Which breed of rooster will protect my hens best?

[TurkeyMountainChickens]

Hi All -

Have you noticed whether roosters of some breeds protect their hens better than others? If so, which breeds are best?

Thanks!

 

[ivan3]

TurkeyMountainChickens wrote: OK - so do you have any tips on how to cultivate a good attitude in a young cockerel?

Right now I have two easter egger cockerels. When the neighbors dog got into the run and started after the chickens, they both abandoned the pullets and ran into the coop! I know they are still young (3 mo) - will they become more protective with time? Or should I start looking for other options?

One assures they live long enough to develop a good attitude. The biggest, meanest, roo ever hatched is nothing but easy meat for a dog in the confines of a run. Many chooks are killed free ranging, an open run is simply less range for a predator to cover.

Make sure run/coop is as secure as possible. If you do allow them to free range without armed supervision, then preemptive trapping and retirement of chicken eating vermin will decrease the overall frequency of predation.

Roos are useful for sounding the alarm, but not a call to arms (`something's going to eat us!'), they are prey animals. The first rule of Chicken Club is that everything wants a `Chicken Club'. We owners are charged with not allowing those meals to be served up alive and screaming from the `lope through' window...

Welded Wire/Electricity/Lead are a roo's best `weapons'​

 

[RedJungleFowl]

Get one of these rooster!
I think a hawk would think twice before attacking the flock!

 

[nzpouter]

something fat and slow.. give the hen a running start while the predator's eating it.

 

[deerman]

Well the best in my book, is the gamecock, most are not mean. Have see a gamecock stand and fight a cooper hawk,saw one of dads fight a wild pheasant rooster.
Thing about gamecocks they will fight until the death,they cant always win ,but will try their best.
Had a gamecock and gamehens in a run, came home found two of the hens dead gamecock missing feathers and 4 gamehens walking around.There in the corner hiding a 50lb stray dog.

 

[heather112588]

Quote:
So true. I had heard that they were aggressive but i was surprised...i guess i just got lucky with my gilda. He is a real gentleman, a good protector (chases off cats all day- we have 4) and has never shown me agression. At almost a yr old, he doesnt like it but still lets me pick him up...he is trained to come by name too

bragging on my handsome red head

 

[rooster-red]

That is determined by individual personality, not so much by breed.

 

[nicktide]

It seems that finding a good guard rooster that is nice to people is difficult. I have an 8 month old white leg hor who is a great protector. His flock only free ranges in the evening. I have seen him chace off a redtail hawk, 1 cat, 2 of my 3 children, my wife and it even pinned down and flogged a small hawk.
To keep him from getting too mean, we hold him regularly... often like a baby. He will still puff up to us but he doesn't attack. He will even close his eyes while being held.

 

[Meara]

My bantam EE roo is awesome protecting my hens and chicks and cuddly with people, or at least with people who he considers "safe" around his "family". I really believe it's a matter of personality not size or breed. Last week my 14 year old niece was chasing a chick around the yard trying to catch it and the chick was peeping up a storm so my head roo (and he's a bantam) ran over to see what was going on. He has known my niece his whole chicken life, but when she seemed to be threatening one of his own he very firmly but politely "escorted her out of the yard"! I watched the whole scene and was laughing myself silly as this teensy roo faced her down and drove her over the property line and into the neighbor's yard.

One poster mentioned a 3 month old cockeral and that is just too young to expect rooster behavior. It'd be like asking a 10 year old boy to act like a full grown man. The bird needs to be dosed with all those good rooster hormones that come with sexual maturity.

 

[psimons2004]

I was advised to throw in a few guinea hens with my flock, but in theory they are prey too... Last year all our chickens got eaten in one night by a fox. We went out and bought 5 hens and 1 Rhode Island Red Rooster. They had been raised free range with basically zero handling and he was the meanest bird EVER! We actually sold him last fall because we couldn't even collect eggs. I swear that bird tried to kill me at least once a day. We took bats or tennis rackets or fence posts with us to feed them as protection, LOL. He was horrible. We named him Sunday (Sunday Dinner!). Needless to say, the fox came around anyway and even slept on the roof of the coop sometimes, but never laid a paw on our chickens!

This year we have all new chicks with veered breeds. 3 Roos out of 12 chicks. Yesterday the fox came. Our silkie got attacked but the fox got a mouthful of fluff, our frizzle stood up to him and got a large awful wound on his back side, hoping he makes it but he was very very brave, and the real story is that our Bantum Feather footer Belgium partridge cockerel (only 3 months old). Watched the whole thing and got so mad he actually got the lid lifted on the coop _ I have idea where he found the strength, my 7 year old can't open it alone_ and got out and (I swear) chased that fox out of our yard!!!! I am so proud of him! And this morning he is proud of himself too - he crowed at the sun this morning for the first time!!!! He is a very sweet bird most of the time, we all hold him in our laps and pet him and he'll even cuddle. In fact his name is Sweet Pea (we thought it was a girl)... So, I think it may just be the luck of the draw. And he is SOOO little. Wish I had a picture to share with you. Good luck!