How to raise a nice rooster

I need some advise. I'm planning to get some baby chicks, including a male, in a few weeks. When I was a girl, my best friend was my rooster, he never attacked me, but he did attack some other people. How do I raise a little rooster to not be aggressive to other people. I don't want to raise a little monster, how can I raise him to be gentle towards people. The breed I ordered are New Hampshire Reds, are they particularly agressive, should I select another breed? All advise would be much appreciated.

Unfortunately, roos have a mind of their own. I have hand raised all my roos and I have had some wonderful roos, and some little devils. Duke is my favorite. He comes when I call him. I feed him by hand everyday. We use to watch TV together everynight, he would cuddle under my chin. He still is very gentle to me. He has been great with my kids as well. Until two hens went broody. Then he chased my littlest out of the pen. She was devistated. They have such strong instincts. Not much brains. :( I do not know any sure way to make them nice. You can try carrying it under your arm with it facing backwards. They say they only come after you when they feel threatened. Not so sure though. My daughter is not as threatening as some. I dont know. There are ways people say to make them know you are not there to hurt them. I feed mine treats and stuff by hand every day. I also pick them up a lot so they do not fear my approach. I dont know. I guess every roo is different. Best of luck to you. Let me know how you make out!! :)

i have a really nice roo that was raised inside by himself (due to injurys) and he thought he was a cockatiel for a long time. he used to follow us around all over the house! lol!! to this day he lets anyone pick him up and pet him without any protest. :)

It was mentioned some here before..
This is what I did.. just to be on the safe side.

When our Roo started breeding, I didn't let him do it right in front of me.. I pushed him off the hen. (to show dominance)
When he came up to me to see what was going on, even though it was probably innocent.. I used body language.. and walked straight towards him to make him back up a little... Not in a mean way.. but just to show him I could.
I didn't raise him, so it took a while for him to "warm up" to me. Now, he is a prize. He is totally gentle, confident, and I let him be the boss.. with a subtle reminder now and then, that I'm the boss.. and I can stop him if need be. I wonder how much of it is the breed.. and I don't have broody hens either.. so time will tell.
It's probably a lot easier if you raise him and win his trust from the beginning.. when the hormones start flowing.. it's a whole different ball game! LOL
Good Luck

Roo's are as unpredictable as children. When you have children you can't just say I don't want him or her because, blank blank blank. No! their yours now, deal with it. Roo's are the same. You can't just buy one and after they mature decide you don't like their behaviour, and turn them in for another. There is no sure fire way to make sure you are getting what you want. Research and talk around to see what others have to say, make an educated decision, buy one and then do the best you can. Lots of social interaction with other people around him would probably help him to adjust around people. Having said that as ZZ's said when the testostorone starts flowing all bets are off. I don't allow the roo's to spend the nights with the girls. Roo's who spend to much time with hens often get tired of them and then they get mean. Absence makes the heart grow fond. Good luck. Haystack, and do keep us posted.

I do not seperate my roos. Great Uncle, that is interesting! I have never heard of that. wow. My roo has his favorite girl though. Unfortunately I do not have another coop to keep the roos in. I was told the roos can not keep their comb warm by putting their head under their wing, so they needed the girls to keep warm and prevent their comb from freezing. Do you keep them together in the winter? Your winters are quite cold. brrrr...
Roos are like people, they have personality. A mean roo usually goes to freezer camp. I dont send the kids there though. :/ LOL

Mine, regardless of disposition, are gentler with less competition and fewer ladies to take care of. When they start competing for dominance then things change -though the nice ones are always nice...

I do something similar to what ZZ does...

I have to disagree a bit with Haystack; I raise my chickens as livestock primarily, not pets (although we do temporarily have a house chicken), so the idea that you can't get rid of one who doesn't meet your needs doesn't fly (ha!) with me. We got a bunch of roosters in a straight run mixed breed order, and believe me, the ones that we didn't like got eaten, and I felt no guilt over deciding which ones needed to go. They weren't mean to us, but some were nasty with the hens or each other. We ended up with one NH Red rooster who had brains, took care of his flock, and had a nice personality. We did not hand feed, baby, or otherwise try to make nice with him. With ram lambs, for example, you are advised NOT to try to make friends with them when they are young, because then they view you as an equal and when they mature, this can be a dangerous thing. I don't know if roosters necessarily would be the same way, but we just assume an attitude of "I'm in charge, so don't try anything". I'm not talking about being agressive or anything, just acting as if you own the place (which you do) and they take their cues off your body language I think. That's what's worked for us, YMMV.

We have NH Red roosters again, and they are about 9-10 months old. No problems with them so far. I really like this breed, and you should have a good shot at getting a nice rooster.

