Trying the Roo thing...

[andreanar]

What a handsome boy!

Right! I always thought he was plain and ugly, black and white....boooring! But as he ages, he's getting prettier. Heres an earlier photo of him..ugly and boring,

 

[mixedbreeds]

He is a cool looking cockerel. I to had horrible luck with roosters one after another just evil. Then my last 4 in a row are just great and I still have all 4 of them. Good luck

 

[IamRainey]

Handsome boy!

I'm in similar circumstances. The Black Copper Marans I bought as a female started getting pretty colored feathers then -- uh-oh! -- his tail feathers started to turn a beautiful irridescent green. My sweet Maude turned out to be Monsieur Maurice. He is flat out gorgeous now!

He's also just short of 6 months old. He crows like crazy these days. So far I haven't had any complaints from the neighbors (and they're close so I'm not counting on it for a whole lot longer). But, for now, I'm happy (if not entirely secure) because the longer I have him the more I want to keep him. Plus, I've really come to think of the crowing as a positive. Beats the sounds of motorcycles and construction at least and it feels homey somehow.

He's flown at me twice when I had my back to him filling the feeder. Now I've learned to keep an eye on him. And, so long as I do that, he minds his manners. In fact, he's a whole lot easier to handle than any of my hens.

I've seen him try to mount one of the older hens. There are 2 older hens he was raised with and 4 younger as well. He wasn't successful on the attempt I witnessed. Who knows if he's been more successful since... But my hens don't look battered so I guess this is something they'll manage to work out. I hope so because he's a good deal larger than a few of my hens. Only 2 are an equivalent size to Maurice.

I am enjoying having a more normal and complete flock and looking forward to some chicks with a momma hen to help them integrate. I hope you'll have a good experience too. Your boy looks like he's up to the job of protecting his hens so I hope that will provide them and you some security.

Enjoy him! He's looks like a keeper!

 

[mgbantams]

We swore we would never keep roo's again after bad experiences. Buuutttt...my hen hatched 3 chicks and 1 is a boy. He is exactly 6 months old today. So far so good. He's not crowing yet, nor mounting the girls. He stays away from us, showing no interest even if we pick up a hen and she squawks like crazy. Im wondering if the fact that he is growing up with older hens that don't take his crap, is making a difference in his behavior? The older girls let him know that he's lower in pecking order. For the longest time, I thought he was an ugly cockerel. Not as beautifully colored as most roo's. But today, I realized he's actually quite pretty. His father is a phoenix, no idea on a mama. His tail is amazing! Long and flowing, and he's got a gorgeous "mane" around his neck that Id love to run my fingers thru. Anyhow, here are some photos of him.
View attachment 1615029 View attachment 1615030 View attachment 1615031 View attachment 1615036 View attachment 1615030 View attachment 1615031

He is very pretty!
He looks like a splash blue Sumatra

 

[Ginmary]

Sorry, I couldn't resist:

 

[andreanar]

Sorry, I couldn't resist:
View attachment 1615260

 

[Chickassan]

Well if he's behaved enough to just ignore him i'd say he's got a shot lol! He's cute, an individual for sure...still can't get over you having a boy.

I haven't really been "hiding" him, haha, I just considered him a non issue since I'd be doing away with him. We'd just been ignoring him since we didn't really have time to either find him a home or cull him. And since he was still young and causing no problems we never even talked about him...like he didn't exist
Im down to 9 hens and that 1 cockerel, which means I can get more chickens this spring. Yay

 

[azygous]

This flashy cockerel will really amaze you after he molts for the first time and his adult plumage comes in. Look for that tail to become even more outrageous.

Your mention that he minds his own business and doesn't interfere in yours tells me he has a very good temperament for becoming a real gentleman roo. You can only screw things up by trying to force him to interact with you or by going out of your way to interfere with his normal business of learning his role in the flock. As long as you both keep minding your own business, you should never have a problem with him.

He needs a name. King Tut? Charlemagne? Alexander the Great?

 

[Ginmary]

Fabio!!!!

 

[DobieLover]

Fabio!!!!

Can't do that! There is already a reigning Fabio. And he's a natural blond.