Choosing or raising a rooster ??? Couple questions for my options

[McChooky]

I don't have much insight in those breeds as far as temperament, I only have 3 BCM's and 1 Belgium D'Uccle. 4 separate flocks.
I think I would try the Ameraucana and keep one of your Cream Legbars.
If your Ameraucana is pure and depending how dark your Marans and Welsummer eggs are you should hatch out Olive Eggers.

With all that said if this your first time with Roosters I would seriously think twice about letting your son take control of a Rooster flock. If he makes a wrong move there's a heavy chance of an injury. Roosters change your flock dynamics. He takes over your hens, there not yours or your sons anymore. Seriously read up on owning a Rooster and how to manage your flock with one or more. If you have had Roos then negate all that but I would still never let him near a Rooster without you personally covering him at least until he's old enough to understand a Roosters mindset and all the do's and don'ts and triggers especially in young cockerels.
Not trying to diswade you. Its a great thing he's doing being responsible and caring for living creatures on a daily basis. Lots of character building there but Roosters can be extremely dangerous to a young person who still thinks they can hug and play with their chickens.

Legbars carry 2 copies of the blue eggs gene and pass it to all their chicks.You don't have to have Ameraucana's to get olive eggers

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Great advice here. Thank you all. It's *almost* my first experience with a Roo but not quite. I tried to adopt one cockerel who was raised in a rooster flock and his temperament was not aggressive but his tail was so wry we decided not to breed him for the school project. He was half Whiting True Blue from McMurray. What I observed was that the young pullets wanted nothing to do with him but he quickly figured out the older hens would mate so he stayed with them. They have a separate coop. He did not figure out how to guard them and was afraid of his own shadow. He stayed in the run or flew way up in trees when he free ranged. We lost our best laying hen the first few days he was with them and had not lost any since last year. He failed his trial period.

We want to keep one of the Cream Legbars. But I'd like to try the Ameraucana also. I originally wanted 2 the same age in a big flock but that can backfire also I guess.

So... my son's flock/coop/run should be ALL hens while we brood the Legbar for them? Meanwhile, he can only observe me caring for the flock with the Ameraucana cockerel? We can do that. Should we NOT give the Ameraucana cockerel access to ALL the hens? Or can we? The current batch of chicks is literally being brooded inside the run where the chickens can all see them but not touch.

My son does have a special bond with one of the older hens and she is ultra dominant Rhode Island Red. She comes over to squat, he picks her up, feeds her, and that will have to STOP. We have discussed this and he knows a rooster will not tolerate it. He likes to understand animals and their behaviors. He had a mean male tomcat that was nice to him most of the time. So he knows the potential and can respect it. A hawk paralyzed that cat for hunting its territory and we had to kill the cat. The attack happened at his bus stop his first week of kindergarten. Gut wrenching- but he saw what birds can and will do, even to a formidable opponent.

I could totally forget the Ameraucana fella and just use what we're brooding. But I worry that the silver laced wyandotte will be NASTY. Every SLW chicken I have seen hates people. This chick already has huge legs, short wings and a big pink comb. Plus wattles at 2 weeks old. Is bratty behavior normal for that breed? They are so pretty! Has anyone had a nice Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster? Anyone? ??

 

[wrathsfarm]

Legbars carry 2 copies of the blue eggs gene and pass it to all their chicks.You don't have to have Ameraucana's to get olive eggers

That was the only breed she had I knew about for olive eggers. I know nothing about Legbars, so thank you for that.
I only have a EE hen with Kong, 1 of my BCM's and just hatched 3 Olive Eggers in June so I'm still learning about Olive Eggers.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Hello there. I have a mixed flock with a few production hens (Black Sex Link, RI Red, Easter Eggers, Olive Egger) in their prime of laying who are squatting and willing to breed. I also have over a dozen 4-5 month old heritage breed hens who are *almost* laying... They are different colors of Marans, Ameraucana, Wyandottes, Welsummer, Speckled Sussex, Orpington. Finally I have a new batch of brooding Cream Legbar and Barred Rock chicks which has friendly male Cream Legbars and perhaps a Silver laced Wyandotte male (SLW is NOT friendly). I opted for a straight run because I had never gotten a single rooster in all my pullets! A neighbor of mine would like to take 1/2 Cream Legbar roosters for her flock. But by Spring, I am trying to supply some fertilized eggs with neat looking chicks and egg laying colors for a genetics project for my son's school. They have an incubator. It is really just an experiment of curiosity but we need a Rooster/Roosters. We have a good amount of space, a Great Pyrenees stationed next to them, 3 separate coops, and free range the chickens too. So a pretty good set up.

