When Will I Know If My Cockerel Will Make a Good Roo?

[centrarchid]

Should I do that now before he gets aggressive? Or is that what I should do if I witness any aggression? He's been pretty chill so far. He has not shown aggression towards me or any other humans in my household, only my big girls (hens) when they get too close to his flockmates.

ETA: And how long would I keep him separated? This is very doable in my current setup.

I would keep him separated at least until all of his adult feathers are in and maybe even until he is needed in the breeding pen. For me my responses to him are not to his aggression or submission. To start things off in a new direction, pull him off roost for move to his private quarters. Avoid stressing him during day as he will enter that into his calculations as to whether you are a threat he can beat. I like so they do not think I am a threat at all.

A cockerel showing aggression towards birds outside his "subflock" / family group is generally not a concern. I see that every day and do not associate that with problems later with my birds and how I interact with them.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I'll see what I can do! Thanks!

Just want to keep him from going over to "the dark side."

 

[Rammy]

I also have a Sebright that thought he was going to start being a jerk. Ive caught him twice now and carried him around. The second time he bit me and I smacked him on the head while carrying him around longer. He doesnt come near me now.

 

[Aunt Angus]

I also have a Sebright that thought he was going to start being a jerk. Ive caught him twice now and carried him around. The second time he bit me and I smacked him on the head while carrying him around longer. He doesnt come near me now.

How old was he when he decided to try being a jerk? Little Picotee has been a dream thus far. He is kind if a lap chicken, which I hear makes for problems later. His subflock consists of 2 Silkies, who are just the loviest things ever. All 3 of them like to cuddle and fall asleep in my lap. But I wasn't sure how to stop him from being a lap chicken without excluding the Silkies. But I can separate him pretty easily, as centrarchid suggests. I may try that this week, before he gets any older.

 

[Chercher72]

If he starts to charge you then he's going to be aggressive. If he barely notices you when you walk into his own then he's a nice rooster. They usually call their hens when you enter the pen. If he starts running at you or moves like he's going to fight that is aggression. I've had a few aggressive roosters.

Hi! I have a teeny tiny Sebright cockerel. He is 11 weeks old and beginning to try to act like a rooster: crowing, tidbitting, paying really close attention to his female flockmates...

I have been reading a lot of articles about cockerel/rooster behavior. I am wondering *when* I will be able to tell if he is going to be a good rooster or an aggressive rooster. Any advice for what I should look for and when?

 

[Folly's place]

He is very cute!
My worst ever cockerel started attacking me when he was about seven to eight WEEKS of age! It was amazing, really, this little bantam acting like he was ten feet tall. He did not improve, and moved on. Pretty, yes, and also a jerk.
I've also had two roosters who decided to become human aggressive their second year, although that's less common, at least here.
Otherwise the bad boys started thinking bad thoughts as they matured, so four to eight months of age. I don't 'cuddle' my cockerels, they need to work at being chickens, not pets, at least here. Over time I've learned how to interpret behaviors that can develop into active human aggression, and nobody stays here if I'm going to be challenged!
I have three breeding groups, and like to have a rooster and a 'backup' cockerel for each group, so normally there are six here most of the year, and they all need to be polite to humans and not injure each other.
Mary

 

[Rammy]

How old was he when he decided to try being a jerk? Little Picotee has been a dream thus far. He is kind if a lap chicken, which I hear makes for problems later. His subflock consists of 2 Silkies, who are just the loviest things ever. All 3 of them like to cuddle and fall asleep in my lap. But I wasn't sure how to stop him from being a lap chicken without excluding the Silkies. But I can separate him pretty easily, as centrarchid suggests. I may try that this week, before he gets any older.

3 months. He crowed so much now he has laryngitis. Nothing but a sqwauk (sp) now. He would "stalk" me when I walked along the fence to thier run. Then he started charging me when my back was turned. Thats when I started carrying him. The biting was a big no no so thats why he got smacked. He does it again hes going to camp Kenmore.

 

[RoostersAreAwesome]

If he isn't aggressive right now or showing any signs of aggression, I would let him be. But, if he starts shuffling up to you, kinda cocking his tail and eyeing you, or flares his hackle at your hand or shoe, then you'd need to do something. Two of my OEG bantam cockerels started pecking my shoes at around 14 weeks (they've been pretty good at not doing it again, though). My bantam cockerels seem to mature a lot faster than my standards.
My sebright cockerel, Mico, (he's a lap chicken) hasn't even looked at me weird. He is about 20 weeks old now.

 

[cmom]

Most males are good boys but there are some who insist on being jerks. I have a lot of males but I hatch out a lot of chicks. When they start bothering the pullets they get moved to bachelor coops and pens. I have 5 breeds I keep for breeding each has a male and a backup male, the rest I sell. I've only had a couple of jerks in many years.

 

[Fur-N-Fowl]

I've seen and heard of cockerels/roosters changing their behaviour at various different ages.

I've had a 3-4 week old male chick latch onto my arm before and throw his legs about and i've heard of a roosters behaviour changing 5+ years later after being great for the previous years.

I think a lot of factors play effect on how a rooster behaves. It's not just genetic, but slight physical and environmental changes can make a male change his ways.

Ultimately, I go with the rule that if they've been fine so far then stick with him.

That doesn't mean he won't ever change but you don't know the future! It'd be great if we all knew how our roosters/Cockerels would turn out further down the line.

I have a Silkie Cockerel (pretty much almost a rooster now) who is a huge wuss. He just runs away and cries when I pick him up but doesn't cause any issues. He's my best friend when I bring him a juicy plum though! I can't guarantee he will never change though, one day he might decide to lunge at me.

On the other hand, we had a D'Anver rooster who was a little ankle biter. Due to his small size and the fact that we have no young children in our household and we free range, we kept him. He was a glorious little guard Chicken! Having him the way he was worked in our favour and we sure do miss him. Sadly he wasn't tough enough to fight his illness.

A rooster like that, particularly a Large Fowl one can be dangerous and difficult to work with. Of course if it's not something you can personally cope with, you've got to put yourself and your family first.

As long as your Cockerel is remaining on your good side, I'd say keep him! Of course, if things change further down the line, you can tackle them then.

I'm sure you've already seen them but there is quite a few interesting reads about cockerels/roosters here on BYC!