The Complete Life Cycle of a (Mostly) Happy Rooster

[Intheswamp]

Wow!!! Seven years ago I started planning on starting a flock. Life got in the way and I had to put chickens on the back burner... but I'm back planning again. This article was (and this would definitely be a publishable article in a trade/hobby magazine!) very well written showing much insight. Congratulations on a great job of relaying that insight to us!!!

Though I have no chickens at the moment I'll definitely keep what you wrote here in mind!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!!
Ed

 

[lpyrbby]

I'm also glad I came across this. We have two young cockerels and I'd like to keep them both if I can figure out a way to keep them happy with the ladies. But. I'm also not blind to the fact that one may be a better suitor for them than the other, so now it's just monitoring. I'll be glad to note my experiences here as we learn more, going forward. Mine where hatched with their breeder from hatchery stock and were handled by her family before coming to me. Once we got them, the coop wasn't ready so the 4 birds have been in a 6x3x2 pen. We should be moving them into the big coop (8x16) this weekend. They're currently 15 weeks old. The boys are already facing off but one backs down pretty regularly. I have my suspicions that he's just biding his time until he gets older and braver. We shall see!

 

[AustralorpsAU]

Wow. What an amazing story!!

 

[Zalamom]

What a wonderful story!!! I am a new chicken owner. You had me laughing so many times! I, too, have 2 boys, and we went to Tractor Supply and bought our first chicks. I can relate so well. Except we ended up with 3 roosters and 3 hens. Our roos are going through puberty. When Peeper first crowed, he sounded like a rusty gate. He is still very friendly. I always wear my red boots out to the chicken yard. I will be getting a new color ASAP, as I have noticed lots of pecking at my feet. I am trying hard to understand rooster behavior before any of them become a problem. I loved all of your hints. I was so sad for the Rooster when he had been defeated by his lousy son. I know it was hard, but the choice you made in the end was the best for him. He was suffering a miserable existence after he had been beaten, and the lovely family that received him truly appreciated the gift. Thank you for sharing. I learned a lot!

 

[Lincityfarmette]

Not considering myself to be particularly maudlin I was surprised by the tears your story brought to my eyes and voice as I read your post to my husband. We have recently discovered one of our young pullets to be a Rooster. He is a Blue Barred Plymouth Rock. He will be rehomed as we live in LA. As a "teen" member of our flock acquired at 6 wks. he was housed separately with a female teen. The crow caused me to leap out of bed one morning. Over the next couple of days we kept him in a large box inside. At least the neighbors wouldn't get the early morning call! In the days following we were pondering and researching the maleness possibilities of the younger portion of our bunch. Then one morning I was attacked feet first as I released the teens for their usual yard time. He tore open my arm. This frightened me not for me but more because my husband was shocked and burned on his job one year ago with resultant skin grafts still healing. I could not permit this creature to attack my husband!!! Rather rooster like of me...I determined to dominate the roo or call my friend from Cameroon to add him to her soup pot. The dominance thing worked out in my favor. However your story has given me a more complete view. He was doing his job by protecting his girl that he was housed with. Now I have separated him from the first girl, left him alone a couple of days, then one evening I put the female teen BBCM in with him. My plan is to observe him further with she and my older hens. If all goes well and I learn to let him do his job as I do mine (I still won't let him near my sweet husband), I plan to sell the pair. I intend to try your prescriptions of roo compatability. Thank you so much for telling The Rooster's story. May God richly bless you. You really have helped us. But we still live in the city and the roo has to go! Again, my gratitude to you.

