When can a roo remain a roo...

[lahowardjr]

Try a Buff Orphington rooster if you get a chance. They are pretty good at protecting thier hens and somewhat dosile when handeling them. Start working with them when thier pullets and they will work out nice. A do agree that your roo is too young and "just one of the girls" until he gets a little older and he realizes that he's a rooster. I think your flock is just setting the pecking order at this time. It wont take too long for you to figure out if he should go and try another roo. It's funny to know that I have a hen as the #2 boss in my yard. She pushes around my barr rock rooster.

 

[laura625]

thank you,this is helpful.

 

[dodgewoman]

I had 3 rosters. My Deleware has established dominance but one of my EEs was changeling him. They were trying to fight to the death when we grabbed them. We gave the EE away and kept the Deleware. He crows a lot but he's friendly, my son can grab him easily and hold him for a while. When we were cleaning him up after the fight he was allowing me to press on his wounds to stop the bleeding and get the dried bloody feathers off his beak. He's young, only about 5 months old so he's not very good at protecting yet(as you can see from my other thread where I've had two hens go missing now) but I plan to keep him unless he turns aggressive to us.

 

[Wisher1000]

The best advice I can give you is to be all business when it comes to your young roo. Go about your chores without a second glance at him. Do not walk around him, make him move out of your way if you are walking past him. Treat him as you do the hens. Using caution around him could be interpreted as weakness or submissiveness and cause him to be more agressive. Don't fight him, kick him, or chase after him. If you must act, because he is challenging you, walk him down and keep backing him up until he turns and walks away from you. If he doesn't back up or walk away, catch him and hold him on his back while you do your chores. If you fight him, you are his opponent. Give the first few treats directly to the roo and let him call the hens to him to get them. He will then see you as a provider and not a rival. Lastly, remember, if you do all of this and he insists on attacking you, eat him. There are plenty of good roos needing homes and no one needs to tolerate one that is a problem.

 

[Achickenwrangler#1]

I agree he is a bit young, give him to 20 weeks, but he is off to a poor start. He may have needed to be more aggressive where he lived before to get his share of chow. Feed him and treat him the same as the rest of the flock and hope he settles down. Good luck

 

[NYREDS]

I have never owned a good rooster. Every single one I've ever owned has always ended up aggressive, nasty, and hateful to the hens. I don't believe there is any such thing as a good rooster. I am trying to give away a Dark Brahma right now because of the freaking crowing. He WILL.NOT.STOP. He will crow 150 times straight in a row without hardly taking a breath. It's all he does from sun up until sun down. I can't believe he still has any voice left. I live in the country and you can hear him 1/2 mile away. I have neighbors who are going to turn me in for the noise. So personally, I wouldn't give them any time at all. My experience has been the crowing, and the aggressive nasty behavior. Never had a good one. Sorry.

Roosters crow, that's what they do. It's how they communicate.
As to the OP many comments on this board exagerate what to expect from a rooster. The notion that they will protect hens from preditors is vastly overstated. The rooster that tries to protect hens from most any preditor will just be the first chicken killed.
Many, but not all, roosters will call hens attention to food-they do this for the same reason men bring women candy-we all know why, right? At 15 weeks he probably isn't as preoccupied with mating as he eventually will be so he's not motivated to bring any candy yet.
The thing to remember is, they're chickens not little people with feathers. Don't project human values & behaviors on them.

 

[Wisher1000]

I agree, to a point. I have had several roosters killed by predators. I have had roosters run the furtherest when the attack began. The roosters that attack to defend the flock do get killed, and their hens have a better chance of getting away. I would rather sacrifice the rooster than a hen (or five) because the roosters are easier to replace. I also have roosters that will not drop treats for the hens but gobble them up themselves. These are usually the same roosters that have to force the hens to the ground to mate because the hens won't submit. Give me the big strapin rooster who watches the woods and the sky and that the hens respect enough to freeze or run when the rooster gives the call. He is the one they squat for and who doesn't tear feathers off the hens during mating. He is the first one killed by a stray and maybe the only one the dog carries home that day. I can raise one of his chicks to take his place because he passed those chicken traits on before he died.

 

[laura625]

All very educational.
I see the point of sacrificing a roo in favor of hens, but
I was hoping more for being alert to, and sounding alarms about danger. Is that realistic to expect?

 

[LeJeune1]

Laura, some breeds of roosters are more aggressive, such as Rhode Island Reds. We have a mini farm with several Roos- with little trouble. The #1 Roo is a Brown Leghorn, skiddish toward people, but will protect the ladies. Leghorns are light, so he not too heavy on the hens. The Leghorn Roo doesn't like having 6 other roos around, but we dont worry about him killing the others. Our #2 Roo is a Dutch Bantam, who is more protective of his harem, but at least hes small when he decides to let hemans know dynamite comes in small packages. He has the 20week old Barred Holland Roos on-the-look-out. So If I were recommending a breed to get a "good" Rooster, I'd go with Brown Leghorns (standard) of Dutch (bantam).

 

[Wisher1000]

LeJeune1 - what a handsome bird, makes me want a bowl of cornflakes!

Here is my alpha roo, D'Artagnon. He is a great rooster and I will be sad if anything happens to him, but I consider it part of his job to take one for the team.