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

[wrathsfarm]

Back to your first post: avoid that RIR cockerel, he's already not nice, as are many hatchery bred RIRs, in my experience. Cockerels who avoid human contact are more likely to turn out well, while 'friendly' cockerels can be bold and human aggressive later.
Each one is an individual, and it does take experience, and being willing to cull, to get the ones you want to live with.
You have an amazing mix of hens and pullets, so many possible choices for breeders, should be interesting and fun to see what comes out of this project!
Here we select for temperament, lack of good conformation, and size. Then color and closeness to breed standards. We don't show our birds, so 'close enough' is fine. No bird who's been sick gets to reproduce; injuries don't count, but poor health is not fine.
Mary

Hi Mary, glad you joined the conversation with your wisdom.

 

[wrathsfarm]

https://rosehillfarm.ca/2020/07/10/darkest-eggs-in-blue-birchen-marans/

I read this article some time back and it sparked my interest. Knowing no one in poultry, I ordered a birchen male from Meyer hatchery. But it can be black, blue or splash and they have no good pictures of the grown roos. So it may be a bust. I'm inclined to wait. I tell you what - my parents live in north/central Indiana. If I do go to Idaho next summer I may be able to get a bird or 2 for you from Montana. It's a big maybe - but we usually go back thru that way before we go home to Chattanooga.

Rookie question - but if I lose or cull a rooster how long before I can introduce another one to the flock of hens? Can I swap hens around or pen them with a different Roo once in a while? I assume it's best not to and all this increases frustrating behavior in the roos.

I seen them from Meyer and decided to pass. I only want Black Silvers. And thats where my Marans came from. Not saying their a bad hatchery. Opposite.. I like Meyer but I'm looking for breeder quality now soooo....
And I would be over the moon to get some from Bantambird.

As to your Rookie question.... Im asking that same thing in my head. I have Kong with his mix flock and King with his 6 BCM hens. I need to put my best hens in with Kong to test mate but I'm not sure how that would go. So I'm right there with ya.
I'm worried the hens would reject Kong's love juice.

 

[Folly's place]

For a long time we had two breeding groups multiple breeds of standard hens, with two Chantecler roosters, the main guy and a 'spare'. Also Belgian d'Uccles, so much smaller that the roosters weren't able to cross breed. Easy, everyone lived in one big group.
Then i decided to also have bantam EEs, so three breeding groups, which meant separating them for weeks, doable but more complicated.
Now we only have the bantam EEs and big birds so much simpler. And only Chantie cockerels, so no fertile eggs there. And our one EE rooster, also infertile this year, so more cockerels. Next spring...
I think it's best to keep two males if possible, so there's always that 'spare'.
Mary

 

[SueT]

Having a rooster changes the dynamics of the flock and how you and they interact. I used to be more hands on with my girls before we had a rooster. I trained one of the bantams to fly to my arm. They used to sit in my lap. I stopped doing that so the rooster wouldn’t get the wrong idea, even tho this one’s a gentleman. Now I have a group of bantam EE’s, 6 weeks at this point, and they are separated from the main flock, with their own coop and run. I had planned to keep one of the 3 cockerels. But yesterday, one of the little pullets hopped up onto my lap and I remembered how nice it was to interact this way with my chickens! I could give them treats, handle them a lot, etc. I don’t really plan to raise more chickens, so I don’t think I need a spare rooster. But one of them is quite handsome….
I have 2 weeks till the poultry swap, and I’ll decide if I want another rooster or no.

 

[Folly's place]

I'm not as much of a 'pet chicken' person as many of you are, but handling hens or pullets in the presence of our roosters has never been a problem! We do have a few hens who are fine with being picked up, in spite of not being encouraged by me. And no rooster gets to stay here if he thinks that's a bad idea!
We've never had a rooster react badly to our handling any of our birds, unless that rooster was human aggressive in other situations.
Enjoy your birds, and expect your boys to respect your space regardless!
Mary

 

[SueT]

I'm not as much of a 'pet chicken' person as many of you are, but handling hens or pullets in the presence of our roosters has never been a problem! We do have a few hens who are fine with being picked up, in spite of not being encouraged by me. And no rooster gets to stay here if he thinks that's a bad idea!
We've never had a rooster react badly to our handling any of our birds, unless that rooster was human aggressive in other situations.
Enjoy your birds, and expect your boys to respect your space regardless!
Mary

Thanks, I needed some encouragement. And my current chicks are being raised by a hen, are imprinted on the hen, so should be learning proper chicken etiquette. Keeping one cockerel would be a good test of my theory that hen raised boys are good roosters.

 

[bigsurfwaves]

Back to your first post: avoid that RIR cockerel, he's already not nice, as are many hatchery bred RIRs, in my experience. Cockerels who avoid human contact are more likely to turn out well, while 'friendly' cockerels can be bold and human aggressive later.
Each one is an individual, and it does take experience, and being willing to cull, to get the ones you want to live with.
You have an amazing mix of hens and pullets, so many possible choices for breeders, should be interesting and fun to see what comes out of this project!
Here we select for temperament, lack of good conformation, and size. Then color and closeness to breed standards. We don't show our birds, so 'close enough' is fine. No bird who's been sick gets to reproduce; injuries don't count, but poor health is not fine.
Mary

The cockerel chick that hates being handled is a Silver Laced Wyandotte. I think the RIR you are referring to is the bully hen who loves my son.

Who knows - maybe the SLW will turn out great. In a perfect world I'd keep my boys in a separate bachelor pad and rotate them out with the hens of my choice but I'm just not sure whether it's a smart idea. I also worry that the best behaved and breeding roo(s) will be with the flock free ranging and get killed by a fox or coyote. Then I'll definitely need a spare. It's all a lot to think about!

 

[Folly's place]

Yes, it was the barred Plymouth Rock cockerel I was warning you against! At this point you can't be sure of any of them, so I'd keep two at least, individuals who look like 'possibles' and then decide as they mature.
Right now we have one bantam rooster, and five (or six?!) cockerels. All are behaving well, only two of them are crowing so far. Way too soon for me to pick winners! When issues develop, or pullets are being harassed, some will be removed. Takes time!
Mary

 

[DesiMurgha]

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.

See if you can find an Aseel/Asil rooster. They're a game breed and look pretty intimidating. BUT they are very friendly and non aggressive to humans. I've raised them all my life and my current one I hand feed him and my toddler runs around after him. Also, they're a good deterrent against hawks and cats. You can only have one of them in a flock or they will fight the other roosters.

 

[PluckyClucks]

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.

Based on my daughter's experience wih roosters, I'd agree that any rooster might be an issue for your young son. She had two; one was sweet and gentle but the other was quite the opposite, rough with her entire flock and the nice rooster. Mr. Mean was eventually harvested and went into the pot. Sadly, Sweetie then began the same aggression as Mr. M. The day he came after her and tried to spur her, tearing her slacks, he was dispatched. No more roosters for her flock and she is not a scaredy-cat gal in any way. These boys and the hens lived like royalty, considered pets with benefits (colored eggs), and the fellas had no reason aside from guy-brain to act the way they did. My very limited experience with roosters was about a hundred years ago when we had two; a Rhode Island red (nice and trustworthy) and a huge white leghorn named Fancy Pants who made the fatal mistake of jumping onto my shirtless little brother one summer and clawing, spurring his back and pecking his head. Big brother and I screamed and yelled along with the victim of the totally unprovoked attack. My normally gentle and patient mother had that rooster by his neck in a flash and did some kung fu thing in a split second. Little brub had his choice in pick-o-the chik for supper (drumstick and gizzard). All of the above turned me off on roosters for a small family flock.