Help With Rooster Selection

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Regardless of breed, all roos are different - some are great, others are nut cases. Getting a mature roo is probably easier to deal with because when they are in their "teenage" years, i.e. just reaching maturity they can be a handful, and may not be safe for a child to be around it unsupervised.

As stated above, lots of people have unwanted roos, so waiting until spring may be worth considering.

CT
 
I also agree that if you wait and watch you can pick up a rooster that someone needs to find a home for --AND you can choose one with the personality you want.
My son has been praying that "Sweet Pea" turns out to be a hen since we aren't zoned for a rooster.

There are sweet boy birds out there...who probably would be protective of hens too.
 
I'm gonna disagree with the rest as I like my rooster to grow up with the girls he's going to be in charge of. I order from MPC, I have had really nice buff Orpington roosters, and my Barnvelder roosters have been really nice as well, both breeds have been respectful and non aggressive.
 
oldhenlikesdogs said:
I'm gonna disagree with the rest as I like my rooster to grow up with the girls he's going to be in charge of. I order from MPC, I have had really nice buff Orpington roosters, and my Barnvelder roosters have been really nice as well, both breeds have been respectful and non aggressive.
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I'm sure the thread starter will value another point of view / experience - thats what makes this site so enriching and interesting.

CT
 
Thank you all for the wonderful suggestions! I kinda like the idea of rehoming a displaced rooster, however, I JUST moved to MO and I don't know anyone else who has chickens to find one. I am simply not a social person and the networking is hard to re-establish. I have a Plymouth Barred Rock hen I identify easily with because she is the same way. She follows behind the other PBR and the Americauna hens I have, sometimes she just stays behind in the run. I also like the idea of raising a rooster with the hens he will be protecting, so I am still not sure what I'll do come spring! My husband laughs at me because he knows I wont be buying any chicks until March, but I figure if now is the time to start planning next years garden, it is time to start planning next years chicken order! LOL
 
donrae said:
I wouldn't order a rooster chick unless I really wanted a specific breed. I'd wait and pick up someone's Oops bird later in the spring when the sex becomes apparent and they realize they can't keep the bird. By then you'll also have an idea of temperament as the bird will be older. Breeds like Orpingtons, Cochins, Brahmas and Australorps are known for being gentler than a lot of the dual purpose breeds. They're also all large birds when mature, so if you have smaller breeds of hens you may want to look for something a b it smaller. Most EE from hatcheries are not exceptionally large birds.
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X2 on what Donrae says. I don't think it is the breed as much as the individual rooster. Also crowing seems to have several components, again not related to breed. When I had several roosters they would get into crowing contests which didn't bother me, but it was noisy, And the little squeaky toys, I mean the bantam roosters, were copies of the big guys and had to echo them every time they crowed..
Recently I accidently got down to one large fowl rooster (an Easter egger. Thankfully my favorite. I would have hated to lose him) and it is very quiet.) He rarely crows, but is an excellent flock rooster. I did hear him the other morning crowing inside the coop when the door was opened late, but once the door opened, he quieted down.
Even when the little guys crow he just looks at them and doesn't answer. Most of the roosters from his line have had the same sweet temperament, but when there were several they were noisier.
I've also found that the nicest roosters seem to be the ones that came up through the ranks so to speak. They started young within the flock and had older birds, both hens and roosters to keep them in line.
A few times when I had cockerels in with a bunch I was raising they would start to get bossy (That's putting it mildly over the pullets they were with) so I would separate them out ---I tend to add a few at a time...not over ten.....and put them with the adult hens who would book no nonsense or in the rooster pad where the older roosters would accept them as soon as they behaved themselves which they learned to do quickly.
 
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If you have a reliable broody hen, I'd recommend fostering the chicks to your hen and letting her raise them in the flock. Roosters who have been raised in a mixed-age flock tend to have better manners, as the older hens will not put up with bad behavior. This way, they are learning manners from the older hens, and also being raised with the pullets and hens they'll eventually be looking after.

Black australorps tend to be nice, but it really comes down to the genetics of the individual.
 
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Might i throw black or blue copper marans in the mix for people gentale roosters. My friend has raised about 10 of each over the past 2 years and not one has been short of puppy dog tame to people. I will say that they crow very impressivly but i dont know if that was a breed trait or compition thing. She had 5 -10 roos all the time. Good luck on the hunt.
 
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