Good breed of roo for R.I.R. ,w. leghorn and blk astrolorp.

[Chicken girl 15]

I have 18 girls who all live together in a 16×20 run with a 2 story 4×6 coop with 10 boxes on floor 1. I have 8 R.I.R. 5 white leghorn and 5 black astrolorp. Do I need a matching roo for each set or is there a roo that will be none to picky about feather color? I know I will need 2 roo's just not the foggiest what type .

 

[Free Feather]

Do they free range? If not, that setup sounds tight for that many birds.

They typically do not seem to care about his breed, just his personality. They will pick on the boys at first because of their newness but will settle after a while.
It has been scientifically proven, however, that the bigger the rooster's comb, the more attractive he is to hens. No joke.

 

[Chicken girl 15]

Right now they are 5 and 12 weeks so they only free range when I am present to babysit. By mid July they will have more freedom. They all get along great . No pecking order problems or anything. Thank you for the advice on getting "flashy" guys for the girls.

 

[Michael OShay]

I have 18 girls who all live together in a 16×20 run with a 2 story 4×6 coop with 10 boxes on floor 1. I have 8 R.I.R. 5 white leghorn and 5 black astrolorp. Do I need a matching roo for each set or is there a roo that will be none to picky about feather color? I know I will need 2 roo's just not the foggiest what type .

Roosters don't care what feather color the hens have and you don't need a separate rooster for each breed unless you intend to separate the breeds into separate enclosures and breed only pure breeds. I would suggest getting a rooster of a breed that has a well deserved reputation for being calm and gentle such as Australorps, Orpingtons, Brahmas, Cochins, Sussex, or Faverolles. If egg production is a priority, Australorps are the best layers on this list. You could get an aggressive rooster out of one of these breeds as well but your odds are better of getting a gentle one. You don't want an aggressive rooster and run the risk of injuring someone or breeding that kind of aggression into your flock. My personal preference would be to get a Black Australorp rooster. That way you would not only get some more pure Australorps in your flock from the Aussie hens you already have, but you would be breeding high egg production into your flock. Whatever rooster breed you get, good luck in breeding your flock.

 

[Free Feather]

Some people get bantam roosters for standard hens so they will be easier on their backs, thus being able to have more roosters.

Be forewarned that Australorp roosters can get really really big and rip up the hens' backs.

 

[Michael OShay]

Some people get bantam roosters for standard hens so they will be easier on their backs, thus being able to have more roosters.

Be forewarned that Australorp roosters can get really really big and rip up the hens' backs.

Australorp roosters are no larger than RIR roosters with both breeds averaging 8-8.5 lbs., and any standard breed can and will over-breed the hens, ripping up their backs if there are too many roosters per hen. That's why it's important to stay close to the recommended ratio of 1 rooster for every 10 hens.