What are signs of a good rooster?

[TheFugitivePen]

Hello there!

Despite ordering all pullets, our hatchery order sent us an Easter Egger cockerel as an extra surprise. I've never had a rooster before, so I've been researching rooster behavior and care.

Wizard is now 4 months old, and he has started trying to mount our hens and pullets (7 hens over a year old, 4 pullets 4 months old). I've noticed that he grabs the heads of the pullets on occasion (they scream bloody murder, and he releases them--I haven't noticed any blood). He still isn't crowing, and while he shies away from touch, he is comfortable hanging out near us or mingling with the flock. He hasn't shown any signs of aggression towards me, my husband, or my son.

Should I be concerned by the head-grabbing behavior? Are there any other signs of a good/bad rooster I should be looking for? How did you know that your rooster was a keeper?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Hello there!

Despite ordering all pullets, our hatchery order sent us an Easter Egger cockerel as an extra surprise. I've never had a rooster before, so I've been researching rooster behavior and care.

Wizard is now 4 months old, and he has started trying to mount our hens and pullets (7 hens over a year old, 4 pullets 4 months old). I've noticed that he grabs the heads of the pullets on occasion (they scream bloody murder, and he releases them--I haven't noticed any blood). He still isn't crowing, and while he shies away from touch, he is comfortable hanging out near us or mingling with the flock. He hasn't shown any signs of aggression towards me, my husband, or my son.

Should I be concerned by the head-grabbing behavior? Are there any other signs of a good/bad rooster I should be looking for? How did you know that your rooster was a keeper?

The pullets make a fuss because while he is ready to breed, they are not. Males mature faster than females do.

My males move out of the way when I walk by them (with some exceptions, but I know them personally and have had many dozens of males over the 10+ years I've had chickens. Mine try to avoid being touched and held, but if I pick them up, they calm rather quickly for the most part. THEY DO NOT DRAW BLOOD. If a male draws blood, or even worse, kicks while biting, they're culled. That doesn't fly here, and it shouldn't unless you absolutely know what you're doing and there is no one else thar can be harmed by the bird if he turns foul.

After that, watch how he acts with the females once they start to lay eggs and let him breed. Is he polite? Or does he ambush and force them to breed constantly? If the hens don't want to be around him, he's not a good fit for them. If he's constantly pecking and chasing them, he's not a good fit. There will be some chasing, but his presence should nor stress rhe hens out especially if he's the only male

 

[ChickyWhicky]

Comb/head pulling is pretty typical breeding behavior. Some roosters are more rough than others. If a flock doesn't have enough ladies, they can get a little ragged.
I think a rooster can be a good addition as long as he is a gentleman (to his ladies & his humans). Roosters can lead the flock to treats, watch for predators and break up hen fights. I enjoy having mine around, they make the flock dynamic more interesting. My ladies love our rooster, so he really fits into our flock.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The pullets make a fuss because while he is ready to breed, they are not. Males mature faster than females do.

My males move out of the way when I walk by them (with some exceptions, but I know them personally and have had many dozens of males over the 10+ years I've had chickens. Mine try to avoid being touched and held, but if I pick them up, they calm rather quickly for the most part. THEY DO NOT DRAW BLOOD. If a male draws blood, or even worse, kicks while biting, they're culled. That doesn't fly here, and it shouldn't unless you absolutely know what you're doing and there is no one else thar can be harmed by the bird if he turns foul.

After that, watch how he acts with the females once they start to lay eggs and let him breed. Is he polite? Or does he ambush and force them to breed constantly? If the hens don't want to be around him, he's not a good fit for them. If he's constantly pecking and chasing them, he's not a good fit. There will be some chasing, but his presence should nor stress rhe hens out especially if he's the only male

I also want to add, when I talk about my males behaving around humans, I'm talking about starting as soon as they pinken up. Even I'm the midst of hormones and puberty, my males remain decent temperament. They don't get any excuses for being foul little terrors just because they suddenly realized their calling in life is to make minis

 

[CoopBoots]

My personal criteria:

1. He doesn't bully anyone in the flock
2. Mating is peaceful and uneventful (all hens like him)
3. Mating results in fertile eggs to sustain flock
4. Guardian behavior towards hens and chicks
5. Rooster can be and is safely contained at all times
6. No one enters chicken yard unprepared when he is loose
7. He's gentle -enough- that I can do his spur trimming and other healthcare without significant risk

I adore roosters, but I can't be convinced to trust them like I often trust other animals (like dogs or cats). He's something like someone else's guard dog I have a mostly respectful relationship with. I am a huge scary pink bigfoot, after all, who is also a predator. I'm pretty honored they trust me as much as they do, and I try to build that, but it's hard to blame him for getting upset when I have to do healthcare on his unwilling hens. With basic precautions, we get on just fine, and if I have to do anything very involved with the hens, he gets nicely shooed into a separate pen while I deal with it.

 

[5Australorpasaures]

Living deep in the woods I look for a Roo thttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dg7X5_K7LhEhat will take care of business of predation.

 

[Bigbluefrog]

My personal criteria:

1. He doesn't bully anyone in the flock
2. Mating is peaceful and uneventful (all hens like him)
3. Mating results in fertile eggs to sustain flock
4. Guardian behavior towards hens and chicks
5. Rooster can be and is safely contained at all times
6. No one enters chicken yard unprepared when he is loose
7. He's gentle -enough- that I can do his spur trimming and other healthcare without significant risk

I adore roosters, but I can't be convinced to trust them like I often trust other animals (like dogs or cats). He's something like someone else's guard dog I have a mostly respectful relationship with. I am a huge scary pink bigfoot, after all, who is also a predator. I'm pretty honored they trust me as much as they do, and I try to build that, but it's hard to blame him for getting upset when I have to do healthcare on his unwilling hens. With basic precautions, we get on just fine, and if I have to do anything very involved with the hens, he gets nicely shooed into a separate pen while I deal with it.

Do Roos normally rip the feathers off the backs of the hens? My friend has a buff Orpington rooster and several hens have bare backs and wing tips.
I am getting a Americana from him - mystery bird- with his order.
Is this common or is this a mean bird?

 

[saving grace]

Do Roos normally rip the feathers off the backs of the hens? My friend has a buff Orpington rooster and several hens have bare backs and wing tips.
I am getting a Americana from him - mystery bird- with his order.
Is this common or is this a mean bird?

Quite often if you do not have the right ratio of hens to a rooster (ten hens to one roo is good), the roo will over-mate the hens, ending in their backs getting bared. It doesn't necessarily mean the rooster is behaving bad, your friend may just not have enough hens to go around.

 

[Bigbluefrog]

Quite often if you do not have the right ratio of hens to a rooster (ten hens to one roo is good), the roo will over-mate the hens, ending in their backs getting bared. It doesn't necessarily mean the rooster is behaving bad, your friend may just not have enough hens to go around.

Oh he has 25 hens and two rosters plus 20 pullets and a 4 month old rooster which I will get. Plenty of hens but the ones over mated about 6 hens.

 

[wrathsfarm]

It doesn't matter how many Hens a Rooster has, he will have his favorites who will show bare backs and feathers pulled from back of the head from him grabbing their heads and mounting their backs.
They sell saddles or some make them for this reason.
To answer your question. Yes, it's normal. I've never heard of the wing tips being pulled, tho.