I also disagree with Haystack... No offense intended here.. but Roos are a dime a dozen, there is no way I'd be stuck with one that made my life or my hen's life miserable.
I adore you Haystack, and sure don't want to ruffle any feathers.. but in a different world, it may be that we would be able to deal with whatever we were dealt...
In fact, I am dealing with this right now. Catscan gave me an amazing Ameracauna Roo.. but his hormones are raging, and he terrorizes the pullets, to the point they all huddle in the corner and won't eat. I'm sorry.. I love him, and he is an exceptionally beautiful roo, but he has to go. I will not deal with bloody combs and terrorized pullets. I am very sad to see him go.. but it's him or 12 pullets at or very near point of lay..

GallesFarm, and ZZ's!!! Neither of you have offended me at all. In fact you have not said one thing that I disagree with. Notice if you pay close attention to what I said, you will see that I stated he is yours deal with it. However you choose to deal with it, (Freezer camp, another home, or whatever. However you have no assurance that the next Roo you choose will be any better, therefore you know as well as I do that what ever you acquire having done all you can muster is no guarantee you will have a nice Roo, You also know that what is a nice Roo in one situation, does not guarantee a nice Roo in another situation. That is why I refered to children. I know and so do you that some great and responsible parents have had to deal with some lousy children and having done all they are still lousy. Point Made. Haystack Putting it simply there are no Guarantees. It seemed that is what she was wanting according to the post. My regards to both of or all who disagree. Have a great day.

What I find sad is that what people want in a roo--nice, docile, non-aggressive and quiet--is not what a good roo should be. I mean we want them that way in domestication--but nature wanted something quite different and the poor creatures are just doing their best to be what nature wants.

My roosters are running free with the girls and most of the time they can't even catch a pullet that doesn't want them--it is just so different when they are all "cooped up" together and the girls can't get away.

Haystack, thanks for the explanation. Re-reading your original post, it still reads to me as if you are saying "if you get a rooster that doesn't meet your needs, tough, now you have to live with it and can't give it away/butcher it". I thought you were taking the line that people usually take with those who adopt a dog or cat and then for whatever reason don't want to keep them, especially since you made the child analogy. I hate when people equate their children to their pets and propose they should be treated exactly the same.

Thanks for clearing that up!

Thank you Haystack.. you're the greatest!

By rights, I am only allowed 1 roo anyway. I have a wonderful Roo who is everything I could ask for... (I won't mention the Bantams)

A different time, a different place... oh to dream... a different place? Oh wow.. wouldn't that be paradise!

Catscan is right too... The poor thing doesn't know he is suppose to have Manners!!
I never blamed the roo, he is magnificent.. I just can't handle the problem it causes in my particular situation...

I find that the ones that get too aggressive with me or my daughter also get too aggressive with the hens. The ones that get along well on the farm are better at watching for predators, interacting with the dogs, cats, and daughter. Not nature exactly. But a wide variety of critters do co-exist peacefully in nature. As long as the hierarchy is firmly established.

We just sent four roos to freezer camp yesterday. My poor hens were being "raped" by all four roos everyday and many had lost the feathers on their backs. I do not tolerate mean or rough roos. I always have a soft spot for gentle roos though.

I think this is an interesting topic because I have some aggressive roosters! They're all banties but still....
Last year we ordered 25 St. run banty chicks. Of the 17 that survived our dog's attack(!) 5 turned out to be roosters. We have two beautiful black frizzles and 2 beautiful white roos and one very scraggly red! Since then, we've had two more roos hatch.

Except for the scraggly red and the babies, all the roos are aggressive especially with me--although they will attack my husband and I'm very cautious when I take my 6 yr. old grandson out there!

Personally, neither my husband nor I can bring ourselves to kill and eat these critters and I don't know what to do! Fortunately 3 of the aggressive ones automatically put themselves to bed in a separate unit from the hens so lately I've just been keeping them locked up. The one remaining aggressive one is a white one and since all the babies that have hatched so far are black, I'd kinda like to keep him for breeding purposes. Still, he's aggressive.

Is anyone out there interested in some black frizzles? How do I "dispose" of these angry fellows? We've thought about putting them in the pasture but I'd hate to invite predators although we have a donkey out there that probably keeps them away.

Help!

Carol

This is indeed interesting. I have several roos. I am rehoming my extras as I can only have one rooster (small flock) It is recommended to have one roo per dozen hens. I put an add in Craigs list and had people respond within 15 minutes. Its local too so they will pick up. I would prefer them to not go to freezer camp but what ever they decide is up to them. I have a very good roo that is not agressive at all. I have heard that you should tuck them under your arm and carry them around (head facing back so you dont get your eyes pecked out) so they learn that you are dominant and that you are not going to hurt them. All my roos are hand feed and raised. It did not really make too much of a difference in their behavior. I believe Catscan had it pegged. Its their nature. Thats what they do. Protect the flock.
Pretty picture of the frizzle.

Well, after posting that I'd had no problems so far with my NH Red roosters, I have to eat my words! lol A lot of my hens were bare-backed but I had up til recently had 4 roosters, which was way too many, so I culled the ones that I thought were the least suitable and left 2 so I could watch and see which one had the best flock leader potential.

