got the point. He would still kind of peck at my boot occasionally, but I just ignored him, and then he stopped (I think he did that because he saw my boots as enemies at that point though).
Once his hormones kind of balanced out, he calmed down. Now he never pecks me, or charges me at all. He loves to be held, and pet and I can do pretty much anything with him, and he just accepts it all. He's a really good boy.

Both boys are really good with the girls as well. What I think helped was that I already had some older girls that kept the boys in check, and told them what was okay, and what was absolutely unacceptable, lol.

 

[Diveks]

I read somewhere on this site that you treat Roos like animals and hens like pets. If you treat the roo like a pet, when he gets his hormones, he won’t respect you and will see you as something he needs to dominate.

I’m sure there is a spectrum to this - breed, the temperament they’re born with, etc., but it seemed like good advice. The other was that farmers who raise gentlemen Roos have the sharpest knives. As in, the mean ones are culled / the herd is thinned by temperament alone.

think ive heard that before, some people prefer to get roos that are scared of people but raise their hens to be tamed. although i bought an adult roo once and after a while that one turned mean. it was sad as he was a beautiful phoenix roo. brahmas are known to be gentle giants i hope mine will turn into one since i don't want a giant roo running toward my guests. then again my evil roo was a cochin which are known to be friendly. im already considering getting rid of my two campines as they are terrorising the other chicks although still very much tamed but will go away if i tell them too.

I have seen all kinds of different methods for handling roosters, and raising cockerels to become good roosters. I'm going to tell you what I did with my boys, and what worked for me. However, there is no guarantee that this will work for you as well.

I have two roosters. One is a cochin bantam, the other is an EE. They are about 1 1/2 years old now. They were both raised by a broody hen.
I spent a lot of time with them, sometimes holding and cuddling them, sometimes just watching them be with their mama.
As they grew older, I continued to pick them up often and cuddle with them.
Once they started to get their "manly" hormones, they both reacted differently. The cochin bantam stayed friendly the whole time (he is still an absolute sweetheart).
The EE, however, decided that he was in charge, including over the humans. He started to peck at me, and sometimes charge at me and attack my boots. (It's important for me to mention here that cockerels can often get more aggressive during this time, and this is where you need to show them who is in charge, if they decide to challenge you.)
So, what I did was, every time he tried to attack me, I grabbed him, held him down, and then pushed his head down until his beak touched the ground. I did this all gently, because the goal was not to hurt him, just show him that I'm in charge. After doing this a few times, he pretty much got the point. He would still kind of peck at my boot occasionally, but I just ignored him, and then he stopped (I think he did that because he saw my boots as enemies at that point though).
Once his hormones kind of balanced out, he calmed down. Now he never pecks me, or charges me at all. He loves to be held, and pet and I can do pretty much anything with him, and he just accepts it all. He's a really good boy.

Both boys are really good with the girls as well. What I think helped was that I already had some older girls that kept the boys in check, and told them what was okay, and what was absolutely unacceptable, lol.

thank you, will be doing what you did if my brahma gets to be a little out of hand. i might have been a little too soft with my old roo as he was a lonely one always sticking to people. Hope my roo will turn out like yours. would love to have a big majestic roo that doesn't attack people.

right now the chicks are not protesting just yet. sometimes i do a little pecking motion with my finger to get them off the table (they roam my work room half of the day) and now they will move away from the place if i look like im going to (peck them). they will still happily go up to me for pets though. they prefer to eat chick crumbs from my hand even though the feeder is full. since they were chicks i do a clucking noise to get them to come to me and feed from my hands (like a broody or a roo does) and unil now they still come over. should i stop this behavior or is it okay to continue it?

 

[Diveks]

Also here is the chick, is this 100% a cockerel?

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

hey everyone so im raising 5 chicks and 3 of them turned out to be cocks, 2 campines started crowing and my one brahma started growing a comb somewhat early. They are now 6-8 weeks. well i am thinking of keeping the brahma as my roo as my two campines keep terrorizing the pullets, while the brahma will break up the fights, share his food, and let everyone sleep on him. i am going to get 2 brahma pullets for the roo so he won't go for the smaller hens too much. well not i am wondering how to raise a good roo that won't terrorize the hens.

my old roo terrorised the hens so bad they won't go 6 feet near him and is now terrified of everything that moves. He also turned really mean to people (he was raised as a solo chick and was very attached to humans). he will try to peck humans and do the mating dance for them and will also turn agressive to people. im guessing this is because he is trying to mate with people and trying to put us below him in the pecking order... my roo wouldn't even fertilize the eggs just constantly plucking feathers even when the hen submits. when a hen gets near his food he will chase her away just like a head hen.

