How do you decide what rooster to keep?

[Folly's place]

All good advice, especially from @Mrs. K and @Ridgerunner here. Also, having youngsters with no adult hens or roosters to manage these cockerels isn't best. The cockerels mature before their flockmates, and have no adults to make them eat humble pie. Also, your youngest children are at risk, especially this year.
Move all your cockerels on, and raise a few next spring, when your adult hens can manage their little egos as they mature.
And you will all have more experience with your flock, always a good thing.
If you do want to raise this year's cockerels, really pay attention to their behaviors. The one who attacked your five year old would be the first to go (immediately!) here. It does take experience to recognize poor behaviors before actual attacks, and you will be getting that experience now. The children need to learn how to not interact with the birds, and you need to not make excuses for obnoxious behavior from any cockerels.
Chickens are fun! Not supposed to be dangerous, especially for children.
Mary

 

[nnheacox]

All good advice, especially from @Mrs. K and @Ridgerunner here. Also, having youngsters with no adult hens or roosters to manage these cockerels isn't best. The cockerels mature before their flockmates, and have no adults to make them eat humble pie. Also, your youngest children are at risk, especially this year.
Move all your cockerels on, and raise a few next spring, when your adult hens can manage their little egos as they mature.
And you will all have more experience with your flock, always a good thing.
If you do want to raise this year's cockerels, really pay attention to their behaviors. The one who attacked your five year old would be the first to go (immediately!) here. It does take experience to recognize poor behaviors before actual attacks, and you will be getting that experience now. The children need to learn how to not interact with the birds, and you need to not make excuses for obnoxious behavior from any cockerels.
Chickens are fun! Not supposed to be dangerous, especially for children.
Mary

We rehomed three (including the one that got my 8yr old) on Friday. I’ve got at least one more that I’m questioning at this point, but nobody’s crowed. I’m keeping a close eye on them all for sure!

 

[GlicksChicks]

Personally, I would not keep the Rhode Islands. They are known to be mean birds and if you want your kids to stay safe then I don't recommend them.

Sussexes and Orpingtons, from my experience, are very docile breeds.

You should definitely look for the caracteristics:
-Do they warn others when there is something that seems like danger, like a big bird flying over?
-Do they seem to be bullying any hens?
-Which one do the hens seem to accept the most?
-Which kind of breed do you find the most appealing?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Oh no! I’ve heard RIR roosters can be aggressive

I had a bantam RIR cockerel who was the friendliest guy I ever had.

Personally, I would not keep the Rhode Islands. They are known to be mean birds

RIR roosters and hens can be aggressive. So can Sussex, Orpington, Silkies, and every other breed. All of the different breeds can also be great. Each bird is an individual and will have its own personality. I haven't had that many different breeds that I can make a blanket statement about all breeds from experience but I've read enough stories on this forum to form an opinion. And I have had some experience. How much of a breed's reputation is built on "I heard" or "are known to be" instead of from personal experience?

I don't always agree with what some people call aggression. Two cockerels fighting during puberty is not aggression. It's two cockerels in puberty doing what is natural for cockerels in puberty. Immature cockerels chasing pullets or hens for mating is not aggression, it's immature cockerels trying to establish dominance as their instincts tell them to.

I don't tolerate human aggression in any of them. Nor do I accept a chicken deliberately trying to kill another chicken, whether the aggressor is male or female. I have my limits. But if an immature chicken is doing what an immature chicken's instincts are telling it to do I usually give them a chance to grow out of it. Most will when they mature but most certainly does not mean all.

I think it takes some experience to tell the difference and I do not always get it right. But some of my best Flock Master roosters have been roosters that many would deem aggressive when they were immature cockerels. I want a rooster that can win the hens over by the strength of his spirit and personality instead of having to rely on force to be Flock Master. I had one of those and it was not good.

 

[GlicksChicks]

RIR roosters and hens can be aggressive. So can Sussex, Orpington, Silkies, and every other breed. All of the different breeds can also be great. Each bird is an individual and will have its own personality. I haven't had that many different breeds that I can make a blanket statement about all breeds from experience but I've read enough stories on this forum to form an opinion. And I have had some experience. How much of a breed's reputation is built on "I heard" or "are known to be" instead of from personal experience?

I don't always agree with what some people call aggression. Two cockerels fighting during puberty is not aggression. It's two cockerels in puberty doing what is natural for cockerels in puberty. Immature cockerels chasing pullets or hens for mating is not aggression, it's immature cockerels trying to establish dominance as their instincts tell them to.

I don't tolerate human aggression in any of them. Nor do I accept a chicken deliberately trying to kill another chicken, whether the aggressor is male or female. I have my limits. But if an immature chicken is doing what an immature chicken's instincts are telling it to do I usually give them a chance to grow out of it. Most will when they mature but most certainly does not mean all.

I think it takes some experience to tell the difference and I do not always get it right. But some of my best Flock Master roosters have been roosters that many would deem aggressive when they were immature cockerels. I want a rooster that can win the hens over by the strength of his spirit and personality instead of having to rely on force to be Flock Master. I had one of those and it was not good.

I know RIR and SS by experience. I have owned RIR and they are known, by many people who have owned them, to not be very nice hens and roosters. I have talked to multiple other people who have owned them as well and they have had the same consensus. So it isn't "I think" or "I have heard." I would not have said anything about the RIR if I hadn't experienced it before. I said "They are known" because I have experienced it and so have multiple others on this platform. And I am talking about normal RIR, not bantam hybrids. Pure RIR. A bantam will have a different temperament than a normal sized RIR. I never stated an opinion on a bantam one because I have never had a bantam. And a bantam RIR is not relevant to this thread because the OP has a normal sized RIR rooster.

