can you let chickens breed with different breeds

[Robin'sBrood]

Quote:
I didn't want a roo either and accidentally wound up with one. Over 3 years later I can't imagine not having him, he's my boy! If you keep him but don't want chicks just be sure to collect your eggs everyday, especially if you have a broody hen trying to set.

 

[audrey02026]

Yeah that makes sense...so you can eat the eggs if they are fertile? Do they taste any different?

 

[greenSearcher]

I don't notice a difference in taste in the eggs. All my eggs are fertile. I didn't plan on having roosters originally, but my first order of 12 turned out 2 males, and one was mean. I learned to kill as needed then. I still need to learn to butcher. It strikes me as wrong and wasteful to simply kill the extra roosters, rather they should be honored and thanked for their contribution to the freezer when they are harvested. We are do for a cooler morning in a ouple days, and I think Thighs and Drumsticks will get harvested then, but at this rate they will be good only for soup. I have two boys, Scout 1 and 2 in the juvie pen, and I need to move them out with their 'sisters' to the big coops this next week.
Anyway I understand your hesitancy to eat your birds that you raised.

 

[donrae]

What a lucky roo! He'll have his choice of blondes, brunettes and redheads

 

[Poupoulles]

I have a Rock rooster (in my case a partridge). Very laid back and makes a nice mutt chicken. My flock has rocks (buff and partridge), EE, Marans, etc etc etc. The rock DNA seems to breed nice broad-bottomed gals with great mothering instincts who lay eggs like they mean it.

Now I am totally biased since Rocks (of all colors) are my favorite. But they just seem like the perfect all around chicken. And they seem (in my limited experience) to pass on the traits I like in their mix breed chicks.

 

[mrslee91314]

why shouldn't you make a pet of a rooster

 

[QueenMisha]

why shouldn't you make a pet of a rooster

That's a really sitation dependent answer.

Some folks are in the camp that roosters cannot be pets, and should be considered intact male livestock. This is not untrue.

Others consider their cocks pets, and should be treated just like any dog or cat. This is also not untrue.

Personally I find it to be very dependent on three factors: the breed, the individual cockerel, and the owner of the flock.

I find it beneficial to ignore and avoid socializing with roosters of large breeds and hatchery origin (these are the most common cocks to turn mean). I single out this type of bird for two reasons. The first is that these roosters can do the most damage should they become aggressive; a large Production Red or Barred Rock, for example, can do some serious damage should they have half a mind to. The second is because, as a rule, hatcheries are lazy. They pay little attention to the personality of their breeders and allow aggressive cockerels to breed. This yields aggressive offspring. Breeder birds, on the other hand, I would have no problem making pets of, regardless of size. This is because I trust the breeders to have done their jobs and selected for birds which respect their keepers. I see it to be less of a problem to socialize bantams or small egg production breeds, even if they are hatchery sourced. (Though I would still trust a breeder bird far more). Firstly, although a bantam cockerel can still give a good bite or kick should he want to, he cannot cause the potentially serious injuries a standard sized cock could. The smallest ones, like OEGBs or Seramas, are scarcely more than hilarious when they become aggressive. Secondly, bantams have always been considered ornamentals and pets, and as such their personalities have not deteriorated so badly under the lazy breeding of commercial hatcheries, since less pressure has been put on them to produce and they started out with generally very friendly temperaments. However, this brings me to the second factor.

Individual cockerels may become aggressive regardless of their origin. A cock could be from the friendliest line of roosters in the country and still take up a whim and become an ankle flogger. You just never know until they reach maturity. Some consider it inappropriate to ever make a cockerel a pet, simply because he even if he is of a breed or strain known for friendliness, as he may be one of those individuals. It is true that you cannot predict with 100% certainty a cockerels tendency toward aggression, and therein lies the owner's part in all this.

What are you, the owner, willing to do, should a cock become aggressive? Will you cull him or allow someone else to cull him should he become aggressive? Are emotionally capable of spending a long time raising this bird, attempting to make it friendly, only for it to turn around and bite the hand that feeds? It is of my opinion that anyone willing to take the necessary measures to remove aggressive cockerels from their flock should spend all the time they want making pets of roosters; that is certainly how I myself approach the issue. I love my pet roosters, of which I have several. In socializing them, I took the chance that they would become ankle floggers. Certainly, a few did. They were culled. An aggressive rooster does not see a human as a friend or beneficial influence; rather, he sees you as a potential threat or an intruder on his territory, and by socializing him all you are doing is removing his fear of you. Chickens are not brave animals; regardless of their tendency toward aggression, it is very unlikely a cockbird is going to come after a large, predatory animal which is five times his height unless it has given him a reason to think it will not hurt him; e.g., handling him Ina. regular basis and getting him very used to your presence.

 

[TheChiggens]

good luck