Best "all around" roo breed?

[yomama]

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Thanks for the link.

My only problem is that there is such a wide weight range for "standard". So I guess I am looking for a roo that is on the smaller side of standard.

 

[Cloverleaf Farm]

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OOOOH! I'm not that far from you

Could you post a pic of your guy?

I'll have to see if he'll cooperate to let me take some.

 

[n8ivetxn]

Hi everyone,

I'm a newbie, I have 2 young roos - a Blue Copper Marans and a Blue Wheaten Ameraucana.....

I tend to like my Marans roo a little better for a couple of reasons. He pays attention to what I do before he reacts (a sign of intelligence?), he's docile, a little on the quiet side (his crow sounds like a hoot owl!). However, he probably isn't as small as you would like.

On the other hand, the Ameraucana roo is funny! He runs away first and looks later (that can be annoying!), he has pecked at me a couple of times (I put him down and gently force his head to ground until he stops resisting). I still haven't heard him crow, yet....But he's really good to the girls, he even brings them food...

Rita

 

[I-Have-Happy-Hens]

I have a hatchery silkie rooster with my layers and he is great because he can see unlike most silkie roosters.

Happy-Hens

 

[Tracydr]

I haven't seen anybody mention this yet but the sweetest full-sized roosters I've ever had have been turkens (naked necks). Currently I have a tiny, tiny Old English Bantam roo who I really like but if I wanted a standard size I'd go with a turken.
However, if you hatch any of the turken eggs you will end up with lots of naked neck babies. Might be good since you have silkies, you'd get some show girl babies.
Have you considered a larger bantam breed? Bantam Cochin or bantam Orpington are a larger bantam and might work for you as well.

 

[Gresh]

If you don't have any other roos and don't plan on having more than one, get a gamecock from a respected breeder here on BYC. Gamecocks--especially Orientals--are hardy towards disease, almost always have a friendly disposition towards people, aren't "mean" to their girls, and are good flock protectors. Many Oriental gamefowl have "breeding seasons" like wild birds and don't mate much with females outside of that. Watch out in breeding season, though: the cocks can get a little cranky. It clears up after the season's over, though.

Respected breeders I know do not do any vaccinating towards diseases and just select the hardiest of their chicks for future breeding. This would probably be a good arrangement for you as well, though you might face some chick mortality initially. Vaccinating birds all the time produces weaklings that cannot survive without some sort of external medical intervention. Birds that have roughed out disease or have been immune to it will have a good chance of passing on their own hardiness to their young.

 

[yomama]

Wow, some good suggestions, some I would never even thought of, like the game cocks. Thanks everyone!( if you haven't chimed in, please feel free to do so. The more advice, the better

Btw, how do I know someone is a respected breeder here on BYC? I've never purchased anything from a breeder, so I'm not sure how to go about it. Thanks!

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

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World-wide, mareks is EVERYWHERE. Silkie roosters have the attributes you are asking for. Much as I love my purebred silkies, the mixes have a lot going for them.

 

[yomama]

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World-wide, mareks is EVERYWHERE. Silkie roosters have the attributes you are asking for. Much as I love my purebred silkies, the mixes have a lot going for them.

I know, it just stinks, (about the Marek's). I really thinky your right about the mixes, and Silkies. My previous roo was a Silkie mix. I'm kind of worried about getting a pure Silkie roo, just because their vision is sometimes impaired from their feathers.

 

[Godiva]

Sometimes the hatchery silkie roos are not as heavily crested, the ones I got were able to see just fine... I think a silkie mix would be awesome as it would not be too big and yet big enough... Good luck finding the right one. THe roos I have really liked that we had were a standard cochin (way too big for your small hens) and then a silkie/ d'Uccle cross who was a fantastic roo too.