Best breed choice for "friendly" rooster

[varidgerunner]

I had a lot of different birds from different breeds, with mixed results. I haven't seen anything as friendly as an Asil. All of the game breeds have a much lower incidence of human aggression, this trait has been weeded out for a long time. I find it kind of ironic that a lot of people are looking for the perfect "pet" chicken, and those people wouldn't even consider something with the kind of heritage the Asils have, but they are the perfect "pet" chicken. Super friendly, do well in a single chicken situation, not flighty or easily frightened. Any game breed rooster will make the greatest flock protector you could have, many accounts of them doing some amazing things to protect their hens. And any hens you raise out of them are likely to be great moms.

 

[blueclip]

I can second that. I've had my dominique rooster since he was 8 days old and now he's a
10 month old sweetheart. He huffs and puffs when you pick up his hens but never charges, doesn't rebel when you pick him up (although he'd rather not be touched or handled), he eats out of your hand, and is very good to his hens. I also have a dark brahma bantam roo in there and the two get along. Dom roosters are amazing.

 

[Berrie1985]

You should look for a Rhode Island red they are friendly but are good for breeding

 

[vadgoo]

I have what I think are 3 roosters. Two Australorps and One silver wyandotte. One of the Australorps crows but the other two act like his henchmen, chase hens and each other and no more crows. Is this normal for more then one rooster.?

 

[jucat60]

I have an Australorp rooster he is a good rooster but will protect his girls if you pick them up and they start sqwarking. I have had 2 plymouth rock roosters 2 brothers one became aggressive and the other just a giant calm non aggressive boy very loved and he sadly was taken by a fox 3 nights ago very missed

 

[trailrider330]

My nastiest roo by far was a RIR, followed by a barred rock roo. I've had good luck with Barnevelder, Swedish Flower, Iowa Blue and Easter Egger roos.

 

[TheTwoRoos]

I have found New Hampshure reds to be good pets.I have a few hens and a rooster of this breed.My roosters name is Zeus and he is a pretty great rooster.

I have raised a few other roosters.Some being mixes.I raised a Rhode Island red and he never was too aggressive,fairly good but had to give him away,so unsure of how he really turned out.

I have alsi raised a Leghorn he was ok.

In the beginning of our rooster adventures we had a buff and he was horrible,was nit worth it.

 

[jucat60]

I have an Australorp and a Blue Aracuana my blue boy just runs from you and is good with his girls. My other is a large boy who saved his flock from a fox by sounding very loud alarms. He will fly at you if you pick up any girls and they sqwark that is the only aggression he ever shows,

 

[andreanar]

@DreamsInPink I had a nasty BO roo! Ugh

But that's the thing, everyone has had nice ones and mean ones of every breed. Some are nasty if you handle them frequently as chicks, some aren't. Who knows what makes a nice roo? I think its a crap shoot. You have a 25% chance of getting a nice roo from a chick IMO. My thoughts are to get a roo as an adult, that is already proven to be decent.

That said...I would never totally trust a roo around kids. And make sure you have a back up plan if your roo ends up nasty. Its hard to rehome them as there are so many roos out there. Are you prepared to cull him if need be?

 

[AlexC31]

We have now had 2 Americauna roosters we've had to do away with because they both were VERY aggressive towards the children trying to play in their own yard & the adults alike! We could NOT turn our backs on either whether we were trying to put out chicken food, or even walk away from the coop. Both boys were huge jerks despite we tried handling them a lot as chicks. The best rooster we've ever had, just showed up one day. We dont know if he is a runaway or a drop off, but he is an excellent protector of the hens & came racing when americauna #2 would come after any humans. We've asked other farmers who think he is a "mutt"