Same with the SS. Any SS I have had were docile, quiet, and overall nice chickens. And if you look at breeds that are good for beginners, SS is one of them. They are known to be calm and nice chickens, whether it be roosters or hens.

I understand that there are different personalities between different chickens, but that does not mean that some breeds are not more prone to violence and bad behavior than other breeds.

 

[GlicksChicks]

RIR roosters and hens can be aggressive. So can Sussex, Orpington, Silkies, and every other breed. All of the different breeds can also be great. Each bird is an individual and will have its own personality. I haven't had that many different breeds that I can make a blanket statement about all breeds from experience but I've read enough stories on this forum to form an opinion. And I have had some experience. How much of a breed's reputation is built on "I heard" or "are known to be" instead of from personal experience?

I don't always agree with what some people call aggression. Two cockerels fighting during puberty is not aggression. It's two cockerels in puberty doing what is natural for cockerels in puberty. Immature cockerels chasing pullets or hens for mating is not aggression, it's immature cockerels trying to establish dominance as their instincts tell them to.

I don't tolerate human aggression in any of them. Nor do I accept a chicken deliberately trying to kill another chicken, whether the aggressor is male or female. I have my limits. But if an immature chicken is doing what an immature chicken's instincts are telling it to do I usually give them a chance to grow out of it. Most will when they mature but most certainly does not mean all.

I think it takes some experience to tell the difference and I do not always get it right. But some of my best Flock Master roosters have been roosters that many would deem aggressive when they were immature cockerels. I want a rooster that can win the hens over by the strength of his spirit and personality instead of having to rely on force to be Flock Master. I had one of those and it was not good.

And, I don't think you know this, the breed has been bred to be more aggressive due to roosters being used for cockfighting. You have to have an aggressive breed to have a cockfighter.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Actually some lines of Games have been bred and used for cockfighting. I have not heard of RIR's being used for cockfighting by the professionals but maybe. I'm not going to tag the member I know on here that was active in cockfighting in his very young days but is no more. I don't need to direct hate mail to him. He has been a font of knowledge over the years.

There are certain genetic lines of Games that cannot have males in the same flock because they would kill each other. Other genetic lines of Games have not been bred that way and can be kept together, though with any breed males can possibly fight. There are other breeds used for cockfighting around the world, not just Games. Same things apply.

Another former forum member bred RIR's for show and was an APA judge. He was really upset when people on here slandered RIR's as aggressive vicious birds. His were not, but he bred them to not be. He was a gentleman about it but you could tell he was hurt.

Same with the SS. Any SS I have had were docile, quiet, and overall nice chickens. And if you look at breeds that are good for beginners, SS is one of them. They are known to be calm and nice chickens, whether it be roosters or hens.

For what it is worth (not much since it is just one data point) my most human aggressive rooster was a hatchery Speckled Sussex. To me, that doesn't prove anything. It was just one bird.

 

[Folly's place]

Agree with RR here.
I've had maybe a dozen or more SS males, from three different hatcheries, years ago. Half were lovely, and half were human aggressive. I gave up on trying to raise the breed at home, but still love the hens, and will always have some. Beautiful, pushy in a nice way, human interactive, terrific IMO. Haven't had bantam SS, but do want some sometime.
The Salmon Favorelle birds we've had were all very mellow, and nice roosters. Very laid back birds, liable to be harasses by more aggressive types, like red sex links and hatchery RIRs.
Picking one or two cockerels as possible 'keepers' takes time, watching them as they mature, and not making excuses for nasty behaviors.
Mary

 

[GlicksChicks]

Actually some lines of Games have been bred and used for cockfighting. I have not heard of RIR's being used for cockfighting by the professionals but maybe. I'm not going to tag the member I know on here that was active in cockfighting in his very young days but is no more. I don't need to direct hate mail to him. He has been a font of knowledge over the years.

There are certain genetic lines of Games that cannot have males in the same flock because they would kill each other. Other genetic lines of Games have not been bred that way and can be kept together, though with any breed males can possibly fight. There are other breeds used for cockfighting around the world, not just Games. Same things apply.

Another former forum member bred RIR's for show and was an APA judge. He was really upset when people on here slandered RIR's as aggressive vicious birds. His were not, but he bred them to not be. He was a gentleman about it but you could tell he was hurt.


For what it is worth (not much since it is just one data point) my most human aggressive rooster was a hatchery Speckled Sussex. To me, that doesn't prove anything. It was just one bird.

I have seen some roosters bred for fighting and, yes, keeping them together would not be a good idea. One would end up dead very soon.

I am sure that big hatcheries do not care to breed out the aggression of the RIR used for cockfighting.

With RIRs it has been more than one bird with me, despite being handled quite often since they were a couple days old. It has been more than one bird with others as well.

One plus of RIRs is that I had found them to be quite broody. There was always at least one broody RIR in my flock when I had them. They were never allowed to hatch any eggs though.

Maybe someday I will give them another chance, because they are great egg layers. It was not long ago that I had some RIR hens and they were a pain to deal with.

For me, the meanest rooster I have had was a Barred Rock roo. My grandpa has him now.

 

[LuciferRoo]

I now have 3 roosters in my back yard. They all get along fine. They also have separate coops. My dominant rooster is a sweetheart. Is is not aggressive but will knock one of the others off a hen if he is close enough and sees mating.
He does it even when another rooster mates with his own hens.
Personality is important.
The reason 2 of these 3 are still with me is because of it. One remained because I invested a lot of time and emotional energy taking care of him after a dog attack. However, he is also nice with me.