Barred Rock Roos unfreindly/mean?

[Hen_House_Rocks!]

I've always heard that BR roos are some of the gentlest (especially with their hens.)

 

[becky3086]

The first one I had was an absolute monster. Biggest chicken I have ever seen and the meanest. I have had 3 or 4 since then though and never had a problem with them.

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

My son had BR roo he named Spike. He was a very nice roo and we had no problems with him at all.

 

[cw]

hey becky where did u get your first roo, mine came from ideal and is a wild cat,

 

[chickenwire]

my br roo is a nice guy. our rir is a bit protective of his hens though in the pen but ok out. the br is fine either way

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

Never had a problem with our BR roo, but he was soooooo loud! He randomly dropped dead the other day, but we are slaughtering meat birds today and I was thinking seriously about doing him too b/c he started crowing at 4:00 in the morning.

Our Ameraucana is such a gentleman. Nice quiet crow, doesn't start until the sun comes up.

We got the BR specifically because people told us they were super sweet roos. I would rather have had a RIR, but I've heard horror stories about them.

Keep the rooster you want to keep. Since you slaughter any way, plan to put him in the pot if he makes a wrong move and don't worry about it. Some roosters are sweet, some are mean. They are individuals. If you like this bird, give him a chance.

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
I'll avoid my usual semantics commentary about chickens being "jerks"** and showering them with affections and just say probably.
A male cockerel with only two females will likely be a handful. You are setting yourself up, really. He needs 10-12 of them and even then he is going to be protective to some degree. At some point in time you can expect him to bow up.

But I'm curious, what do you expect from them?

I've picked out one barred rock roo, one barred rock hen and one whyndotte hen. All three are sweet, let me hold them and don't mind being petted. (where as the rest of the flock is paranoid, quick to scare and spaz out!! In spite of all being handled from day one.)

Proof that little of what we do matters to a chicken... something I've said since day one. You may be holding expectations that just aren't in a chicken to fulfill.


** Although, I do like "jerked" chicken....

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

I hadn't thought of the number of hens--Davaroo may be right. We only very rarely have problems with aggressive roosters, but we keep 3-4 roos for 75 hens, so those boys might be too tired to cause problems...

 

[miss_thenorth]

Hen_House_Rocks! :

I've always heard that BR roos are some of the gentlest (especially with their hens.)

LOL, not at MY house! My BR roo is really rough with the ladies, and he has been on my hit list for quite a while now. Every now and ten he'll jump at me or my ds, and then we just give him the treatment for a while, and he'll be okay again. Eventually he will act up again so we rinse and repeat.

The treatment consists of carrying him around for about 10 minutes and then when we put him down, he must go quietly--not make a fuss. We have also bathed him, and that seems to work for a while too.

He hasn't really attacked " us, but he is NOT friendly be any means. We have 10 hens. If he ever attacks, he will be destined for the soup pot. I also have a freind, and her BR roo was named A**hole, b/c that is what he was. couldn't leave the house without a broom in your hand. Apparently he tasted wonderful.

I had a RIR roo and I much preferred him.

So, I guess it just all boils down to your individual roo's behaviour. Good luck!​

 

[speckledhen]

If a rooster is inclined to be human-aggressive, it's in him, period, IMO. And, if you try to baby him and pet him as a chick, even if he is super friendly at that point, you may be setting yourself up to be attacked in the future. The rationale is that he will see you as more of an equal if he is handled and petted alot as a youngster, so, when the hormones start raging, he will be inclined to "take you on".
Conversely, if he is genetically predisposed or whatever you want to call it, to being a calm, friendly personality, all the petting in the world won't change that, most likely. That is the general theory and you won't know which type you have till they are close to mating age/maturity and start becoming full of themselves. This has little to do with the breed.