Chickens for 10-20 years or more? Pull up a rockin' chair and lay some wisdom on us!

[Miss Lydia]

I'd be happy with just the clean house LOL

Me too I'm too old to keep up with Brad Pitt or George Clooney.

 

[galanie]

I thought it meant buff orpington.  All this time I thought everyone thought buff orpingtons were the best option for their coop!  Ive been looking at breeders of them and everything.  

LOL. Bee just didn't like her hatchery BOs. If she ever had some like dragonlady's, she'd be singing a whole new song

 

[haemony]

I just want a rooster who does not de-feather my hens. Either I have had very bad luck with roosters or it's a lot harder than I would gather from reading. I keep hearing about all these great roosters and people who really like their roos. I have been through four roosters (meaning cockerels who made it to rooster-dom) and all of them kin to the devil as far as hens are concerned. They are always sweet as pie with me but they abuse my girls. I was fond of the last one (an EE) so I gave him a good chance. Waited for him to get better with age but after a year he got worse instead of better and by 18 months he was a danger to the hens. He started with 9 girls. Danced for them at first and found them treats, let them eat first etc... then just started jumping on them aggressively and constantly. I got 6 more hens thinking that would help but he stripped every hen bare and stressed some out so badly they would not go in the coop at night. He is gone now. One of my hens then raised up six of his sons and all of them were gang rapists by the age of 10 weeks. Three or four at a time would go after my adult laying hens. They were far far worse than their father. Tried to mate before they could crow? Never danced. Did not share food.

Do I just have bad rooster mojo? How hard is it to find a rooster who will not abuse the hens and steal their food? I think I understand the difference between abuse and normal chicken mating. I know it isn't pretty but does it have to be so ugly? Now I have a Blue Splash Ameraucana (not an EE) from a hatching egg I purchased from a breeder. So far so good but he's only 18 weeks. If he doesn't make the grade, does anyone have suggestions for me. Any kinds of roosters more likely to be gentle with hens and good protectors.

 

[Beekissed]

Could be the breeds you are choosing. My sister recently donated an EE rooster to my flock(I did not need a rooster but got it anyway) and he was just horrible as a rooster. I know that young roosters are just a bit more randy and clumsy than most, but I've had many young roosters over the years that were not like this one. He relentlessly stalked and pursued the hens, even those not receptive to mating, until they couldn't eat, forage or relax with him around. We killed him the other day to give the flock back their peaceful existence.

I've always had good roosters out of RIRs, BAs, WRs, and my current roo has been a real gem and he is a Partridge Rock(rarely ever crows except first thing in the morning and it's not a loud crow).

Maybe getting a good heritage breed rooster instead of those blasted EEs(never had a good EE yet, either hens or roos) and you may have another experience.

 

[siroiszoo]

I understand totally! I step away from the computer for a bit and come back and there are 5-10 more pages added!! So much information and my little brain is trying to absorb it all.

Thanks!

Lisa

Don't feel bad. I've been trying to keep up with this one and another one (which I believe is the other "popular one": https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/...ors-anyone-want-to-follow-their-progress/2180 Of course, there is also another one Bee posts on frequently regarding Fermented Feed. I quit following that one as these two threads seem to have everything I need.

I was over half way through the other thread before Bee reminded me to copy & paste the info I needed to a word doc so I could find it later. I was so frantic trying to keep up and absorb all this GREAT info after years of digging through so much useless info.....I wished I'd thought to do it sooner LOL

 

[haemony]

Thanks Bee. I am not that impressed with my EE hens either. They are pretty but very high strung. I almost got a Partridge Rock rooster who was described just like yours. My first roo was a Barred Rock. I have good Partridge and Barred Rock hens but that roo was dud. I'll look for another PR or other heritage breed roo. My Rocks are my toughest friendliest birds and best layers.I kept reading on these forums that breed made no difference but I would think that mutt birds and hatchery birds are more likely ti be a little off. If there are good roosters out there I'll keep looking.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Thanks Bee. I am not that impressed with my EE hens either. They are pretty but very high strung. I almost got a Partridge Rock rooster who was described just like yours. My first roo was a Barred Rock. I have good Partridge and Barred Rock hens but that roo was dud. I'll look for another PR or other heritage breed roo. My Rocks are my toughest friendliest birds and best layers.I kept reading on these forums that breed made no difference but I would think that mutt birds and hatchery birds are more likely ti be a little off. If there are good roosters out there I'll keep looking.

I like my EEs very much, they aren't nearly as high strung as my game hen. Lay really well too. I'm thinking Austrolorps[sp] I understand they are pretty mellow so maybe check into them for a Roo. They get big.

 

[haemony]

Interesting. I have a 10 EE hens and none of them lay all that well. Two of them do not lay a all. They are not at all friendly and run screaming if I try to pick them up. My Rocks, Welsummers, and Austrolorps all lay well and are super friendly and easy to handle. The EE roos, as mentioned, were useless. Must just be mine. I will try not to have a bad impression of the breed.

 

[Miss Lydia]

Interesting. I have a 10 EE hens and none of them lay all that well. Two of them do not lay a all. They are not at all friendly and run screaming if I try to pick them up. My Rocks, Welsummers, and Austrolorps all lay well and are super friendly and easy to handle. The EE roos, as mentioned, were useless. Must just be mine. I will try not to have a bad impression of the breed.

I didn't know you had Austrolorps so tell me about them, My dads landlady has them and I was thinking about getting some eggs for hatching with my bantams in the spring. My EE's will squat down as soon as they see me well 2 of them the other 6 are pretty friendly too, make me think of Brahmas actually as far as their temperment. They are still young my last 4 just stated laying. The other 4 hatched in feb of this year.

 

[Beekissed]

I've had them here and there also and was never impressed with their laying abilities. I think "lay well" is a relative term for most folks, depending on the breeds they may have or have had experience with. To me, a chicken that is an excellent layer is one that puts out an egg every single day in peak laying months and slows down a little during the slow times but never really quits. As they age this can change a little but I still expect an egg every day or every other day in peak seasons with older birds.

Laying well, to me, is a bird that at least lays 5 days out of 7 during peak laying months. I've never had an EE that layed past maybe 15-18 eggs per month.