Cockerel question again.

[Rose the Legbar]

Thank you all so much! I was doubting myself with what was a “good” and “bad” roo. I just grabbed him from the coop to place into a separate area and I will evaluate how the hens act in the morning without him there.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Excellent. Please keep us posted.

Incidentally, there are people who claim to be able to reform or rehab a misbehaving or even aggressive cockerel or rooster using various techniques. Others say they've tried these methods without success. Whether they work for some people or not, I do not advise that a person with no experience with chickens such as yourself attempt them.

Do you even need a rooster? Honestly, unless you plan to hatch chicks, a rooster is not necessary. You'll still get eggs, and one of the hens will probably set herself up as the flock leader.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I love having a roo but I hate having one that is mean to my girls and i know wont grow out of it.

That is the key question isn't it. He is already 6 months old. Will he mature enough that the older hens will respect him and allow him to mate. The pullets also when they start to lay eggs. Laying eggs gets them over a hump where they act more mature.

Mature hens expect a rooster to act like a good father to their potential children. He should have the self-confidence and magnificence to wow them with his personality. He should take care of his flock, finding them food, breaking up fights, and watching for predators. Most adolescent boys have trouble meeting that standard. Some hens will mate with practically any male but many want something better. From what I'm reading it sounds like none of your hens are close to accepting him and squatting for him.

My situation is different from yours. I typically raise several cockerels with the flock every year. With my goals (playing with genetics) I typically keep a new flock master every year. So I eat the cockerels that don't meet my standards and select one out of many every year. My standards include behaviors. Even with 10 to 20 cockerels to choose between every year I still occasionally get one that is a disappointment. It's hard to evaluate how they will behave as adults before they are fully grown. With you only having one boy you are at the luck of the draw as to how he will behave when mature.

The personalities of the girls have a lot to say about how peaceful your flock will be too. Some hens can be very aggressive about wanting to be flock master themselves. For me the worst combination is a strong dominant hen and a boy with a fairly weak personality. You often read on here where it is best to raise a young cockerel with a flock of older hens so they can beat him into submission and teach him manners. From what I've seen and stories like yours I don't believe in that but many people I respect on here do.

I've had a cockerel 5 months old take over as flock master with a flock with mature hens (those hens were not that aggressive). Most of my cockerels do that at 7 months. I had one (a poor choice on my part) that could not do that until 11 months and then he and the dominant hen had a violent two days before he took over.

So where do you go from here? To me, six months is an in-between age. He may need more time to mature enough to win respect from the hens. So isolating him from the flock for a while might give him that time. How long? I don't know. I would not expect a week to be enough. A month might or might not be. He may never grow up.

I agree this is a good time to evaluate how strongly you want a rooster. To me the only reason you need a rooster is if you want to hatch chicks. But it is a personal choice. Many people, including people that free range their flock, are very happy without a rooster. Others, even if the flock stays confined, would not have a flock without a rooster even if they don't hatch.

If you decide you do want a rooster you can try keeping that one and see if he works out. Or you can try bringing in one next spring that is about a year old. He should be mature enough to win over the girls based on personality. You don't get guarantees with any of them but a year old one gives you a pretty good chance.

Good luck. This is not always an easy choice.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

@Ridgerunner, I always appreciate your input. You bring your experience, knowledge, common sense and balance to every thread. BYC is blessed to have you!

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I was doubting myself with what was a “good” and “bad” roo.

Good Male Qualities:

• Never attacking females or humans.
• Leaving females alone when they do not want to be bred.
• Always watching out for his females and doing warnings whenever he sees a potential threat.
• Food-clucking when he finds a tasty treat, giving it to the females, and not forcing them to be bred afterwards.
• Responding to a female when she does an egg song, and showing her potential nesting sites; also guarding her while she is laying an egg (a male usually does not do this with every female, especially when he has a large flock to take care of, but it is preferable for her safety).

Bad Male Qualities:

• Attacking females at random, and attacking humans.
• Chasing around females and forcing them to be bred, often almost all day.
• Being too occupied with mating and not watching out for danger/mistaking non-threats for danger constantly.
• Not food-clucking for the females when he finds a tasty treat and saving it for himself/food-clucking for the females and then immediately forcing her to be bred, often when he has not even found food and just wants to trick her.
• Not responding to a female when she does an egg song/responding but not showing her nests or guarding her.

 

[Rose the Legbar]

I was watching my hens and pullets today for around 3 hours. In that amount of time, there was the least amount of fighting and the least amount of screaming (there was none!) from the 8 that I have seen in a good while. Usually my EE would chase off the pullets but she was a lot more calm and didn’t peck as much. Same goes with the others.

The cockerel is in an area where he can’t see the girls. Still acts the same but is shifting himself to put his side to me and lowering down his tail while he pecks at the ground (only when I am standing outside and he can see me, he still runs from me like I’m going to murder him when I put my hands inside his cage.). He used to sometimes shift his side to me and peck at the ground when he was with the girls as well.

As for my reasons for wanting him. I wanted to breed him but he turned out to be pretty wonky and not super standard so I dropped that idea for him. I did also want to show him but he turned out to think I am the most scary thing, so that got dropped too. I do also personally enjoy a rooster’s crowing.

Sadly if he goes, I am not getting another rooster. Well, or any other chickens. I would love to try for a good roo next year but with college being on the horizon, my parents said no more new birds (even ones to replace a lost one) after they go as they would be the ones caring for my birds.

As it stands currently with things, the cockerel is going to be going. When?, I am unsure. I feel bad keeping him in a small space for a possibility of a long period of time.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

The last of my cockerels (6 of them) are in crates tonight and will be going to the processor in the morning. Since we took four of them last week, much drama has been eliminated from the flock. One good rooster is all I need.