Celebrate “culture” in agriculture & share skills like growing, cooking, canning

Rooster behavior

Hi everyone~

I have some questions about our 5 month old RIR rooster- he doesn't seem to have
any "rooster-ish" qualities about him. About 5 or 6 years ago, we had a rooster
that was a real gentleman- he shared his "favors" among everyone equally, gave
the hens the choicest bits of food, was constantly alert and guarding the flock,
and made sure they were all tucked in at night. He was actually killed
protecting his flock from a bobcat. This youngster that we have now shows no
interest in sex, just eating and preening. When we throw food out for them, he
launches himself into the group like a football player after a loose ball, then
he grabs the best bits for himself and runs off with it. In the evening, when
they are free-ranging, all he is interested in is grabbing any food they turn up
and preening himself. He also grabs tail feathers from the hens and eats them.
Will he grow into a gentleman like the rooster we had before? Or do we just have
a selfish, self-centered rooster? Is there some nutritional deficiency that
causes him to eat tail feathers, or does he just have a tail feather fetish?
Besides table scraps and some free-ranging, we feed them organic laying pellets.

Thanks!
Mari

Tags: roosters

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ellen Peavey on December 14, 2011 at 3:13pm

The Little Peeper is a Barrel Rock his surrogate mother is the little banty, he is almost as big as the Big Rhode Island Red Rooster he as tall just not as heavy. I will send a picture when Alley gets home from school. He is a beautiful color and really struts around the run.

Permalink Reply by Tink Baker on December 15, 2011 at 2:08pm

Mari,

I got a chuckle out of your post. I have the 2 extremes, little horny toads or very intimidated. I have my first Rooster which is a Rhode Island Red and he is such a gentleman as well. I got 2 Cochin roosters later and they showed no real interest. What I learned is they are not the dominate of the yard and not an aggressive breed so until I separated them and put them and their hens together it just wasn't going to happen. In the privacy and security of their one space they have figured it out and FINALLY I am getting little feather legged babies. I also have a little crele old english rooster that has 5 hens with him and the only evidence I have that he is interested is fertile eggs.

Also depending on the breed, my boys didn't show interest until after they were 7 months old. Not sure how old your young roo is.