What is the cutoff age for deciding if a Roo is good or not?

[Tired old Rooster]

I have three Plymouth rock pullets, four month old as at the beginning of this month.

I introduced a two month old cockerel at the beginning of the month, as a replacement for a pullet who was killed by my neighbors cat.

So far, not doing great. My question is, at what age will he man up and start being a good rooster for his flock, or go on a date with some roast potatoes if he fails to be all he can be?

My new setup is scheduled to be done in four weeks from now. My plan is that then, if I see no improvement, he will be locked down for a bit in the old coop to see if that sets him straight.

So what age do I decide if he should go to the oven as a bad Roo?

 

[Prince and Pavo]

Hello! What exactly do you mean by “So far, not doing great.”? Are you looking for a rooster that will protect your hens or for breeding purposes? What are the criteria for the ideal rooster?​

​

Roosters seem to take longer to mature than hens do, IMO. I would say around six-ish months would be when a rooster is fully mature, however, it depends on the breed and varies for individuals as well. My advice would be to give him a chance, and let him have the opportunity to prove himself. It may be longer than you want, but good things come with patience. He may just turn out to be exactly what you want! Spend lots of time with your flock, so he grows accustomed to people and won’t become aggressive, and doesn’t shy away too much from human contact.​

 

[BarnyardChaos]

I have three Plymouth rock pullets, four month old as at the beginning of this month.

I introduced a two month old cockerel at the beginning of the month, as a replacement for a pullet who was killed by my neighbors cat.

So far, not doing great. My question is, at what age will he man up and start being a good rooster for his flock, or go on a date with some roast potatoes if he fails to be all he can be?

My new setup is scheduled to be done in four weeks from now. My plan is that then, if I see no improvement, he will be locked down for a bit in the old coop to see if that sets him straight.

So what age do I decide if he should go to the oven as a bad Roo?

Not at two or three months - he's still a baby. Even at six months, he's still not fully mature though the teenage hormones are rampant. I'd say the cutoff age for maturity is about 9-12 months. Especially since he doesn't have a mature rooster to show him the ropes or teach him proper manners, he'll take longer to mature and 'man up.'

A good roo, in my opinion, is one who: Breeds the hens without tearing up their backs (he's relatively gentle), he pays attention to his surroundings and watches for predators, he calls an alarm to get everyone to safety if he sees a threat, he calls the girls to special treats he's found and lets them have the treats; he makes sure all of his hens are in the coop at night, and he does NOT EVER threaten aggression towards humans, especially children.

He'll also fight to the death, if necessary, to protect his hens from a predator attack. Though I hope you never have to test him on that.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Hello! What exactly do you mean by “So far, not doing great.”? Are you looking for a rooster that will protect your hens or for breeding purposes? What are the criteria for the ideal rooster?​

​

Roosters seem to take longer to mature than hens do, IMO. I would say around six-ish months would be when a rooster is fully mature, however, it depends on the breed and varies for individuals as well. My advice would be to give him a chance, and let him have the opportunity to prove himself. It may be longer than you want, but good things come with patience. He may just turn out to be exactly what you want! Spend lots of time with your flock, so he grows accustomed to people and won’t become aggressive, and doesn’t shy away too much from human contact.​

Not really interested in breeding him, want him more as protection and caring for hens.

By not great, I mean:
Hogs the food dispenser,
leaves the pullets and wanders off so far they could be devoured and he would never know,
gets startled by something today and runs home wailing while the pullets carry on like nothing happened,
sees me and rushes over since I am the treat dispenser, leaves them out there,
shows no sign of letting them know if he finds a good patch of bugs, chases them off a good patch and helps himself.

He is not at all shy of coming right up to me, but since he arrived, the pullets who I had eating out of my hand, now won't come within five feet of me.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

A good roo, in my opinion, is one who: Pays attention to his surroundings and watches for predators, he calls an alarm to get everyone to safety if he sees a threat, he calls the girls to special treats he's found and lets them have the treats; he makes sure all of his hens are in the coop at night, and he does NOT EVER threaten aggression towards humans, especially children.

