Breed alone won't let you know if he's aggressive or not. I've had super sweet BRs, Delawares, Orps and EEs, but I've had an aggressive black Ameraucana from a show line, something folks say is not that common.
An Orpington may be too large for your hens, especially if they are hatchery birds. My Blue Orp was not a hatchery bird, weighed 14-15 lbs in his prime and when my original Barred Rock with the main flock died, I did not put big Suede in with his hens for the simple reason that he was WAY too large for the much smaller hens. He needed hens able to deal with his size, Orps, even my current heritage line Barred Rock hens would have been big enough for Suede, but never my hatchery Rocks.
My Delaware rooster comes from a line bred not only for conformation but also for temperament. Temperament is heritable. He passes that down the line and I've rarely ever heard of a son, grandson or great grandson ever being a problem for anyone. In fact, just the opposite. Folks want his progeny because of that wonderful temperament.
With so many different hens, you can pick just about whatever you like. A red or gold male will give you sex links with the barred hens. Wyandottes have a dominant rose comb so you'll get lots of rose combs out of them, even when bred with a single combed rooster. Just your choice. With a mixed flock, me personally, I'd go for temperament and it's not determined by breed alone.
An Orpington may be too large for your hens, especially if they are hatchery birds. My Blue Orp was not a hatchery bird, weighed 14-15 lbs in his prime and when my original Barred Rock with the main flock died, I did not put big Suede in with his hens for the simple reason that he was WAY too large for the much smaller hens. He needed hens able to deal with his size, Orps, even my current heritage line Barred Rock hens would have been big enough for Suede, but never my hatchery Rocks.
My Delaware rooster comes from a line bred not only for conformation but also for temperament. Temperament is heritable. He passes that down the line and I've rarely ever heard of a son, grandson or great grandson ever being a problem for anyone. In fact, just the opposite. Folks want his progeny because of that wonderful temperament.
With so many different hens, you can pick just about whatever you like. A red or gold male will give you sex links with the barred hens. Wyandottes have a dominant rose comb so you'll get lots of rose combs out of them, even when bred with a single combed rooster. Just your choice. With a mixed flock, me personally, I'd go for temperament and it's not determined by breed alone.