My son is 6. He loves the chickens and helps me clean the coop/collect eggs. I don't want a rooster that ruins that for him or will hurt him. I am open to eating a bad rooster. Not up for discussion.

I just recently met a neighbor who has 2 young cockerels to re home because they only have 5 hens. Both are pretty nice and have been raised gently but not handled TOO much. The Ameraucana is very pretty with silver on his neck and several colors. He mostly avoids human contact but let me pick him up off the perch and fell asleep while I petted him. But he was attentive to the 1 hen he prefers. The Big Barred Rock is huge and VERY watchful of the hens. He does not come to people but he let my son pet him no problem. I held him without any problems, but when I shooed a hen for pecking my toes, he came AT ME hard. I pushed him back.

My question is this: Which Roo should I take in for my son's dedicated flock in terms of temperament? I'm leaning towards the Ameraucana but I read they can be aggressive! I also may keep one of my brooding males because I will have SO many hens and want them covered. I wouldn't mind having spare roos for flock shepherds in case I lose one to a predator. As I said, I'm able to separate the runs/coops and free range them separate times/ etc.

I either want to be successful raising a good rooster or pick a nice one. I feel like I have a few good opportunities here. Just need to make good decisions! Guide me O Great Chicken Whisperers. Lol.

I quoted your original post so I could see what breeds you had again. I'm only one sided with my boys so I can only offer a little bit with what breeds you have that I know about.
You should think about getting a Marans Roo. You have Marans, EE, OE and BR. So you could breed your Marans and then mated to your EE and Olive Egger would give you even more shades of Olive Egger colors. But also mated to your Barred Rock would produce sex links. All the cockerels will be Barred and the pullets will be Midnight Majesty Marans (there's other names for them thru different hatcheries) these are the few I know of that I have. I'm no genetics whiz. But I can tell you your about to go down a rabbit hole, welcome to the crazy chicken club.
Oh, and my opinion only. Lose the SLW. I have 1 hen, she's a bully and I'm about to cull her. Not a fan of the breed myself. But its not the breed just individual temperament. Some people love them. Hopefully others can weigh in also but I'd get a Marans Roo. You'll have a pretty egg basket assortment going.

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Totally have been thinking about a Marans Roo. You read my mind. I have a Birchen male on order but it seems nuts with all the free pretty cockerels needing homes. The olive egger Roo I had - he was part Marans and part Whiting True Blue. But the wry tail and proof of genetics problems in his line from McMurray ruined that plan...

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Totally have been thinking about a Marans Roo. You read my mind. I have a Birchen male on order but it seems nuts with all the free pretty cockerels needing homes. The olive egger Roo I had - he was part Marans and part Whiting True Blue. But the wry tail and proof of genetics problems in his line from McMurray ruined that plan...

Specifically - our marans are Wheaten, Golden Cuckoo and Splash. All heavily feathered on legs. My olive egger has lightly feathered legs as she is Black Copper Marans x Ameraucana. She has muffs and beard too. Blue with copper on her neck. A real gem.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Great advice here. Thank you all. It's *almost* my first experience with a Roo but not quite. I tried to adopt one cockerel who was raised in a rooster flock and his temperament was not aggressive but his tail was so wry we decided not to breed him for the school project. He was half Whiting True Blue from McMurray. What I observed was that the young pullets wanted nothing to do with him but he quickly figured out the older hens would mate so he stayed with them. They have a separate coop. He did not figure out how to guard them and was afraid of his own shadow. He stayed in the run or flew way up in trees when he free ranged. We lost our best laying hen the first few days he was with them and had not lost any since last year. He failed his trial period.

We want to keep one of the Cream Legbars. But I'd like to try the Ameraucana also. I originally wanted 2 the same age in a big flock but that can backfire also I guess.

So... my son's flock/coop/run should be ALL hens while we brood the Legbar for them? Meanwhile, he can only observe me caring for the flock with the Ameraucana cockerel? We can do that. Should we NOT give the Ameraucana cockerel access to ALL the hens? Or can we? The current batch of chicks is literally being brooded inside the run where the chickens can all see them but not touch.

