Owning a rooster 101??????

[LadyBclucky]

Alrighty I've lost it, I'm on the edge of becoming a crazy chicken lady.... And my DH blames all of you we have owned a small mixed flock for 2 years and I'm interested in starting a breeding project... That will require a rooster.... So im interested in the Cochins orphingtons and brahmas, but I'd like to get some of my rooster questions answered to help me decide.
1) will my chickens be bald backed and neck from the rooster? My hen to rooster ratio is 10:1 how do I keep my girls from being picked over by him? I don't want to get a rooster and their quality of life hit the toilet because they are victim of constant testosterone overload.
2) any friendly roosters out there? Of the breeds I've named what are the friendliest rooster
3) here's the dumb question are they going to be constantly breeding, or do they have some discretion? I have a lot of friends with kids who love to come see my chickens, (it's unusual to have "farm" animals where I live) I don't want to turn my love lady's into brothel residents.
Thanks very body..... Look forward to your responses

 

[KrazyKhick]

LOL, I'm not an expert but I have kept a rooster with my girls. I had a silkie rooster and although he was busy, it's not a constant thing. He was mostly a morning breeder, lol. He never harmed a feather on their heads. Never a bald spot. From what I know, the ratio is what's important. Gotta give him enough to keep him busy. He spends lots of time watching out for predators too.

And you'll be happy to know by the time the children see anything it's over.

Chicken sex love is super quick

 

[HEChicken]

I'm no expert. In fact, I opened this thread because until now I've only had hens but will be moving soon and getting a rooster so I'm interested in the responses.

My understanding is that the wrong ratio can lead to bald-backed hens, but it sounds like you have that covered. Although sometimes a roo will pick one or two hens to be his favorites and that could lead to them being over-mated too.

As far as friendly....I think it is more of an individual nature thing rather than a specific breed. One thing I've heard is that adolescent roos are the worst, until they learn how to treat the ladies right, so sometimes it takes giving them a bit of time before giving up on them.

 

[1 lucky dad]

Go with the Orpington. My Orp roo is so much more gentle on the ladies than the Barred Rock. He is very calm and laid back and friendly with the kids as well. No there is no selective time of when breeding happens but I can tell you that mine seem to do it less when there free ranging. And a 10:1 is a great ratio and you should not have any bare back chickens running around wearing saddles.

 

[Desirai]

I don't have any chickens (getting some in a few weeks!!!!!)

My neighbor however has about 25 chickens. Only 3 are roosters.

She has a bantam cochin rooster and 2 jersey giant roosters.

The dominant rooster is a big Jersey giant named Pauly. But he is the sweetest rooster. He lets you hold and pet him and play with his wattles and feet and everything.

The 2nd Jersey is friendly but doesn't like to be held. He will come to you and take treats.

The cochin I haven't really spent a lot of time with. He comes to you and likes treats, but he is very bossy. Any hens that stray from Pauly he will collect and herd around the yard. But he's klike 1/3rd the size of all the other chickens so it's pretty funny to watch.

 

[centrarchid]

I keep a fair number of roosters. Roosters being hard on hens is usually a result of confinement although genetics and nutrition can also play a role. The troubles imposed by roosters on hens can be reduced by free ranging, keeping flock in larger area or separating sexes. You can still get good reproduction if laying hens are exposed to a rooster only every third day.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I've had a few roos over the years. A partridge Chantechler, BO, EE, Silkie, a few mutts. My favorite man of all time is my current boy. He's a standard Cochin. He's been a sweetie pie since I opened the lid of the box they were shipped in he takes treats from my hand and feeds them to his girls, he even loves to come up to the house and talk to the babies in the brooder. He likes to be cuddled and is very gentle with his girls and my children. Here's a couple pics of him, he's about 10 months old now

As a little fella

As a big fella

 

[LadyBclucky]

I've had a few roos over the years. A partridge Chantechler, BO, EE, Silkie, a few mutts. My favorite man of all time is my current boy. He's a standard Cochin. He's been a sweetie pie since I opened the lid of the box they were shipped in he takes treats from my hand and feeds them to his girls, he even loves to come up to the house and talk to the babies in the brooder. He likes to be cuddled and is very gentle with his girls and my children. Here's a couple pics of him, he's about 10 months old now

As a little fella

As a big fella

Wow thank you so much, that's just what I was looking for, have you hearr other people having similar experiences with the Cochin roos? He's a beauty!

 

[jak2002003]

Hi. If I were you I would get a rooster. Your ratio of hens to roo sounds fine and with that number they should not get plucked.

As for the kids thing, maybe its a good lesson for life (or you could just say they were fighting).

I have noticed that the young roosters seem more crazy for the girls and also are much rougher with them, than the older roosters. If you can get hold of a mature rooster I think it would be better. It seem to take them time to learn some manners.

I have several roosters and I will say that some are docile, gentle and no problems, and others are nasty! Good luck!

 

[tgblldog70]

we have a mutt/EE roo who is a big boy we at one point had 4 (Isa Browns) hens but thanks to a very crafty hawk we are down to 3. He is a real gentleman with his ladies, none are bald he is not over sexed thank goodness.

we just recently hatched all 6 eggs we incubated so I know he has lead in his bullets lol. We will be adding 15 auracunna (sp) hens and with the 6 eggs we think there is 2 roos in that bunch.