Breeding for PERSONALITY. AKA Hello SWEET ROO!

[lazy gardener]

It will be interesting to hear your experience with Sherman and his chicklets. I can understand your concern about his behavior, as well as not wanting to loose his beauty. If he's the best you have and you don't have an option to replace him, you can breed him, and cull very hard, hoping that you will get some nice mannered roos in the process. One thing that you might want to keep in mind with such a breeding: IMO, it would be a good idea NOT to give away or sell any of his sons who carry the mean gene! Better to stick those bad boys in the pot instead of dispersing them throughout the poultry community, where they may spread their mean temper about in the gene pool. (Just my opinion.)

 

[Free Feather]

People who would get the mean sons would likely kill them anyways.

 

[SharkmanDan]

It will be interesting to hear your experience with Sherman and his chicklets.  I can understand your concern about his behavior, as well as not wanting to loose his beauty.  If he's the best you have and you don't have an option to replace him, you can breed him, and cull very hard, hoping that you will get some nice mannered roos in the process.  One thing that you might want to keep in mind with such a breeding:  IMO, it would be a good idea NOT to give away or sell any of his sons who carry the mean gene!  Better to stick those bad boys in the pot instead of dispersing them throughout the poultry community, where they may spread their mean temper about in the gene pool.  (Just my opinion.)

While I do agree that most people would just kill the mean ones, I am thinking yours is the best plan. I figure to keep any/all of his offspring, raise them to maturity, discerning their behavior, and culling those who display aggressiveness. If I get a couple of batches, with good personalities, then I can think of selling his offspring.

Odd thing is though. While he and his three girls free range from an open pen, every other day, my main rooster, is kept in the pen, with the layers. But, only the days, when Sherman is allowed out, my main rooster, Bob-a-Roo, actually flys out of the pen, and mostly keeps Sherman in line. On the days that Sherman stays in the breeding pen, and Rudy gets let out with his girls, Bob-a-Roo seems to have no interest in leaving the girls, under his care. Almost as if he (Bob) is trying to teach Sherman, how to act. This has only been going on a week and a half. So, it may change. But, it does seem odd. I never have seen Bob show a propensity to take to flight, previously. Now, every time he sees Sherman out of the breeding pen, he flies right over the fence. Which is not an easy feat, for a big boy like Bob. And, one of my hen turkeys seems to be flirting with Bob. I guess it's testament to how good of a rooster, he really is.

 

[MargaretYakoda]

People who would get the mean sons would likely kill them anyways.

See... here's the thing ... That's not a guarantee. Lazy Gardner's got a good point about spreading the mean gene through the gene pool. But that's not the only problem.

When I was a kid my mom got a free rooster. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she was well intentioned, but completely ignorant in the ways of raising chickens. So, since we lived in the countryside, she had a notion to do a little backyard farming. She was GREAT with plants....

Anyhow, her rooster, Comanche, was a beautiful RIR bantam. But MEAN AS HELL. He hurt us often, and made it so we were afraid to go out our own door. Mom thought she could tame him. It took my little sister needing stitches in her leg for my mom to see that Comanche wasn't a good idea for our family.

Backyard chickens are particularly popular right now. And there's lots and lots of folks out there like my mom.

In my personal opinion, when we're faced with a mean rooster, the best thing to do is to butcher the rooster ourselves. If someone like SharkmanDan wants to do a trial breeding because the mean rooster has other qualities he wants to pass on, I see no problem with that, as long as the hens being bred to are gentle, and the selection (read: culling) favors the gentler cocks.

 

[Free Feather]

That is why I do not give any boys away. Lots of people would not deal with them like I do.

 

[SharkmanDan]

See...  here's the thing ...  That's not a guarantee. Lazy Gardner's got a good point about spreading the mean gene through the gene pool. But that's not the only problem.

When I was a kid my mom got a free rooster. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she was well intentioned, but completely ignorant in the ways of raising chickens. So, since we lived in the countryside, she had a notion to do a little backyard farming. She was GREAT with plants....  

Anyhow, her rooster, Comanche, was a beautiful RIR bantam. But MEAN AS HELL. He hurt us often, and made it so we were afraid to go out our own door. Mom thought she could tame him. It took my little sister needing stitches in her leg for my mom to see that Comanche wasn't a good idea for our family.

Backyard chickens are particularly popular right now. And there's lots and lots of folks out there like my mom.

In my personal opinion, when we're faced with a mean rooster, the best thing to do is to butcher the rooster ourselves. If someone like SharkmanDan wants to do a trial breeding because the mean rooster has other qualities he wants to pass on, I see no problem with that, as long as the hens being bred to are gentle, and the selection (read: culling) favors the gentler cocks.

