Tips on working with a mean 2 year old rooster?

[Folly's place]

Not a big suprise!
Mary

 

[hysop]

I have to make a correction. A short time ago I received some updated pictures of Raptor's brother and the owner told me he has progressed to flogging.

Now that you mention that, one of my hens hatched chicks last year from that rooster and one was for sure a male and from day one he was feisty. He would jump and try to peck at any hands reaching in to pick him up. We thought it was cute, but now that I think about it he may have grown up to be a meanie rooster or at least a rooster that thought he was the boss. Unfortunately that small set of chicks passed away due to the summer heat.

Maybe breeding* Masala won’t be the smartest thing.

 

[Folly's place]

Not all the chicks from a cranky rooster will be difficult, but some very likely will be, and evaluating his pullets is also harder.
I have a fairly unpleasant hen, she bites when in the nest, not broody, and she won't be having offspring here.
At least plan to remove any offspring who are too bold and 'friendly', as often those cockerels aren't so nice as adults.
mary

 

[hysop]

Not all the chicks from a cranky rooster will be difficult, but some very likely will be, and evaluating his pullets is also harder.
I have a fairly unpleasant hen, she bites when in the nest, not broody, and she won't be having offspring here.
At least plan to remove any offspring who are too bold and 'friendly', as often those cockerels aren't so nice as adults.
mary

I have 3 eggs from him in my incubator on Day 11. I’ll pay attention to their temperaments more closely, if they hatch, they’re doing well so far.

 

[Trevorusn]

Happy for what works for you but do you feel you can trust him to be equally submissive to another person or a child who may be near him? That's what resolved it for me. I just didn't have that confidence.

Unfortunately, we're in the vND quarantine zone so I couldn't move or rehome our mean guy. The only way out for us was to put him down and that's what kept us hanging on for so long. But, in the end, doing just that was a good decision and we're so much happier and more relaxed around our backyard knowing that everyone's safe.

Yes, around my wife and child I do. Around someone he hasn't seen before, I would not expect the same level of "docility" , same with my other fellas and my pups too. Culling your roo may have worked for you, but would not be a choice for others. You said a key word in your response...confidence. I show my child and wife to be confident around them, never fear them. I'm glad I did some research, in fact the whole routine I described I read in an article on this forum, and found a method that with a little effort paid off big dividends. Now I have a big fella who is pretty respectful of us but watchful of his ladies, best possible outcome for me.

 

[Trevorusn]

He will be two years old this March. And he’s a black jersey giant. He’s actually been doing a lot better. We moved him to a new area so he hasn’t established his territory and I talk softly to him and have started giving scratch feed as a treat every couple of days. It seems to be working. Here’s a pic of him and his hens today. I will continue working with him. One Red Sex Link is not in the pic, she was in the nesting boxes laying an egg.
View attachment 2032990

JGs are usually quite mellow, the new territory may help to change some of his behaviors, versus keeping him in an established flock where he is boss.

 

[Trevorusn]

Wow guys! Have you tried picking him up everyday and carrying him around? He could possibly just feel the need to protect his ladies. Carry him around with you EVERYWHERE. Let him know your the boss and your not going to hurt his ladies. After he gets better with you try having everyone else hold him and pet him. Also next time he tries to attack you pin him down. Hold him there until he stops struggling then hold him down a while longer. Unfortunately if these seem to do nothing maybe he should end up joining someone for dinner. He shouldn’t be sold to anyone else as a pet.

(I haven’t read everyone’s post sorry if I’m repeating something someone might have already said)

Sometimes moving him to new pastures may indeed help calm him. One of my SF roos was going to be stew for attacking a mom, but with us he is an absolute gentleman, probably the best behaved of ALL my chickens, male or female. However, whoever such a roo gets rehomed to should indeed be made fully aware of all past aggression.

 

[hysop]

JGs are usually quite mellow, the new territory may help to change some of his behaviors, versus keeping him in an established flock where he is boss.

Thanks. That’s what I’m hoping. He’s been doing well so far and I will remain hopeful.

 

[Trevorusn]

Is that absolutely certain?

The rooster we have now is the progeny of the one we were forced to put down. So far, at 8mo, Rocky has demonstrated no signs of aggression. I'm counting on that because he's the only way we can refresh our flock within the vND quarantine zone.

Of course he's carrying 2 sets of genes. One from his aggressive Black Cooper Marans daddy and one from his docile Cream Legbar mama. I'm hoping there's at least a 50% chance we can rely on his continued sociable behavior.

Still isn't any concrete evidence that "meanness" is genetic, if your cockerel now has been great through his hormonal stage, chances are good he will continue to be.

 

[Trevorusn]

Thanks. That’s what I’m hoping. He’s been doing well so far and I will remain hopeful.

Glad to hear this, it takes effort but then again raising poultry is not for the lazy lol. The payoff in the end is worth the effort.