what age will roosters turn MEAN?

[Beekissed]

Thanks!

I know it sounds blunt but it is so sad to see people raising chickens and assuming that there is an age in which roosters turn mean. They reach sexual maturity and this is usually not a problem in normally raised roos....the only difference I notice when this happens is that they start crowing and breeding~which is normal. Attacking a huge predator like a human? NOT normal. This is an obviously confused bird.

Now, I know I couldn't have just gotten extraordinarily lucky with all the roos I've owned over the years, so it has more to do with upbringing than it does with instinct, IME. You have a potentially dangerous animal with 2-3 in. spurs when he reaches his full, glorious maturity....what is your first inclination when you hold that chick for the first time?

Turn him into a pet and hope that he never stabs you with the daggers on his legs?

Or treat him with a healthy respect and instill in him the fact that you move freely through your day, among your flock, and within his territory and this is a fact of his life. End of story.

If he even stares at you for any length of time, he needs to be advanced upon and made to move away from you. As soon as you see him move away, let up and go about your chores. If he moves away but tries to get behind you, doesn't move away but lowers his head and fluffs his feathers, or does any version of a roo dance? Then you keep advancing until he is forced to move away and continue this method until he moves away each and every time you approach. Start this training early and reinforce it often and pretty soon you never have to even look at your roo unless it is to admire his stately grandeur.

For the occasional roo that will actually TRY to challenge a human? Then he must be subdued~real quick and in a hurry and in such a manner that he never forgets. But he CAN be trained...make no mistake.

 

[yomama]

Quote:
This comment and the ones just like it usually preface threads about mean roosters. I've never owned a "mean" rooster and never picked up, coddled, or otherwise rubbed a roo chick in my life. This is a male animal and when you nurture them when they are chicks, they imprint and start to think in their little feathery brains that you are the opposite sex of their species. When you do not submit, or squat, then they start to think you are a roo and must be fought for supremacy.

When you treat roos like kittens they often turn out to be wildcats for this very reason.

Please, folks, pay attention to these threads and the common denominator of rooster raising....hand-coddled, spoiled = mean, aggressive. Left to their own devices but shown who is flock master from an early age will = a normal rooster who avoids humans when they approach~which is normal behavior from an animal 2 ft. tall being approached by an animal 5-6 ft. tall.

Yes, there is always the exception, but it is merely the exception to the rule....most of the threads that I read on BYC about aggressive roos contain a segment about how nice the roo was when he was a chick and how he was snuggled, petted and otherwise confused by this excessive nurturing that you do NOT find in a natural setting.

So true. I raised my first roo with the first batch of chicks I had ever raised. Needless to say, they were totally spoiled. "He" was supposed to be a "she". Spunky was a Blue Andalusian, absolutely beautiful. He was the most outgoing, friendliest chick, till he hit about 6 months. We did everything wrong, coddled him, treated like a pet (even though my chickens are pets). He turned out to be nasty. He would attack whether your back was turned or not, spurs first. We kicked him, held him, nothing worked. It wasn't myself I was worried about, but my daughters. Especially my youngest, who was7 at the time. He really hated her for some reason. He would attack her through the fence! I was able to give Spunky to someone that really liked his coloring, and didn't mind having an aggressive roo. Who knows, he may have ended up eating him, but I don't tell my daughters that. On the other hand, my neighbors who have a ton of chickens and were thinning their flock of roos, gave me Rusty, a Silkie/barnyard/?. They really don't handle their chickens much. Rusty was awesome. He was not friendly to me, but he never challenged me. Always gave me the right of way. He was about 1 year old when I got him. He always treated his girls great, and even went after a broody hen when she tried to attack me! I miss him so much. A hawk got him earlier this year. I was devestated. I didn't realize how lucky I was to have such a good guy. I haven't had a roo since him, and I'm kind of afraid to get another. I hate having to deal with "rehoming"

one if it is nasty. (we can't butcher animals we raise). I guess I'll just see what happens if I accidentally get one when ordering girls. I actually ordered a Silkie roo last spring, but ended up getting a girl, lol.

 

[BetsyB0101]

I had a Barred Rock Rooster given to me a couple of years ago. He was full grown and big and very pretty. No idea how old he was. I had eleven hens and no roosters so he was a happy guy. Well, for awhile he was okay, then I noticed that he started running at us then would turn away before he hit . A few times he actually hit our legs but ran off quickly afterward. I was starting to get pretty nervous about him. Well, one day I was working outside in the yard, he and the girls were just kind of hanging out. I came into the house to get a drink and I heard the four wheeler pull up outside with my 13 year old son on it. He met me at the door and said "Mom, what happened to your rooster? He is in the yard dead!" I was like, "I was just out there and he was fine." So I went to look and sure enough, dead as a doornail, laying in the yard without a mark on him. I thought that he must have been way older than I thought! So now, two years later, my now 15 year old son tells me, "Mom, remember that rooster you used to have that died? Well, I was afraid you would be mad at me so I didn't tell you but when I came home that day he tried to attack me and I gave him a good kick with my boot and he fell over dead." LOL ...and all this time I have wondered why that rooster died!

