When do roosters get mean?

[catsew]

At what age do roosters start getting mean? Will they all get mean or does it just depend on the individual?
We have 2 roosters that are 6 months old. For the longest time it was just the 2 of them and they are friendly enough. When we added the hens everyone said they would get mean. Now the hens have only been around a few weeks, but so far they're still nice. They come up and cuddle with you and let you pet them.

 

[mgw]

Usually if they are going to be mean it is when they are mature, or of breeding age. some do not turn mean though. Hope you get lucky with yours.

 

[StupidBird]

My two buddy roos got along quite well until a week and a half ago. They were almost a year old; then suddenly decided to try and kill each other.

I've made sure to carry the remaining one around and all the other domination stuff posted on BYC. Oh well, they make wonderful stew.

 

[Sliprock]

I picked up a big beautiful EE rooster 7 months old the other day from dinahmoe here on byc. Brought him home and today finally let them range with my other birds..and my only other rooster a sweet never bother nobody OE bantam(who is 3 times smaller and 2 yrs old) walked right up and tried to put it on him. I was shocked! He had never ever acted that way, I was hoping it was just a hey this is my place type thing...but he was not wanting to leave it be, so I had to pen up my OE. To answer question...I have no clue. Poor fella I felt bad for him... I hate it when my hens act up and dont want them bullying each other either...but I guess its nature. Just not sure I can stomach the process of them getting the pecking order figured out.

 

[aoxa]

They will become mean before they are mature if they become mean at all.

You will notice an increase of testosterone between the ages of 6 months to 1 year. After that they are less moody. Acquiring an older rooster is preferred to a young cockerel. I bought my first roo when he was a little over one. Not one ounce of meanness in him. He was not handled before I got him. He doesn't like to be picked up, or eat from my hand unless he is on the roost, and I put food in front of him.

My cockerel is 5 months old. I prefer not to hand feed him when I feed the girls, because he is quite rough when grabbing the food out of my hand. I will not handle him unless necessary until he is fully mature.

 

[catsew]

Thanks. So it sounds like it could be any day now. I'm also worried about the 2 fighting with each other. They're hatch mates, so I hope that helps. Only one of them crows, even though they both can, so maybe only the one will take over?

 

[RHRanch]

We just did this: Heres a recent thread on the subject https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=597427

And they don't all get mean. I never have any problems, and I have had a lot of roosters and over a long time and many breeds. I urge you to read the thread I posted.

 

[aoxa]

Quote:
Just DO NOT show fear. Animals of any kind sense fear and feed off of it. You need to be calm assertive around them. Do not coddle them. I know you 'can' pet them, but really it's not a good idea. A lot of people say they can, but why take the chance? I myself would not want to risk being attacked.

I have a cockerel and a rooster. If they have enough hens to share, they should not fight. One will be alpha rooster, and one will be beta rooster. There might be a struggle for them to decide who is in charge, but there may never be.

 

[catsew]

Now why couldn't I find that when I searched?
I am definitely not afraid of them, but maybe I should be. It sounds like they can get pretty mean. The most they have done is peck at me, but I think they thought I was feeding them or I was food, it definitely didn't seem in a mean fashion. They are also in an enclosed run, so I also have no idea what they would do if loose. That might make a difference as well.
The pop door to their coop was frozen shut the other morning so I climbed in there to loosen it from the inside and nobody bothered me. Alot of people were saying they couldn't believe I wasn't attacked.

 

[RHRanch]

Quote:
Well would you believe that I have had hundreds of Roos, dozens of breeds and never had aggression problems. Hatchery birds and non-hatchery birds. Only 2 roos in my life I have had be aggressive, and I didn't raise them. One it turns out was scared of feed bags, so he wasn't mean after all.