My son does have a special bond with one of the older hens and she is ultra dominant Rhode Island Red. She comes over to squat, he picks her up, feeds her, and that will have to STOP. We have discussed this and he knows a rooster will not tolerate it. He likes to understand animals and their behaviors. He had a mean male tomcat that was nice to him most of the time. So he knows the potential and can respect it. A hawk paralyzed that cat for hunting its territory and we had to kill the cat. The attack happened at his bus stop his first week of kindergarten. Gut wrenching- but he saw what birds can and will do, even to a formidable opponent.

I could totally forget the Ameraucana fella and just use what we're brooding. But I worry that the silver laced wyandotte will be NASTY. Every SLW chicken I have seen hates people. This chick already has huge legs, short wings and a big pink comb. Plus wattles at 2 weeks old. Is bratty behavior normal for that breed? They are so pretty! Has anyone had a nice Silver Laced Wyandotte Rooster? Anyone? ??

Cockerels mature faster than pullets so he'll head for the hens if the pullets are afraid. Sometimes it takes a while for their Roo duties to sink in, their hormones are thru the roof til around 1 year old so its best to keep them with the big girls until the pullets begin to lay. I have 1 that just turned a year that I keep separated from his girls because they are not quite laying yet, their close. He gets limited time with them and tid bits and wing dances them but he don't chase them down. He's been a pretty good boy.
I give my cockerels some leeway because their brain is in one mode all the time.
Here's some tips that I do with my boys that might help you and your son.
When your Roo takes over the flock he becomes the headmaster. He knows how to take care of the girls better than you, let him do it. I teach my boys a mutual respect. I'm the giant that brings food and cleans up there crap and ultimately I rule. But the girls are his and I let him know that.
I walk thru my Roos on purpose. Make them move, always watch your back.
When I treat, I show my boys and they get the credit for finding treats. If my boys show up solo and I by chance have treats I will hand feed them because their doing a great job and their my prized possession. Teaching mutual respect.
I only handle boys when I have too. No hugs and cuddles. I talk to them "alot". I tell them how pretty they are and how good a job their doing. If I pick up one of his girls, I'm talking to him and watching him. If he tries to side dance or get upset I bring my forearm up towards my face and give him a firm "NO", when I bring her back I do all that again. I set her down in his vicinity and watch the side stepping when you set her down. Think like a Rooster. Sometimes you'll set her down and she'll ruffle up her feathers. In his head you just mated his girl. Watch him.
Treat him with respect and he'll learn respect. I can pick up any hen at anytime but I know he's always watching and if I'm doing something maintenance with her I take her out of sight because if she gets feisty or upset he will come running.
Last note.... If your son is not enjoying the new flock dynamics lose the Roo. Don't let it ruin his experience. And yes it'll take a while til everyone is old enough to know respect with your son and you and your Roos. Comes with age and time so you gotta cover your son at all times, never turn your back. But you'll get some great fun and hilarious moments along the way like when your monster Roo crams himself under the mower deck and he's calling his girls telling them "this is a great place to lay". And the girls are standing there looking at him like he's a corndog.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Totally have been thinking about a Marans Roo. You read my mind. I have a Birchen male on order but it seems nuts with all the free pretty cockerels needing homes. The olive egger Roo I had - he was part Marans and part Whiting True Blue. But the wry tail and proof of genetics problems in his line from McMurray ruined that plan...

Birchen as in Black silver? Tell me more. I'm looking to get a Black silver flock but its hard finding good breed stock with no gold. I just have hatchery BCM's and need to bring in better quality birds.

 

[wrathsfarm]

Specifically - our marans are Wheaten, Golden Cuckoo and Splash. All heavily feathered on legs. My olive egger has lightly feathered legs as she is Black Copper Marans x Ameraucana. She has muffs and beard too. Blue with copper on her neck. A real gem.

You need to come here and say hello,... https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...-thread-breeding-to-the-sop.1122465/page-2216

We talk all Marans and the wealth of knowledge is all here with breeding.

 

[McChooky]

That was the only breed she had I knew about for olive eggers. I know nothing about Legbars, so thank you for that.
I only have a EE hen with Kong, 1 of my BCM's and just hatched 3 Olive Eggers in June so I'm still learning about Olive Eggers.

A bantam flock is a better option all way around for kids.They aren't as aggressive or as big and kids can hold them in their lap or carry them around. A lot of those the standard size wind up in the soup pot.