I should point out that the ideal temperament I'm looking for is a rooster that isn't constantly chasing hens around trying to mate, calls the flock when he finds food, keeps an eye out for danger, and in general keeps order in the flock. I had a rooster like that before, so I know it's possible.

Well, the two that are left aren't quite making the grade, I'm afraid. Yesterday both were chasing this one hen across the yard, through the brush, into the woods, with her screaming all the way, and when they finally caught up with her, it was basically a chicken gang-bang. This particular hen must be giving off some some sort of signal because she is becoming the rattiest-looking of all of them, which means she's the one they mate with most.

I don't know if culling one of them would leave the other feeling less competition and maybe more inclined to stop mounting hens so much, as well as maybe more of a feeling of "responsibility" (how much responsibility can a chicken feel? lol). But I guess that's my next step, since 2 roosters is still 1 too many for a dozen hens.

We had a female duck. She was very lonely. We got a baby chick, who turned out to be a big rooster. Duck would put her neck out along the ground and start quacking. Rooster would run over and get on her. They enjoyed it. But after Duck died, we got 2 more baby chicks, unfortunately, they were leghorns, and one was a male. We named them, Hen and Henry. Henry wasn't ever, ever allowed on Hen. Rooster was very big and had large spurs, Henry didn't. I always felt so sorry for Henry.

I had trouble with too few roos as well as too many --seemed somewhat like overcompensation or competition, depending.

Well, we're now down to just 1 rooster, so we'll see.

I have a roo who is very aggressive towards me, no matter how many times I send him reeling with my walking stick. In fact the other day I whacked him so hard I thought I killed him, but he got up, shook the blood out of his eyes (from where his comb was bleeding) and waddled away. I have such a dilemma with him, because he is absolutely a gentleman with his girls, and even baby chicks. Hes WONDERFUL with them. Its just me that he hates. Im sure its just natural instincts, but geez, cut me some slack, bud. I have a bunch of his babies in the brooder out of my best girls, and Im sure Ill have some baby boys that I can choose from. I just dont know what to do, he's sooo good with his girls and the babies. And his babies are beautiful. I dunno.....

I wouldn't put up with that! He'd be sweeter in a stew ; )

What kind of roo is it? My Dutch Bantam roos are vicious with each other. But they seem okay with people. With each other or my little Serama roo, they latch hold and won't let go.

Its a plymouth rock roo. Im not sure how much longer Ill tolerate his behavior; the brooder is filled with little blue chicks. Im thinking there will be several roo babies to interview for his job.

How bout a squirt with the hose? or when you knock him down, go hold him down...

I probably wouldn't keep him either..

Thats the funny thing about him. If I grab him and hold him, he's happy as can be. Just hangs out with me carrying him, never makes a fuss. He's just very territorial. Im thinking he's on borrowed time here. Just need a suitable replacement.

I guess sometimes we just get lucky, I have one flock of twenty-eight and three of them are Roos. They get along very well. The Roos do mate with the hens but there is no rough play at all and you can barely see that the hens have been mounted. I feel very fortunate, especially after reading what some of you have been going thru. I sure would not put up with any roo attacking myself or anything else. There must be a way to keep a good Roo, and, also protect especially the women and children who have to feed them and put them in and let them out. I'm going to do some research and find a way to deal with with these aggressive guy's. Haystack

Carol I think you had a great idea, turn the Roos out in the pasture. If you have a donkey generally the predators don't want to mix it up with a donkey, and the roos will probably be fine. Maybe after some time they will become more manageable.
My americana Roo is very large and not mean at all, but when he mates with the hens he is very tough on them. At one point their backs were almost bare so I built him a cage that is eight feet long and three feet wide and three feet high. It is made out of hardware cloth with a slot in the top and bottom. when I want to seperate him from the hen I just drop in a framed piece of hardware cloth that becomes a barrier. and both sections have a door so I can feed and water them, again when I want to let them mate I just pull out the barrier and walla they are together again. I generally leave them together about four hours. That way she gets some relief and so does he. Twice a week I do let them together like this. That way her eggs are always fertile. Haystack

When I was a girl I had a pet duck. She was a female duck, but got lonely, so we got her a friend. Well the friend happened to turn out to be a big rooster. She was horney, he was horney, so it worked. She would stretch her neck out on the ground, put her little but up in the air, and start quacking. Rooster would instantly come running over and get on top of her , and they would do the deed, several times a day, lol. One day when I was out in the back yard, a repair man came through the yard, and said" Isn't that a rooster on top of a duck?" I just said yes but we don't like to talk about it.

Elleisen: I don't know how you could have put it any better. Put me in tears. Hay

GallesFarm!! You crack me up. When you posted what you were looking for in a Rooster, I thought you were right on. And yes you are right, they are out there. You are indeed proving my point I made earlier. I feel the same as you in what I want in a Rooster. But making that happen is not so easy. Years ago I raised dogs and trained them for King County Police. We would go through an average of fifteen - eighteen dogs to finally one with all the right components. I am begining to feel it is similiar in finding the right Rooster. I wish you the very best. Haystack