When do roosters get aggressive?

[CritterHill]

I have a roo who is 10 weeks old. Any idea when the hormones kick in and he will get aggressive (if he is going to get aggressive)?

I have 2 small children (3 year old and a very small 6 year old) who are often out in the yard when the hens are free ranging through the woods.

I don't want to deal with chicken poo in the yard so the kids have orders to chase the hens back into the woods (or into the cleared but non-grass area) if they wander toward the grassy yard. But now that we have a rooster, I am afraid at some point his hormones are going to kick in and if he has aggressive tendencies, we are set up for tragedy.

I am thinking of only letting the chickens out if I am outside with the kids until we figure out if this roo is a keeper or stewer, but I'm wondering what age I would expect to see aggression if it is going to happen.

Right now, the poor roo is getting beat up and pushed around by the head hen despite being the same size as her already!

Thanks!

 

[007Dawn]

I have one that is four months and he hasn't started yet. My rooster that just past was about seven months when he took full charge and he was indeed a good rooster.

 

[speckledhen]

When the hormones begin flowing is usually when you'll start to see the true personality emerge. Before that, sometimes, they just push boundaries and need correction. By mating age, 16-24 week range, I'd say you should see them mellow out or the aggression escalate.

 

[gritsar]

I agree with speckled.
I don't allow any chasing of my hens, for any reason. Our 3 yr. old grandson knows that he has to wait for us to bring a hen to him to pet.
I also keep my roo out of the yard when the GS is visiting. We have a gate that we normally leave open, but close when the GS is visiting. My roo is docile, but I'm not taking any chances.

 

[CritterHill]

Well, on the bright side, chasing them out of the yard is a rare occurrence now since they have figured out where they are allowed to go and where they are not - or maybe the leaf detritus just has more bugs under it than the sparse grass so they figure it isn't worth the hassle.

But yeah, I am forseeing doom if the current dynamic continues with a roo in the picture.

I have been mulling this over. My 6 year old is just gaining confidence (for many reasons she was nervous about pretty much everything on the planet for many years) and is just now confident enough to walk across the (admittedly very large) yard from the house to let the chickens out by herself.

Now with this roo... I am rethinking the whole dynamic. It's nice to let the kids and the chickens out to play at the same time while I run in to make dinner or whatnot. But I am very aware that animals in general are unpredictable and it only takes one cross species misunderstanding...

Sounds like I only have a few more weeks to come up with a new routine for everyone or just decide the roo isn't worth the risk as much as I'd like to keep him.

 

[CritterHill]

ps - The chasing isn't very effective anyway. The kids run up the the chickens calling "shoo! shoo! shoo!" and more often than not the chickens run straight to the kids thinking "Treat? treat? treat?"

It usually ends with the kids carrying the chickens back into the woods...

 

[The Zoo]

At 6 years old she's smart enough that I would think you could explain to her how the behavior might change? Tell her what to watch for (give her the confidence to make the choice and to see what might happen) and have her let you know when or if anything does?

 

[CritterHill]

Quote:
Yes, I have talked to her about it. But she is a tiny thing (36 pounds at 6 years old) and I am afraid of an accident shattering her new found self confidence or worse yet, causing physical harm.

Plus there is the 3 year old who can't seem to keep a thought in her head for more than 4 seconds

Thanks for the input. I have to mull...

 

[Quack Shack]

I'm pretty positive that my 2 year old kicked in the direction of one of my bantam roos and that's all it took. She's been beaked by him every chance he gets. I've witnessed him sneaking up on her while she's feeding the others treats. Now if any roo with similar marking walks near her, she calls me and freezes to the spot. I decided he and his other buds are going to a new home this week. I've also been working with her to not kick, chase or run around the birds if she wants to be able to hold them and care for them. We had a very sweet duck and he would chase them so she just didn't understand why the other birds don't play that way. Something to consider, I have other roos and it's not an issue so perhaps the trait and tendency toward aggression needs to be taking into consideration where little kids are concerned. What breed is the roo if you don't mind me asking?

 

[CritterHill]

Quote:
He is a mutt, but I think he is EE and SSH mix.