He'll also fight to the death, if necessary, to protect his hens from a predator attack. Though I hope you never have to test him on that.

That is exactly who I want him to be.

 

[BarnyardChaos]

Not really interested in breeding him, want him more as protection and caring for hens.

By not great, I mean:
Hogs the food dispenser,
leaves the pullets and wanders off so far they could be devoured and he would never know,
gets startled by something today and runs home wailing while the pullets carry on like nothing happened,
sees me and rushes over since I am the treat dispenser, leaves them out there,
shows no sign of letting them know if he finds a good patch of bugs, chases them off a good patch and helps himself.

He is not at all shy of coming right up to me, but since he arrived, the pullets who I had eating out of my hand, now won't come within five feet of me.

All behaviors of a chick who still thinks of you as his mother hen, and the other hens as his siblings. Give the boy several more months to grow into the big britches.

The hens may settle and approach you again, but they may NOT due to the presence of a rooster. In fact, that habit could be dangerous with a fully mature rooster in the flock, as he won't want anyone or anything threatening to take his hens' attention away. That's actually a sign of a rooster doing his 'job;' - keeping competitors away from *his* flock.

Every bird is different, though. You'll just have to wait and see how it plays out. Just don't turn your back on him while feeding the hens, until you are quite sure he's not human-aggressive.

BTW, he's not technically a "rooster" until he's 12 months old. Until then, he's a "cockerel."

 

[Prince and Pavo]

Not really interested in breeding him, want him more as protection and caring for hens.

By not great, I mean:
Hogs the food dispenser,
leaves the pullets and wanders off so far they could be devoured and he would never know,
gets startled by something today and runs home wailing while the pullets carry on like nothing happened,
sees me and rushes over since I am the treat dispenser, leaves them out there,
shows no sign of letting them know if he finds a good patch of bugs, chases them off a good patch and helps himself.

He is not at all shy of coming right up to me, but since he arrived, the pullets who I had eating out of my hand, now won't come within five feet of me.

Okay, he will eventually become more of a polite little guy that looks after and takes care of the girls, just give it some time. Wait a few months, and you’ll start to see some progress, and after that he’ll become the rooster you’re looking for. Patience is the key here.

Also, I decided that I actually agree with @BarnyardChaos, that it will take longer than six months to FULLY mature, including size and behavior, as well as growing in the spurs, which he will use to protect the hens.

 

[janiedoe]

Not really interested in breeding him, want him more as protection and caring for hens.

By not great, I mean:
Hogs the food dispenser,
leaves the pullets and wanders off so far they could be devoured and he would never know,
gets startled by something today and runs home wailing while the pullets carry on like nothing happened,
sees me and rushes over since I am the treat dispenser, leaves them out there,
shows no sign of letting them know if he finds a good patch of bugs, chases them off a good patch and helps himself.

He is not at all shy of coming right up to me, but since he arrived, the pullets who I had eating out of my hand, now won't come within five feet of me.

You aren't going to see any of that behavior until he is older. At 2 months, he is still very immature. His behavior toward the hens may get worse before it gets better.
Most standard breeds will be mature enough to treat and call hens at 7 months. Some larger breeds need a few months longer.
Furthermore, roosters alert to danger, but rarely will they be willing or able to fight off a predator.
With only 3 hens, and no inclination to breed them, you would probably be better off without a rooster at all.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

You aren't going to see any of that behavior until he is older. At 2 months, he is still very immature. His behavior toward the hens may get worse before it gets better.
Most standard breeds will be mature enough to treat and call hens at 7 months. Some larger breeds need a few months longer.
Furthermore, roosters alert to danger, but rarely will they be willing or able to fight off a predator.
With only 3 hens, and no inclination to breed them, you would probably be better off without a rooster at all.

My three pullet situation is a factor of facilities. Once the new rig is up, I plan to bring in three more and eventually go up to eight.

 

[Mrs. K]

Not all roosters are great roosters, you are right about that. But the traits you describe really don't come into play until they are a year old, if they come in.

I think you should look around close to you, see is someone close by doesn't have a great rooster that was so nice and good, he just didn't get culled last fall. He was kept as a back up. He is about a year old.

Mrs K