When can you tell what kind of personality a maturing rooster will have?

[Zinniah]

I have had some buttheaded roosters turn into nice ones by separating them and letting the calm down and mature, judging a rooster at 6 months is like judging a 16 year old boy, you might be seeing all there is or you just have to wait until they become more responsible.

The main thing I want out of my young boys is for them to run from me, it shows respect and sensibility, a young rooster who is following me or standing and facing me is thinking about how to best challenge me. It's best to take some time to toss something in his direction so he gets startled every time he sees me, it's usually enough to change their minds about coming after me.

I separate if they are harassing the hens too much or if they are being too rough, otherwise I let them be, I always keep one eye on them, especially if I turn my back. Most turn into nice roosters who never think about me as something to attack, I can handle and chase hens without trouble, if they mate in my presence they get chased off.

Just some of my practices.

good info. he follows me around, but i think he just wants treats. i feed them veggie scraps and they really like them, so they all get excited and will run/fly and follow me closely. sometimes i don't have anything in my hand though and he will be the only one following me. if i turn around and look at him he will move, so ill just always keep an eye on him. today i noticed his spurs are growing, the bump is now more pointy and white colored.

 

[azygous]

I believe you understand your young cockerel quite well. You seem to have an instinctive handle on his intentions.

I'm currently dealing with three young cockerels. The youngest is just six weeks and the older ones are going on five months. They are all struggling with their hormones, even the smallest, and it affects how they relate to me.

I've learned that there's an underlying personality in each cockerel, and all of mine have been sweet boys, even that first one long ago who insisted on challenging me to a boxing match every day of his first year.

Every one of my roosters were gentle and sweet and good to the hens once they made it past that first year.

Patience.

 

[SJ]

My best rooster was a Delaware I named Leo that I thought was well "slow" around this age. While all the other boys were posturing, sparing, or chasing girls Leo was just foraging. He spent little to no time with the other cockerels and in fact got bullied by much smaller birds. He would always be in the back of the flock on range. He lived at the bottom of the pecking order. I found it odd how he showed no interest in hens or in fighting for a better position in the flock so I took special interest in Leo. He became a pet. I didn't hear him crow until he was almost 7 months. While the other boys got culled for various reasons Leo out grew every other cockerel. At 10 months and +8 pounds he was the biggest rooster in the flock. While I had a SLW and a NHR left then those 2 could not get along and that was the deciding factor. Leo never fought the other roosters but when he became last rooster standing he showed me what a real brood cock is. He was always foraging for his girls. He would catch field mice and give them to the hens. He would pick worms for them too. He would yell "HAAAAWK" when hawks were sighted. He charged and fought my grandfather's german pointer for stalking his girls. He lost but lived. He loved his waddles smoothed while being held. He greeted me everyday after work by running to me and pecking my shoe until he got picked up and petted. He worked the hens like a good roo should and not over working them. He sat on eggs. Wierd, but he did it.I still have many of his offspring.

 

[Zinniah]

He's going to need time to mature. He is like a kid hitting puberty so he hasn't had any time to learn any finesse. Give him time and he will eventually get it. In the meantime, your hens are most likely going to get a little beat up while he learns what to do. Hence, if it is causing them too much stress, you may want to separate them for a bit.

How old are your hens? Sometimes putting a younger cock in with older hens can help because the older hens will put him in his place and teach him some manners.

How many hens do you have? Recommended numbers are 1 roo for every 8-10 females.

They are the same age as him, got them as day old chicks, there are 5 of them. Their tails/butts aren't to bad, it isn't noticeable unless you take a good look. I've been keeping a close eye on them. I already picked out an area in the yard where i can set up his own fenced in area if he bothers them to much. I figure i will build him a square coop that is 3 ft tall and 2 ft across, and have roost in there, it will be 2 - 2 1/2 ft off the ground. I can put the feed & water under the coop, then i build an enclosed run around it. i can bury the fencing 1-2 feet and leave the coop door open so he can go out whenever. I think he will be a good guy though, he is nice to me, and normally okay with the girls, i think he just gets frustrated. Sometimes he will do his little dance and then just tilt his head an wander off. The girls just ignore him completely, i think it hurts his feelings

 

[Zinniah]

My best rooster was a Delaware I named Leo that I thought was well "slow" around this age. While all the other boys were posturing, sparing, or chasing girls Leo was just foraging. He spent little to no time with the other cockerels and in fact got bullied by much smaller birds. He would always be in the back of the flock on range. He lived at the bottom of the pecking order. I found it odd how he showed no interest in hens or in fighting for a better position in the flock so I took special interest in Leo. He became a pet. I didn't hear him crow until he was almost 7 months. While the other boys got culled for various reasons Leo out grew every other cockerel. At 10 months and +8 pounds he was the biggest rooster in the flock. While I had a SLW and a NHR left then those 2 could not get along and that was the deciding factor. Leo never fought the other roosters but when he became last rooster standing he showed me what a real brood cock is. He was always foraging for his girls. He would catch field mice and give them to the hens. He would pick worms for them too. He would yell "HAAAAWK" when hawks were sighted. He charged and fought my grandfather's german pointer for stalking his girls. He lost but lived. He loved his waddles smoothed while being held. He greeted me everyday after work by running to me and pecking my shoe until he got picked up and petted. He worked the hens like a good roo should and not over working them. He sat on eggs. Wierd, but he did it.I still have many of his offspring.