Exactly the plan. I figure that a young rooster is as good to eat, as any other chicken. And from the size of him, his mean or ill-tempered offspring, while young, should still provide good meat, for the dinner table. I'll give him two breeding cycles, to produce reasonably well tempered cockerel offspring. If he doesn't, then he's going to become Jewish Penicillin along with any unsuitable male offspring, in short order.
Lord, I wish that chicken hawk, had taken him, instead of Floyd, his near twin brother, with the great personality. They got along, side by side, but the way to tell them apart, was by who was aggressive and who was friendly. But, I guess that tendency towards aggressiveness, might be what's kept Sherman alive.

 

[chicksurreal]

That is why I do not give any boys away. Lots of people would not deal with them like I do.

I wouldn't give mean boys away either. I have a nice cushy bachelor pad where they could live out their days.

 

[lazy gardener]

While I do agree that most people would just kill the mean ones, I am thinking yours is the best plan. I figure to keep any/all of his offspring, raise them to maturity, discerning their behavior, and culling those who display aggressiveness. If I get a couple of batches, with good personalities, then I can think of selling his offspring.

Odd thing is though. While he and his three girls free range from an open pen, every other day, my main rooster, is kept in the pen, with the layers. But, only the days, when Sherman is allowed out, my main rooster, Bob-a-Roo, actually flys out of the pen, and mostly keeps Sherman in line. On the days that Sherman stays in the breeding pen, and Rudy gets let out with his girls, Bob-a-Roo seems to have no interest in leaving the girls, under his care. Almost as if he (Bob) is trying to teach Sherman, how to act. This has only been going on a week and a half. So, it may change. But, it does seem odd. I never have seen Bob show a propensity to take to flight, previously. Now, every time he sees Sherman out of the breeding pen, he flies right over the fence. Which is not an easy feat, for a big boy like Bob. And, one of my hen turkeys seems to be flirting with Bob. I guess it's testament to how good of a rooster, he really is.

Dan, I wonder if Bob-A-Roo just flies the fence so he can be OUT with Sherman's girls, and OUT with his girls.

See... here's the thing ... That's not a guarantee. Lazy Gardner's got a good point about spreading the mean gene through the gene pool. But that's not the only problem.

When I was a kid my mom got a free rooster. Born and raised in Brooklyn, she was well intentioned, but completely ignorant in the ways of raising chickens. So, since we lived in the countryside, she had a notion to do a little backyard farming. She was GREAT with plants....

Anyhow, her rooster, Comanche, was a beautiful RIR bantam. But MEAN AS HELL. He hurt us often, and made it so we were afraid to go out our own door. Mom thought she could tame him. It took my little sister needing stitches in her leg for my mom to see that Comanche wasn't a good idea for our family.

Backyard chickens are particularly popular right now. And there's lots and lots of folks out there like my mom.

In my personal opinion, when we're faced with a mean rooster, the best thing to do is to butcher the rooster ourselves. If someone like SharkmanDan wants to do a trial breeding because the mean rooster has other qualities he wants to pass on, I see no problem with that, as long as the hens being bred to are gentle, and the selection (read: culling) favors the gentler cocks.

I agree with you Margaret. Your experience growing up is a good testimonial of what a bad rooster is capable of, and how mis-guided, though well intentioned poultry keepers can make poor choices regarding keeping aggressive roos. And we're all aware of the frequent BYC mentality regarding chickens as pets, where the owners LOVE their chickens so very much that they couldn't possibly cull a dangerous bird.

That is why I do not give any boys away. Lots of people would not deal with them like I do.

Free Feather, I like that reasoning. I have given roos away before, with the understanding that they are headed directly to the stew pot.

 

[chicksurreal]

I don't think mean roosters are pets, I just don't feel the need to kill them. I enjoy looking at beautiful birds and know how to deal with them when they are not sweet and docile. Granted, I've never had one continuously try to fly in my face or disembowel me or something, it might be a different story then.

 

[SharkmanDan]

Dan, I wonder if Bob-A-Roo just flies the fence so he can be OUT with Sherman's girls, and OUT with his girls.

Maybe, but Bob has nearly 40 girls of his own, and Sherman has 3. It is possible that he just wants to keep Sherman, from getting his girls who roam, regularly (about 5-6 regularly leave the pen in the morning, then return at night). But they roam every day, he only seems (so far) to be interested in flying out, when Sherman is out.
It's quite a feat, for a 9#, 2 year old Australorp.