Experienced rooster keepers

[BlindLemonChicken]

I just handle mine from day 1 to adulthood. All of mine have turned out friendly. Some of which are shy(Flighty), but not aggressive.
I've only had very few aggressive roosters/Cockerels. Those ones were genetically human aggressive, so they became food.

I don’t have the option of day 1. Do you think this will work if he’s 8 weeks old?

 

[MysteryChicken]

I don’t have the option of day 1. Do you think this will work if he’s 8 weeks old?

Possibly. I tamed down a broody raised gamefowl cross cockerel that was about 3-4 months old.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

If my neighbor will sell me a hen I might go that route and then just be a little hands-on with him but not cuddly. I don’t want the kids thinking he’s for snuggling lol

 

[ChaosMom]

If my neighbor will sell me a hen I might go that route and then just be a little hands-on with him but not cuddly. I don’t want the kids thinking he’s for snuggling lol

Can you hold off on getting a roo until your girls are more mature? From what I understand, older hens will smack impertinent cockerels around until they gain a little respect. (I don't know if this works for virginal older hens, lol.)

 

[FrostRanger]

Me neither. I’ve always raised chicks. I know better than to get a full grown rooster and throw him in with pullets but it might be worth getting one hen to raise with them all. If i get them the same day it shouldn’t be too rough

Actually, waiting until the pullets are laying then getting a mature rooster with a proven temperament wouldn't be a bad idea

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

@ChaosMom & @FrostRanger I have debated that but I am nervous to let them out without a rooster and I don’t want them cooped up that long. Getting a couple older hens might help with this as well and is definitely an option. On the other hand, if I am not successful at raising a gentlemen there is plenty of demand for roos where I am so it would be easy enough to sell him on a find another.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I know a little cockerel isn’t going to be much of an alert for predators in the beginning but I’m hopeful he can learn the area and manners at the same time. It’s very possible I’m overthinking this

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

As mentioned temperament is up to cockerels. We've had some accidental ones that were okay. Some were not good.

We kept a boy this year, buff Brahma, and knew he'd take longer to "act up". We raised them under our two year old hens.

When he started maturing/hormonal behavior, he went in a pen within our run. That way he was still with the flock but not with them.

After a month we let him out. He was doing decently, checking boxes, calling for feed. But started standing on the girls after mating and not moving, sooo back into timeout he went. He is still young and still learning. He was 5.5 months when he started and by August will be a year old.

We plan on releasing him then when we separate our broodies chicks by then. And hopefully if he keeps up his good behavior, we have a good feeling about this one. He's never showed us any aggression, my kids are near adults and taller than me, so that's not a worry either.

They can be a crap shoot, but once you get past the hormone teenage stage is when (I've read) they start to behave towards the girls.

Hope this helps? Good luck

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

As mentioned temperament is up to cockerels. We've had some accidental ones that were okay. Some were not good.

We kept a boy this year, buff Brahma, and knew he'd take longer to "act up". We raised them under our two year old hens.

When he started maturing/hormonal behavior, he went in a pen within our run. That way he was still with the flock but not with them.

After a month we let him out. He was doing decently, checking boxes, calling for feed. But started standing on the girls after mating and not moving, sooo back into timeout he went. He is still young and still learning. He was 5.5 months when he started and by August will be a year old.

We plan on releasing him then when we separate our broodies chicks by then. And hopefully if he keeps up his good behavior, we have a good feeling about this one. He's never showed us any aggression, my kids are near adults and taller than me, so that's not a worry either.

They can be a crap shoot, but once you get past the hormone teenage stage is when (I've read) they start to behave towards the girls.

Hope this helps? Good luck

That does help, thank you. My mom gets a lot of my cockerels and that has been her experience as well. Usually when they get hormonal she will call and blame me for their bad attitude . But then (if they don’t piss her off enough to lose their heads) they chill out and I never hear anything else about them unless she decides to breed one.

 

[PrettyBirdRocky]

That does help, thank you. My mom gets a lot of my cockerels and that has been her experience as well. Usually when they get hormonal she will call and blame me for their bad attitude . But then (if they don’t piss her off enough to lose their heads) they chill out and I never hear anything else about them unless she decides to breed one.

I'm kinda sad we didn't keep one of our very first whoops cockerels--he was a good boy and unique-- but at the same time I'm glad because we've learned so much since then.