That is so awesome, i hope my guy turns out to be a legend i will forever remember. I already am attached to him, he lets me pet his wattles too! He seems to like it, i even clean his wattles, because they always get dust from the feed and dirt on them, he likes that to lol.

 

[Zinniah]

Mine shakes his leg when he's ******. And then charges in the opposite direction of the leg shake, so if he shakes the left he charges to the right, if he shakes the right he charges to the left. He does a little scuffle shuffle when he's ticked too. Then he will puff his feathers, flap his wings, and crane his head around. I try to just give him space when he's having a bad attitude.

Thats kinda cute, well it looks cute in my head lol. He has seems unique, you must have a special name for him!

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: His name is Oreo

I named them before I knew gender (I waited about 3 weeks after getting them) and went with gender neutral names. My other buff (hen) is Orpi

 

[Zinniah]

His name is Oreo

I named them before I knew gender (I waited about 3 weeks after getting them) and went with gender neutral names. My other buff (hen) is Orpi

That's adorable, i need to think of some cute names to. I still haven't named any of mine yet. I think i will wait until they are older first to see if their personalities change any. I pretty sure im going to name this one girl nippy, nibbles or something, because she always bites my clothes, a lot. At first i thought it was curiosity, she still does it almost 4 months later. I'm not sure if its aggressive, but i think she just likes the feeling of the clothes in her mouth or maybe they taste good to her. Sometimes she gets so carried away she will bite me really hard. It hurts bad and will break skin through my clothes. It gets all red and puffy to

She will actually bite and twist! I swear she is trying to eat my clothes off

I might have to get a warning sign for when friends/family come visit! There are another 2 that look very similar, i thought of naming them sugar & spice, i think they are sisters

 

[chickmomma03]

Quote: Don't let her get away with that behavior! Mine don't come up to/after me and bite me, curiosity or not, if they did they would be carried around for all to see (knock em down the pecking order while putting them in their place I guess, I've done it a couple times with Oreo and it's worked). That's not ok behavior. Especially biting and twisting. Mine are at the age where they will come up some, but generally keep their distance and do their own thing, which is fine if they don't want to snuggle anymore, I got lots and lots when they were younger. They do still view me as the "momma hen" aka the boss, so when I "say" move they do.

Mine are all hens except for the one:

Brownie (golden sex link)
Bubbles (easter egger)
Cupcake (golden sex link)
Genesis (easter egger)
Ghost (leghorn)
Midnight (cuckoo cochin)
Milky Way (cuckoo cochin)
Oreo (buff orpington rooster)
Orpi (buff orpington)
Quail (easter egger)
Tiny (easter egger)

I had one I was calling Sweetie (leghorn, she didn't have a name yet, unfortunately she passed away in my arms at a few weeks, right before I named them, something was neurologically wrong with her, the only one I lost), and one I named Star (she turned out to be a he and a RIR who was mean as heck, went back to the store)

Don't get me wrong, when they were little they would peck a bit if they thought I had food in my hand, or saw a bug on my leg or something, but was NEVER hard. They also have pecked at loose shoe lace (I keep mine tucked, but sometimes they shift and end up loose) because they thought it was something yummy, but they don't peck in meanness and I wouldn't be ok with it if they did.

 

[Zinniah]

Don't let her get away with that behavior! Mine don't come up to/after me and bite me, curiosity or not, if they did they would be carried around for all to see (knock em down the pecking order while putting them in their place I guess, I've done it a couple times with Oreo and it's worked). That's not ok behavior. Especially biting and twisting. Mine are at the age where they will come up some, but generally keep their distance and do their own thing, which is fine if they don't want to snuggle anymore, I got lots and lots when they were younger. They do still view me as the "momma hen" aka the boss, so when I "say" move they do.

Mine are all hens except for the one:

Brownie (golden sex link)
Bubbles (easter egger)
Cupcake (golden sex link)
Genesis (easter egger)
Ghost (leghorn)
Midnight (cuckoo cochin)
Milky Way (cuckoo cochin)
Oreo (buff orpington rooster)
Orpi (buff orpington)
Quail (easter egger)
Tiny (easter egger)

I had one I was calling Sweetie (leghorn, she didn't have a name yet, unfortunately she passed away in my arms at a few weeks, right before I named them, something was neurologically wrong with her, the only one I lost), and one I named Star (she turned out to be a he and a RIR who was mean as heck, went back to the store)

Don't get me wrong, when they were little they would peck a bit if they thought I had food in my hand, or saw a bug on my leg or something, but was NEVER hard. They also have pecked at loose shoe lace (I keep mine tucked, but sometimes they shift and end up loose) because they thought it was something yummy, but they don't peck in meanness and I wouldn't be ok with it if they did.

I "pecked" her back by poking her hard with my finger on her head/neck, and she stopped for a while. I guess i really should start carrying her around though, i just liked to believe she was being curious. I only have a few different outfits that i wear out there, since they were little, she really shouldn't be curious anymore. I was just sitting on a towel throwing them scratch and the rooster came up and danced to me, so i had to poke him to...he stared at me like i had lost my mind