Advice on adding rooster?

[SapphireMum]

I'm looking to add a rooster to our flock, purpose mainly to hatch chicks every so often. We got a few straight run chicks which turned out to be all females, plus another 3 that we bought as females. So we have 9 females and would like to add 1 rooster. The hens are 16 weeks (6 of them) and 13 weeks (3 of them).

Would it make sense to get a younger one, eg 12-18 weeks old? I was looking at a 14 week old Light Brahma that may be available near me.

Or is that a bad age since that's hormone time? I figured not to get one too young bc he would be smaller than the girls, but I don't know if it's better to get one a bit older eg 1 y/o.

I want to make sure there's less chance of getting an aggressive one so I was thinking Orpington, Brahma, Barred Rock, maybe Langshan or Wyandotte.

Any advice is appreciated!

Edit: For now the hens are in a good-sized coop and fully enclosed/secured run. Not sure if we will free range in the yard which is fully fenced (8 ft solid fence)

 

[Gigachad poultry]

I'm looking to add a rooster to our flock, purpose mainly to hatch chicks every so often. We got a few straight run chicks which turned out to be all females, plus another 3 that we bought as females. So we have 9 females and would like to add 1 rooster. The hens are 16 weeks (6 of them) and 13 weeks (3 of them).

Would it make sense to get a younger one, eg 12-18 weeks old? I was looking at a 14 week old Light Brahma that may be available near me.

Or is that a bad age since that's hormone time? I figured not to get one too young bc he would be smaller than the girls, but I don't know if it's better to get one a bit older eg 1 y/o.

I want to make sure there's less chance of getting an aggressive one so I was thinking Orpington, Brahma, Barred Rock, maybe Langshan or Wyandotte.

Any advice is appreciated!

Edit: For now the hens are in a good-sized coop and fully enclosed/secured run. Not sure if we will free range in the yard which is fully fenced (8 ft solid fence)

Honestly I have no idea. You could look around at older unread comments as there is tons of people looking to get rid of their extra roosters of all ages. Maybe keep him separate if he's older and wait till the girls are bigger or get a younger rooster.

 

[Gigachad poultry]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/free-roosters-to-good-home.1597592/

There is this person who has mixed roosters of calmer breeds. I think it was Ameraucana and barred rock mixes.

 

[Bonkerelli]

Since you have hens that are not laying yet.. I would get a younger rooster around the same age as your hens. Hens mature faster than roosters. I've raised many roosters and breed has nothing to do with aggressiveness. Out of the current 19 roosters I've raised, only 2 were jerks. There are some that are more prone to being aggressive which i find to be the super popular breeds like Orpington and rhode islands but just like other pets, chickens have personalities.

 

[aart]

Hens mature faster than roosters.

Not really.
Cockerels become sexually mature around 3-4 months.
Pullets become sexually active around 5-6 months.

 

[LaFleche]

As they need a few more month to mature and reach POL, I would wait until they are all laying.

A Brahma male would put too much weight on most chicken breeds that are not as tall and heavy which will possibly result in injuries.
Maybe choose a middle-weight dual purpose breed or mixed breed, your pullets will thank you for it.

 

[K0k0shka]

It's not a good idea to keep a rooster from your first batch of chickens (or in your case when you don't have males in that first batch, getting one that's the same age as them). Roosters are a real crapshoot and a whole lot of them end up either human-aggressive, or too rough on the hens, or otherwise problematic. This is made worse when the young, hormonal cockerel goes unchallenged in the flock - it goes to his head and he thinks he can do anything. Cockerels mature faster than pullets, meaning that he'll be ready to mate WAY before his female peers are ready to mate, and he will harass the crap out of them. Chickens mating is a rough affair even under the best conditions - the males have no hands to hold on with, so they have to grab the feathers on the back of the female's head, and scratch her with their claws as they try to keep their balance. The female has to be willing and cooperating for this to go well. If she's a pullet who's not ready yet, she will resist, she'll try to run away, and will end up getting scratched and plucked clean in the process. It can be quite ugly and traumatic. Moreover, when a young cockerel is top of the pecking order, there's nobody to teach him manners and stop him if he's too rough. The best way to ensure a gentleman rooster is to have older hens in the flock when you get him. Older hens won't put up with his crap and will quickly put him in his place. They will defend the pullets and will make him wait until they are ready, and then they'll make sure he's gentle with them when they are.

So, for the sake of peaceful flock dynamics, it would be best to wait until next year, until your current pullets are established, mature hens, and then get a rooster. Now, for the sake of a peaceful relationship with the humans, it's never a good idea to get a cockerel younger than at least 1 year. Yes, because of the hormones. Don't listen to people trying to get rid of "sweet" juveniles that are 2, or 3, or 4 months old etc. They're sweet when they're babies, but can turn overnight when the hormones hit. Wait for them to ride it out and settle on whatever personality they're going to have as adults, so if you get one that's "sweet", you'll know he won't change on you. And lower your expectations... Truly sweet mature roosters are very rare. Aim for a bird that won't be a danger to you, your loved ones, or your flock... that would be good enough, anything more is a bonus.

So, the bottom line is, wait until next year, and then find yourself a rooster that's over a year old and has been proven non-aggressive.