young rooster behavior (if this is a roo)

[7kids12hens]

Hello. I'm fairly new to this chicken thing, and I never could have imagined the journey it would take me on. I have 5 laying hens, and 6 others who are very close to laying or a little younger. My youngest ones are about 12 weeks old. I also have another chicken, that I've raised with this flock that was supposed to be a pullet, but I'm thinking and hoping he is a rooster. I had an americana rooster who was acquires from a backyard flock very similar to mine. They had to rehome him, because he turned out to be rooster. He was very sweet when I went to see him and brought him home. By the afternoon, he was attcking me and the children. I thought it would be like integrating a hen, and well, I did a few things wrong. After spending the night reading and taking a crash course in rooster 101, I went to the coop with my arms and legs covered, and after a little mayhem, picked that rooster up, fed him out of my hand, and repeated the process for about 3 days and he soon came to be fine with me handling the hens, and I had even worked my up to bringing one child with me into the fence to gather eggs. He very quickly grew to be my favorite. Last Friday morning I went out find him dead on the ground. I had him necropsied, and so far Mareks, avian flu, and ILT have been ruled out. Anyway, I have this barred rock who was raised with the flock and I've had since he was a "pullet" about 6 wks old. He's now close to 6 mos old. No crowing or eggs. He's very skittish and I can't catch him anymore to try to handle him, but he will eat from my hand. My question is, if he's a rooster, will he start to exert some authority. He is sparring periodically with another bird who's not laying, but I feel very certain she a girl. You can't tell from the photo that I am going to attempt to post, but when he does that his hackle feather flare out all the way around his head and they look just like Biff's that first after noon when he was chasing me out of the fence and attacking the back of my leg. He also getting saddle feathers that are longer and hanging down alittle lower and move with thebreeze when it blows. Is there anything I need to do to help him become the perfect rooster my Biff was once I came to understand him? Let me know if anyone thinks he's a she. Ok- ill have to work on figuring out how to post a photo.

 

[galanie]

Hens will flare out the hackle feathers too. Yes please post a picture. I would think that by 6 months there wouldn't be much of a question as to whether it's a roo or not. Any spurs starting to grow?
Oh, and be sure the picture shows the whole side of the bird.

Some are just not as tame as others. Probably he'll never be like your Biff, but so long as he takes care of the girls and doesn't attack people, he should be perfect.

 

[7kids12hens]

His hackle feathers flare all the way up around his head and not just on the back of his neck, like the other bird. I'm at a loss for posting the picture. I'm going to have to wait for my computer genius teenager to show me how to do it. I can barely email a photo. I also wanted to ask what's the least stressful way to catch him so I can start to hold him. A net maybe? Or take him off the roost at night? He does have what looks like might be nubs hor spurs. I've also read that they crow much later when they are with their mother, and his mother is here with him. This is probably a real crazy question, but that makes me wonder about him fathering chicks by her. Is that acceptable in the chicken world?

 

[7kids12hens]

I do know how to email pictures. Am I allowed to that, if there's an email option under your username? Luckily I know more about chickens than computers.

 

[galanie]

Soon as you get 10 posts you can post a picture here. There is a sticky in the help thread on how to do it.