Breeds and Gentleness in Roosters?

[DuckWhisperer06]

I agree with the dog part!! But, somehow I seemed to have missed out on the mean silkie roosters ... every single one I have owned has been just as sweet and gentle as the hens!!

Well our Orpington rooster is probably at least 3 times bigger than our silkie rooster so he’s been picked on a little bit so maybe that’s the cause of his bitterness

 

[hunthaven]

I agree with the dog part!! But, somehow I seemed to have missed out on the mean silkie roosters ... every single one I have owned has been just as sweet and gentle as the hens!!

Good to know, because I have 3 silkie eggs hoping to hatch on Monday!

 

[msiler]

Well our Orpington rooster is probably at least 3 times bigger than our silkie rooster so he’s been picked on a little bit so maybe that’s the cause of his bitterness

Poor little Orpington!! They are cuties for sure though

Good to know, because I have 3 silkie eggs hoping to hatch on Monday!

You must post pictures once they hatch! Not a whole lot of things cuter than baby silkies... but I may be biased

 

[sylviethecochin]

I would love to see some objective evidence that one breed of rooster is more aggressive than another.
I read lots of anecdotal stuff but it seems it is much like the reporting of dog behavior.
When I had a similar debate about aggressive dogs (at that time I had a Rottweiler) and got told that Rottweilers were aggressive by nature and were responsible for 'many' attacks on humans, the statistics I found at the time gave the King Charles Spaniel the honor of biting more people than any other dog. I think the figures were collected by the RSPCA in the UK.

Allow me to provide objective evidence.

When I was a kid, we bought straight run chickens as a matter of course. One year, we bought Production Reds. Those seven cockerels attacked everything, raped everything, and are the reason my older sister still runs from roosters. Had the same thing happen with the next batch of Production Reds when I was about sixteen.

I have had two other roosters that attacks humans. One was a little OEGB rooster from a farm auction, one was a sexlink-looking thing from a guy who didn't want his chickens anymore.

I have had a lot of roosters/cockerels (Leghorns, Cochins, Silkies, OEGBs, Barred Rocks, Easter Eggers, Game mixes, mutts of various stripes) and none of them ever attacked humans, despite many of them being raised in the same place, under the exact same circumstances.

 

[hunthaven]

You must post pictures once they hatch! Not a whole lot of things cuter than baby silkies... but I may be biased

I have a three-week old from my last hatch--he/she's in with a bunch of Brahma three week olds, thinking she's as big as the others. Had to get some more silkies to keep her company.

 

[DuckWhisperer06]

Poor little Orpington!! They are cuties for sure though


You must post pictures once they hatch! Not a whole lot of things cuter than baby silkies... but I may be biased

Oh no , I meant that the silkie was being was being picked on by the Orpington because of his size.

 

[3LittleBirdies]

So, the majority are of my birds free range and flock dynamics are very.... well, entertaining. The one thing it had taught me is that most Roos really want to get along. I have five Swedish Black Hen Roos who have formed a bachelor flock. They get along with everything and everyone. The sixth SBH roo (Maverick) is a complete jerk. Especially with people, especially me. He will literally stalk me down like some jungle cat and pounce on me when I least expect it. I have now inadvertently taught my kelpie to herd Maverick AWAY from me. She just pushes him at a steady rate from behind the entire time I do chores to keep him away from me. She never even looks at another bird, just Maverick. My Serama & Legbars Roos are all perfect gentlemen as well. I have a HUGE Cochin roo who is also quite aggressive but he is in a coop with 3 of his girls and we have come to an understanding. So as far as my guys go, it seems to be more dependent on the individual bird and not the breed, upbringing, or treatment.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

I guess we have all the luck as usual..we have had several really mean roosters that were free range that have attacked us. A brown Leghorn rooster jumped on my hand and stabbed his spur between my thumb and forefinger. We have also been body slammed and chased by Lavender Orpingtons, Buff Orpingtons, Black Astralorps. We hand raised these as babies and fed and cared for them...

 

[Alexandra33]

Realistically, it's difficult to state confidently which breeds produce gentle roosters, or aggressive devils. Tendencies don't guarantee consistent results. I could list a few I've liked, but their kind nature is probably attributed to inherited traits. There's just as good a possibility that you'd try these, and end up disliking my suggestions. Haven't relished Cochins, Brahmas, or Orpingtons thus far....some of the more "amiable" breeds.

That said, gamefowl have been around forever, and selectively bred for non-aggressive roos. Making room for exceptions, these birds are tried-and-true.

~Alex

 

[sylviethecochin]

We hand raised these as babies and fed and cared for them...

Roosters that have been hand-fed and cuddled tend to have less respect for humans and to be more aggressive. I'll take a skittish cockerel over a friendly one any day.