 

[AWickedChicken]

I know this was posted quite some time ago but I wanted to say thank you because this has been really helpful for me, my problem is in a way similar but also different, our original "King" Rooster was defeated in a battle with predators(we assume to be raccoons) and his little brother took his place. We have five roosters, 1 silkie, 2 RIR's, 1 Bantam, and 1 red sex-link. They're pecking order is in the order that I wrote them, the red sex-link being the bottom in the eyes of the other roo's and the hens. Our original "King" Rooster was a sweetheart but his little brother see's me as a threat I'm guessing from your story. The other roosters pay no attention to me except the red sex-link who has never liked me even as a baby. I'm wondering if you had any troubles collecting eggs after you started changing your posture, right now the two roo's won't let me in the coop at all, whether it's to feed them or to collect eggs, my other family members he allows without question but when it comes to me we start dancing like you explained and I'd like to get on better terms with him..

 

[ShrekDawg]

Great story! I loved reading it and especially hearing something other than dominance tactics. Was so sad to hear about his dethroning though

And I think you did the right thing for him and he certainly made someone a nice meal but I do have to wonder if you had just sold his son, perhaps even before the months of you hiding him, like after he healed from the incident, or even after all that time, if he would have eventually been able to rejoin the flock and take over again? Or if he was just too dejected and gone?

 

[FlyWheel]

OK, I have a question for Daisy8: My 4 month old rooster challenges me from time to time, about once every other day or so. Not a full out attack ,there is no gnashing of beak or blood drawn. But they never come when I'm showing any of the aggressive postures you mentioned, not standing directly in front of him, or with my toes pointed his way, He shies away when I do that, hackles flared, but making no move towards me. Hades, I'm not even looking anywhere near his direction when he does leap at me, I'm doing the exact opposite. All his attacks take place when I am in the least offensive position possible; when my back is turned! A few days ago it was when I was filling the hen's oyster can and last night when I was bending over the cabinet getting feed for them. I was so P'd off that time that I grabbed him, carried him by his ankles, threw him in the dog cage and locked him up for the night without dinner! He's still in lockup, but I did give him some feed to eat this evening and yes there is a water fount in the cage.

How does that figure into your aggressor-response theory and how would you handle it? I would prefer not having to get rid of him if at all possible. By February he will have ten mature hens for company, twice the number he has now. Will that calm him down any?

 

[Intheswamp]

FW, I would use the tactic that Beekissed speaks of...get a stick and chase that rooster without let up one day, just touching/prodding it with the stick (not hitting it), give it no peace, if it runs into a hiding place then run him out of it, be the demon that he can't control. From what I understand this persistent harassment only takes a day or two. Let him come to the chicken-run-shaking-revelation that *you* are the baddest thing in his world and that he wants to stay away from you at all costs.

Your rooster seems smart, attacking you from your blind side...he's attacking something 20 times his size so he needs all the advantage that he can muster (wouldn't you?). Make him understand that making you agitated isn't worth his barnyard strut.

Best wishes,
Ed

 

[FlyWheel]

That is actually what I have been doing - somewhat. This I also learned here (BYC); the instant I feel him going after me I immediately try and grab him, which usually ends up as a chase - roosters are quick - and I either catch him or sometimes am lucky enough to herd him into the dog cage where he stays until I go out to fill their feed bins the next day and let him out. These 24 hour incarcerations usually do the trick. He leaves me alone or even avoids me. Unfortunately this only lasts for a couple of days tops.

The thing I don't like about doing this, besides the fact that any lessons learned are far too short lived, is that all this chasing gets the hens and pullets all agitated and they start panicking as well. And I am already starting to see some aloofness in them towards me. I certainly don't want the ladies to think of me as a threat. They are all people friendly and I would like to keep them that way, if not improve the poultry/human relationship.

Chaz (the rooster) is still in his cage, he gets feed and water regularly, but obviously cannot enjoy scratching and pecking and all the other things a rooster likes to do

. As of now I am actually thinking of keeping him there until all the pullets start laying (predicted: late February) in the hopes that ten mature hens will keep him too occupied to think about facing off with me. Or at least dampen his need to dominate. If that doesn't work then I will have no choice but to re-home him.

And I really don't want to have to do this; TTYTT, I actually like hearing him crow in the morning - kinda makes me feel all is OK.