To keep him or not....advice?

[Aunt Angus]

He is so beautiful!!!! Sebright right?

Yeppers! Obviously not SOP, but I think he's gorgeous. And he does a good job alerting the girls. He has trouble mating with my big girls, though, and he sometimes damages their feathers. And my top hen will NOT submit to him. They get into arguments pretty regularly. It's hilarious.

 

[BarredRockMom]

I have, like, a billion pics of him! Haha!

Here he is in all of his 1.2lbs of glory! He and I have had an interesting relationship. He was my house rooster for about 6 months. I think that actually calmed him down. He was a lamb without his harem.
He is legend.
He is Picotee.
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Oh, I just love him!!! He's so handsome!

 

[docteurshepherd]

I have, like, a billion pics of him! Haha!

Here he is in all of his 1.2lbs of glory! He and I have had an interesting relationship. He was my house rooster for about 6 months. I think that actually calmed him down. He was a lamb without his harem.
He is legend.
He is Picotee.

There's no way I'd be culling that bird. I guess I do have a soft spot for sebrights too though as my first chickens ever were a pair of golden sebrights. Also you have it inside, WITH a diaper and are asking about culling? Oh boy lol.. Yeah if that were me, I'd try rehoming if I was that attached. And if I had literally no reason to not keep him like you said in your original post.. I mean, again, why? I wouldn't. If he gets mean later on you can always change your mind and cull.
Also this may be controversial but I will still argue forever that hens are much happier with a rooster, not to mention the ways they help. Protectors, they alert to predators, maintaining order in the flock etc.. others think they're just useless noisy birds with no value. I couldn't disagree more.

 

[Aunt Angus]

There's no way I'd be culling that bird. Also you have it inside, WITH a diaper and are asking about culling? Oh boy lol.. Yeah if that were me, I'd try rehoming if I was that attached. And if I had literally no reason to not keep him like you said in your original post.. I mean, again, why? I wouldn't. If he gets mean later on you can always change your mind and cull.

Oh, I'm not the OP. I literally bought a new house to a) start a small farm and b) to keep my rooster. He was inside while I was "between" houses (after selling my old house and waiting for my new loan to close). Thatsmy mom's house. In suburbia. Her neighbor complained, so inside he came.

I actually tried to rehome him. I even offered to PAY monthly to get someone to take him. No takers. He's back with his ladies now, but I threaten him with the diaper when he gets uppity.

 

[docteurshepherd]

Oh, I'm not the OP. I literally bought a new house to a) start a small farm and b) to keep my rooster. He was inside while I was "between" houses (after selling my old house and waiting for my new loan to close). Thatsmy mom's house. In suburbia. Her neighbor complained, so inside he came.

I actually tried to rehome him. I even offered to PAY monthly to get someone to take him. No takers. He's back with his ladies now, but I threaten him with the diaper when he gets uppity.

Awwwww you're a wonderful owner. Sorry for the mistake, I should've double checked, I'm tired forgive me.

 

[Ebony Rose]

I would delay putting this good boy on your dinner table. Your hens like him, and that's a very important vote in his favor. You can always invite him FOR dinner if his demeanor towards humans changes for the worst.

 

[Aunt Angus]

Awwwww you're a wonderful owner. Sorry for the mistake, I should've double checked, I'm tired forgive me.

No need to apologize! Gives me a chance to talk about Picotee.

But to the OP - give him a chance. I agree with everyone else. You'll either end up with a great rooster for your flock or dinner. It's a win-win, really!

 

[Artichoke Lover]

I say keep him! It’s true that he could become aggressive later but if he does you can always cull him later or sell him. He sounds like a great roo though. He may go through a short stage of aggression in his teens so to speak. 4/5 of mine did and they all are calm friendly roosters now. I only have 1 that I sometimes have trouble with but that’s because he hates the color red. As long as I don’t wear red there are no problems. Also a good way to train a rooster not to attack you is to use an umbrella. If he starts acting aggressive carry an umbrella for a few weeks. You open and close it rapidly. Scares the daylights out of them but doesn’t hurt them like carrying them upside down.

 

[BarredRockMom]

So we hatched 12 chicks and 7 (or 8 possibly) are roosters. I have not gotten attached to any....until now. They will all be culled on Jan 18th, but I'm hesitating on one. I am in need of advice, or maybe some sense talked into me....
-He has been very docile. He will approach me, take food gently and allow me to pick him up and hold him while eating from my hand. This is NOT the case with any of the other cockerels.
-He is good with the pullets and as he ages even hangs out with the older gals who seem to tolerate him more than the other obnoxious cockerels. The other boys are more aggressive and still bully the pullets.
-He much prefers hanging with the hens than sparring with the hoodlums.
-IF he gets challenged he ends it quickly, not overly aggressive, and walks away calmly.
Being new to chickens I am only assuming that these would be some personality traits you would watch out for if you are wanting a rooster. Am I correct?

Our situation:
-We live in an urban area that allows roosters.
-We will have 9-10 hens for him alone.
-Our yard has a complete 6ft privacy fence with gaps filled. We also have a net across most of our yard. We are not looking for a defender but early warning of hawks would be a nice benefit.
-We are not interested in breeding.
-Our town currently houses many flocks with roosters and the University said they've not had chicken clients ever say anything about having upset neighbors or needing to re-home due to complaints. I called them lol

Our neighbors currently enjoy hearing our hens but we have not had a rooster crowing. We are friends so I feel comfortable asking them how they feel about us keeping one. I also am aware I have to be prepared for them to say no, or even worse, change their minds after we've had him for a bit.

Can anyone offer their wisdom or experience? Or possibly talk some sense into me??
Thanks!!

