Are nice roos as scarce as hens teeth?

[speckledhen]

caution: the idea that "a cockerel from a hatchery will not be nice; whereas a cockerel from a 'breeder' will be nice"

is yet another gross overgeneralization made about hatchery birds on byc, and must be taken with a huge grain of salt. I know this from experience. It is quite possible to get a 'nice' male from a 'hatchery'--and I haven't had just one such!

I actually had a serious breeder tell me that
"if you get a rooster from hatchery stock, it will not be a nice bird, but mean and nasty; but if you get one from a breeder it will probably be friendly".

And she was actually serious!

Not so at all. My first rooster was a McMurray Barred Rock. He was a complete gentleman in every way. Hawkeye set the bar very high here for all those who came after him. I've culled roosters from good quality breeder stock for aggression, including an Ameraucana from a very well-known breeder.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Chicken saddles.

Doesn't matter how many hens you have, sometimes the roo has a favourite. I have 13 girls and my barred rock roo favours a couple of them.

Useless. For our roostr anywho. We have chicken saddles, our Orp wore it like 24/7 (the others were just too good for them

) but when we took it off, nothing changed. In fact, we haven't had a SINGLE hen in OUR flock, lose Back feathers. But, they lose their feathers on their head all the time. So far good 'ol Gryphon hasn't gone for the comb or skin, but who knows, their almost all bald on their head (behind the comb)

HA! Hatchery stock, MEAN???? Now, we have had our fair share of mean roosters from hatchery, but never kept them long enough to be mean to US (i.e. mean to chicks, pecking, etc) but we curently have 2 cochin roosters, sweet as can be. True, one HATES turkeys (we have a turkey poult currently living with him,I have warned him to be sweet to her, so far, nothing has happened, luckily) and the other one cuddles with them. And we had ANOTHER cochin rooster who was all layed back. Now, I know each breed has a sour apple (i.e. Brahma's are usually picked on but our hen is HEAD HEN!) but i do reccomend a cochin if you want a nice breed. Heck, even the hatchery stock seem sweet! Could be a fluke, but still

 

[MissChikaDee]

This is a very informative thread. I'm new to keeping roos with my flock, still learning.
Thanks

 

[aoxa]

Useless. For our roostr anywho. We have chicken saddles, our Orp wore it like 24/7 (the others were just too good for them ) but when we took it off, nothing changed. In fact, we haven't had a SINGLE hen in OUR flock, lose Back feathers. But, they lose their feathers on their head all the time. So far good 'ol Gryphon hasn't gone for the comb or skin, but who knows, their almost all bald on their head (behind the comb)

HA! Hatchery stock, MEAN???? Now, we have had our fair share of mean roosters from hatchery, but never kept them long enough to be mean to US (i.e. mean to chicks, pecking, etc) but we curently have 2 cochin roosters, sweet as can be. True, one HATES turkeys (we have a turkey poult currently living with him,I have warned him to be sweet to her, so far, nothing has happened, luckily) and the other one cuddles with them. And we had ANOTHER cochin rooster who was all layed back. Now, I know each breed has a sour apple (i.e. Brahma's are usually picked on but our hen is HEAD HEN!) but i do reccomend a cochin if you want a nice breed. Heck, even the hatchery stock seem sweet! Could be a fluke, but still

I have a RIR that is all naked behind her comb as well. Seems she is the only one that has the naked patch there from him. Maybe he's too long for her lol. Anyway.. We were thinking she may need a baseball cap

 

[aurorarex]

I'm perusing this thread as I have a RIR attack rooster. Handsome as can be, but scary. My husband and I are wondering how aggressiveness affects the rooster's ability to mind and protect the flock? Meaning, is it better to put up with being extremely cautious around the rooster because he makes a better guard for the hens, or do docile roosters still do a fine job minding the flock? (You can tell we're rookies... >.< ) Our ameraucana roo tolerates me just fine. Please advise! Actually, I'd be happy to pop the grouch into the freezer.

 

[speckledhen]

They do fine watching out for the hens. You absolutely, positively DO NOT need to put up with a human-aggressive rooster in order for him to do his job with your flock! If someone says otherwise, they obviously haven't had the experience I and others have had.

Read the first post in this thread-I've met that rooster in person. He's a wonderful rooster in every way. https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/521876/why-have-a-rooster-new-pg-10-video-pg-13

 

[prettychicks]

I have had very friendly Black Australorps and Buff Orpingtons roosters. The leghorns are really agressive in my opinion.

 

[ajneal30]

Is there any way to change the behavior? My cochin is mean. Mean and sneaky. He waits until you turn your back and then "sneaks" up on you. Too bad for him, he's HUGE and sounds like a herd of elephants charging. We are still going to keep him because he is super protective of his hens where the roo we used to have was a chick killer.

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Is it that buff beauty in your avvie? XD

well, you could, but it really depeneds. You might just need to put him in place (i.e. pinning him down, chargng him etc) or he might be set in his ways. How old is he?

 

[speckledhen]

Quote: My roosters are super protective of their hens...when it's appropriate, not around US. We are not the enemy and they know it. Can his behavior be changed at this point? I seriously doubt it, not if he's already mating the hens.

If you want to put up with that unnecessarily, that's your decision. In my opinion, life is too short and there are way too many great roosters who'll do as good or better job, won't kill your chicks or try to attack you, either, to waste on a rooster whose genes should not be propagated (yes, I said he should not be allowed to reproduce his temperament).