Choosing rooster

[RobinGel]

How do you choose what breed of rooster in your flock?

I think getting a good rooster is simply in luck of the draw... or as others mention it's a crap shoot! For years I didn't have roosters then about 3 years ago I took in a small flock with 2 roosters... these fellas didn't get along so the beta went to butcher... the alpha was a wonderful fellow! He did all the right rooster things & had excellent manners with all the girls. The poor Mister died valiantly protecting the girls from a coyote, in broad daylight. Since then, I've raised 2 Buff Orphington rooster boys with a flock of 30 2-3yr old hens... that didn't work out well at all!! Even though a Buff Orphington is supposed to be one of the friendly roosters. (If interested in details... see my post about the JimBobs...)

This past spring I've been raising almost 100 chicks to establish a new larger flock. I was lucky enough to only have 14 cockerels. For roosters, I have Wyndottes, 4 silver & 5 gold laced... 4 Brahmas and 1 Ameraucauna. I've had the Ameraucauna with the mixed flock of hens & pullets for a few months now. He's 4 months & quite docile, maybe a late bloomer. He keeps to himself most of the time, stays in the run even with the gate open, but comes around mingling with the ladies in the evenings before every one goes inside for the night. He successfully mounts, Rusty, a 2yr old hen that acts like a rooster and he trys a few pullets. So far he isn't doing the other rooster things like courting, clucking for good food, herding the girls in, etc. The upside is there's not tension amongst the ladies ... but they mostly peck him on the roost so he usually spends his nights alone too.

This is MrDreamy....

All the other cockerels were holy terrors on the flock and all avoided the OG girls. The Brahma boy at 3 months was just pitiful how he treated the smallest pullets... grabbing them by their wings & flinging them around. The Silver Laced Wyndotte cockerels weren't much better.... actually seemed like they were hunting the smallest pullets... always grabbing them while they ate or drank. One escapes the rooster barn, almost daily, to get with the girls. I lure him into the big chicken house and take him back each night!

Eventually, Im leaning towards welsummer or blue laced red Wyandotte’s currently, but time will tell. What factors do you consider when choosing a rooster breed for your mixed flock?

I have 3 Blue Laced Red Wyndotte hens... such sweet ladies that enjoy hanging with each other and love treats! Not sure how old they are but I've had them almost 3yrs ... they seem older as they're not laying much but all 3 keep the pullets in their place within the flock.

L to R .... near the top...
TomatoGirl, Strawberry, TomatoLady

The Strawberry girl has almost all white legs & her neck feathers are much whiter than gray. Whereas the Tomatos are much grayer on the legs and neck feathers... I can look for better pics too.

 

[Mrs. K]

I am of the side that says wait on the rooster this year. Get some experience, see what you like. You have years to enjoy this. If you have small children under the age of 6, I strongly recommend you waiting on having a rooster.

Most inexperienced people vastly underestimate the violence of an aggressive rooster, they often miss the cues that a rooster is getting aggressive, and the attack appears to come out of no where. While for most adults, it is more scare than damage, but there are adults that have gotten very nasty wounds, a child under the age of 6 will tend to take this attack in the head or face, often knocking a child down.

Not all roosters are mean and aggressive, but many times they are. Get some experience, you have years to play with this hobby.

As for breeds, many a time, I have thought, "This breed!" Only to find later, not so much. I have come to the decision, that I like a rag tag bunch. The best rooster to get, is a rooster raised in a multi-generational flock, and whose owner has a sharp knife, and this bird was so nice, that they didn't cull him.

Wonderful hobby, been enjoying it for decades.

Mrs K