So, it seems like you've already decided to keep the sweetie pie, so good!

I have limited cockerel experience but I do have some. We got some pullets at one point several years ago & raised 'em, thinking it would be lovely to hand raise some pullets. And until we realized that they were all cockerels, it was great! Once they were old enough, all but one went into the light. We named him Rocket Man, as he ran SO fast...off like a rocket! He stayed because he was very gentlemanly to the girls & very respectful of us. While he didn't want to be petted or cuddled, he did allow it at night if he was on the perch. He even made sure that everyone got onto the perch in time for lights out. On those occasions when HE didn't make it up because of a straggler, I could count on him to ask for help getting to bed.

He'd gently brush against my legs & chirp very softly. I'd talk to him telling him that I was going to pick him up, then gently put my hands under his feet. He'd get stiff as a board, I'd steady him against my chest & set him on the perch between his two favorite hens. He'd settle in, relax & I could pet & kiss him goodnight. Ok, ok, I kissed 'em all goodnight! (Yes, yes, I know. Lots of people say not to do that for lots of reasons. They're not wrong, necessarily. But I still give my ladies a pet & a goodnight snuggle every now and then!)

Rocket Man was a beautiful Barred Rock Roo and I'd take 100 like him any day of the week. He never got mean, never attacked & was never a jerk. So you never know how they'll turn out until you know how they've turned out. As with teenagers, if you've laid a good foundation you can hope that when his hormones settle down that he'll continue to be a sweetheart.

While they get a certain amount of understanding & latitude while they navigate those hormones, I am in no way advocating for putting up with bad or dangerous behavior from him...toward you, any other human or the ladies. If he starts to go off of the rails, there are lots of ways to get him back on track. BYC has lots of great info from folks who are a whole lot more experienced than myself. I encourage you to read up, you'll want to prepare.

I used a lot of those resources when dealing with my "chicken son," Mr Peanut...my avatar. He came when called, liked to jump on my shoulder for cuddles & was a wonderful little Leghorn. As he started to mature, he'd sometimes get the crazy, glazed-over eyes from hormones & try to start shennagins. It took some focus & work to bring him out of it but once he snapped back to reality, he was back in "oh, yeah, you ARE my chicken Mom...ok, let's sit for a cuddle before bed." I'd take 100 just like him, too!

It's worth noting that Rocket Man did NOT appreciate Mr P's attempts to woo his ladies & gave him a roo sized smack down on more than one occasion. And to whom do you guess Mr P ran? Yep, Mom. (I can still see Rocket Man standing there looking at me as I'm yelling "Stop that, you lunatic! What's the matter with you?!". All the while he's looking at me, he's spitting out mouthfuls of hackle feathers. OMG, those two!)

One roo will be better for all & I wish you much success. Good roosters start with good humans...good humans start by understanding & preparing.

Sorry for the long winded reply!

 

[EmmaRainboe]

So, it seems like you've already decided to keep the sweetie pie, so good!

I have limited cockerel experience but I do have some. We got some pullets at one point several years ago & raised 'em, thinking it would be lovely to hand raise some pullets. And until we realized that they were all cockerels, it was great! Once they were old enough, all but one went into the light. We named him Rocket Man, as he ran SO fast...off like a rocket! He stayed because he was very gentlemanly to the girls & very respectful of us. While he didn't want to be petted or cuddled, he did allow it at night if he was on the perch. He even made sure that everyone got onto the perch in time for lights out. On those occasions when HE didn't make it up because of a straggler, I could count on him to ask for help getting to bed.

He'd gently brush against my legs & chirp very softly. I'd talk to him telling him that I was going to pick him up, then gently put my hands under his feet. He'd get stiff as a board, I'd steady him against my chest & set him on the perch between his two favorite hens. He'd settle in, relax & I could pet & kiss him goodnight. Ok, ok, I kissed 'em all goodnight! (Yes, yes, I know. Lots of people say not to do that for lots of reasons. They're not wrong, necessarily. But I still give my ladies a pet & a goodnight snuggle every now and then!)

Rocket Man was a beautiful Barred Rock Roo and I'd take 100 like him any day of the week. He never got mean, never attacked & was never a jerk. So you never know how they'll turn out until you know how they've turned out. As with teenagers, if you've laid a good foundation you can hope that when his hormones settle down that he'll continue to be a sweetheart.

While they get a certain amount of understanding & latitude while they navigate those hormones, I am in no way advocating for putting up with bad or dangerous behavior from him...toward you, any other human or the ladies. If he starts to go off of the rails, there are lots of ways to get him back on track. BYC has lots of great info from folks who are a whole lot more experienced than myself. I encourage you to read up, you'll want to prepare.

I used a lot of those resources when dealing with my "chicken son," Mr Peanut...my avatar. He came when called, liked to jump on my shoulder for cuddles & was a wonderful little Leghorn. As he started to mature, he'd sometimes get the crazy, glazed-over eyes from hormones & try to start shennagins. It took some focus & work to bring him out of it but once he snapped back to reality, he was back in "oh, yeah, you ARE my chicken Mom...ok, let's sit for a cuddle before bed." I'd take 100 just like him, too!

It's worth noting that Rocket Man did NOT appreciate Mr P's attempts to woo his ladies & gave him a roo sized smack down on more than one occasion. And to whom do you guess Mr P ran? Yep, Mom. (I can still see Rocket Man standing there looking at me as I'm yelling "Stop that, you lunatic! What's the matter with you?!". All the while he's looking at me, he's spitting out mouthfuls of hackle feathers. OMG, those two!)

One roo will be better for all & I wish you much success. Good roosters start with good humans...good humans start by understanding & preparing.

Sorry for the long winded reply!

This was beautiful.