Well i wanna raise a gentleman roo now. the chicks i am raising are sweethearts that will perch up on my hand and ask for pets, the brahma roo will not complain too much if i pick him up too, and he likes pets on the chest but im not petting him on the back as im worried he might not like it. How do i keep this rooster in line while he still does his job with the hens?

Hi, I have raised multiple roosters who were like sons to me. They were the sweetest things and I have one of them, the other three sadly passed away.

I always handled them, brought them in to sit in the house with me, watch TV, I also gave them treats like butter and bread.

One of the big thing is to keep them separate from hens. My first two boys, only fought twice, then they never fought again.

My current son, Ezra he’s an Easter egger x red sex link mix, is such a ladies man and he never even threatened us people, he would never attack anybody he’s so gentle but still does his job as a good rooster.

As for keeping him in line while he’s still in with the hens, treat him a lot, pick him up when he wants to be held, and they don’t mind their backs being pet but I always pet their chests as well. Another big thing is, never and I mean never tease them, never bother the hens because the roosters worry about the hens, that’s why if you have a fussing hen you’re holding he’ll come running over because he’s worried about her.

Hope this helps, just my lucky experience I guess!

 

[RoosterWhisperer]

Also here is the chick, is this 100% a cockerel?
View attachment 2858077
View attachment 2858078

He or she is very pretty! He looks kind of like my Blossom did, one of my first roosters!

 

[HappyClucker7]

Another big thing is, never and I mean never tease them, never bother the hens because the roosters worry about the hens, that’s why if you have a fussing hen you’re holding he’ll come running over because he’s worried about her.

Yes, this is important. If you notice that the rooster is getting upset at what you're doing, then stop. If you're doing something necessary, like treating an injured hen or something, I find that just showing him that she is okay will calm him down.

 

[Diveks]

Hi, I have raised multiple roosters who were like sons to me. They were the sweetest things and I have one of them, the other three sadly passed away.

I always handled them, brought them in to sit in the house with me, watch TV, I also gave them treats like butter and bread.

One of the big thing is to keep them separate from hens. My first two boys, only fought twice, then they never fought again. ?

My current son, Ezra he’s an Easter egger x red sex link mix, is such a ladies man and he never even threatened us people, he would never attack anybody he’s so gentle but still does his job as a good rooster.

As for keeping him in line while he’s still in with the hens, treat him a lot, pick him up when he wants to be held, and they don’t mind their backs being pet but I always pet their chests as well. Another big thing is, never and I mean never tease them, never bother the hens because the roosters worry about the hens, that’s why if you have a fussing hen you’re holding he’ll come running over because he’s worried about her.

Hope this helps, just my lucky experience I guess!?

Wow what a gentle roo you have, hope mine will stay nice his whole life. i do still feed them from my hands. will continues to treat him and pick him up. he is actually the most chill chicken if i pick him up and wont complain (for now).

He or she is very pretty! ?He looks kind of like my Blossom did, one of my first roosters!

thank you! i bet your roo is too would love to see him.

Yes, this is important. If you notice that the rooster is getting upset at what you're doing, then stop. If you're doing something necessary, like treating an injured hen or something, I find that just showing him that she is okay will calm him down.

i see, i do see how other people's roo come over to make sure the hen is okay. i will be more careful with the hens then.

 

[Folly's place]

Nice cock birds have been raised so many different ways, and jerks have been raised the same 'many different ways'. It's because genetics matter a lot in determining rooster behavior. Some breeds and family lines will have a higher % of either polite or human aggressive cockerels, and each cockerel is an individual who could grow up either way.
Cockerels raised in a mixed age flock tend to learn better social skills from the adult hens and roosters, rather than those running amok with hatchmates only.
If a cockerel decides to attack hatchmates or the giants who bring food every day, it's difficult/ impossible to really 'fix' that behavior. Truly well behaved cockerels never have bad thoughts or act out towards humans! They are busy paying attention to their flockmates, and learning to watch out for actual threats, and avoiding unnecessary human interactions.
When we start out with chickens, we all tend to make excuses for cockerels who are jerks, and put up with miserable and dangerous behaviors from them. Over time, many of us learn better! There are so many nice roosters, why try to live with one who's stalking people, who can really injure especially small humans, like children. And do we really want offspring of the idiot?
I want my roosters to be polite when handled, but in general I take a 'hands off' approach with them. They have work to do, and I can make pets of the hens if I have any that are super social.
Mary