 

[This_chicks_place]

"Mom, remember that rooster you used to have that died? Well, I was afraid you would be mad at me so I didn't tell you but when I came home that day he tried to attack me and I gave him a good kick with my boot and he fell over dead.

"Mom, remember that priceless vase..................................

 

[Frithest]

I've enjoyed reading this blog (he's a BYC member too): http://olychickenguy.blogspot.com/2010/10/005-further-exploration-into-crowing.html
The link goes to his post about dominance and training as it pertains to roosters. I'm trying some of his techniques to keep my pullets and cockerels in line and they seem to work. So far...

 

[tinydancer87]

My polish roo, Oreo, was hatched by me from some ebay eggs. He was handled as a chick, but not excessively so. He is the best rooster I own, not aggressive at all, he isn't afraid of me, but he does NOT like to be touched or held.

I had a hatchery light brahma I named Bentley, I held him all the time from chickhood, I was determined to tame him. He would let me walk right up and pick him up, he would even come to me for treats. Then he would come to me with his wings dragging....then when your back was turned.....I went ahead and gave him away before it got any worse.

That being said, we had a RIR roo when I was a kid that was totally tame, you could pick him right up, but he was never aggressive. So I guess it really depends on the rooster.

 

[OnceAroundTheBlock]

Reading all these stories about mean roosters, it reminded me of one I used to have years ago. He was a beauty, never tried to flog anyone, took care of business just fine and made all the hens happy.

Suddenly, he turned rotten mean, but only to my then teenage son. If my son came anywhere near him, "Big R" would start cackling, ruffle his feathers and chase after him, wings a flapping. It went on like that for weeks on end.

One weekend I finally figured out what had made my rooster change so much. I had walked behind the barn for something and there was my son's old basketball hoop that was missing the net and was nailed on the back wall of the barn. There stood my son all quiet like and he said, "Oh. Hi Mom." and the poor rooster was sitting on the hoop rim. "Big R" was being used as the basketball while my son was practicing his lay ups.


I put a stop to that in a hurry.....soccer season was just around the corner!

 

[Tracydr]

Quote:
This comment and the ones just like it usually preface threads about mean roosters. I've never owned a "mean" rooster and never picked up, coddled, or otherwise rubbed a roo chick in my life. This is a male animal and when you nurture them when they are chicks, they imprint and start to think in their little feathery brains that you are the opposite sex of their species. When you do not submit, or squat, then they start to think you are a roo and must be fought for supremacy.

When you treat roos like kittens they often turn out to be wildcats for this very reason.

Please, folks, pay attention to these threads and the common denominator of rooster raising....hand-coddled, spoiled = mean, aggressive. Left to their own devices but shown who is flock master from an early age will = a normal rooster who avoids humans when they approach~which is normal behavior from an animal 2 ft. tall being approached by an animal 5-6 ft. tall.

Yes, there is always the exception, but it is merely the exception to the rule....most of the threads that I read on BYC about aggressive roos contain a segment about how nice the roo was when he was a chick and how he was snuggled, petted and otherwise confused by this excessive nurturing that you do NOT find in a natural setting.

My thoughts, exactly. I don't coddle my chicks and I've never had a mean rooster, in 25 years of raising chickens. I do have some very tame banty hens but I usually start taming after I can sex them, not before.
I've handled not-neutered males of many species ( bulls, rams, roosters, boars, peacocks, dogs, etc) and basically you must always, always have the upper hand from the first day of handling them. Beekissed is exactly right. When you treat them like cuddly kittens you end up with a wildcat.
By not completely taming them they will have some fear of you and it is easier to maintain respect. Again, I've simply never had a mean rooster. I've had a lot of roosters and never had to cull one for meanness.
Currently, I keep a tiny OEGB with my flock. He's cute as a button but very protective of his girls. He respects me, doesn't hurt the girls and never tries to attack anyone.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
I don't coddle my roosters. Hens are for loving, roos are not.

My roos are terrible to catch. I would only try this to check them over. If they are blunt enough to mate right in front of me, I will push them off and make sure they know I am to be respected. No problems. If you do need to get ahold of your roo, they shouldn't bite you or fight you.

 

[Tracydr]

This thread reminds me of a problem bull I had. He was raised as a bottle baby so of course, he was more tame than the average pasture raised calf. When he reached maturity, he became mean. I had to have some sort of weapon, like a metal bucket to hit him on the head, whenever I went in to feed him.