How much to tolerate in a protective cockerel?

[leighks]

My roo is almost 3 and we separated him from the hens when he was 1.5 because he overmated them so bad they all had bare backs. And he was stressing them out. We have a very large coop and run, so we were able to separate him from the girls with chicken wire between their spaces. He can still see the hens but he can’t get to them. I’m hoping to reintroduce them eventually when he cools his jets, but the few times I’ve tried he’s back on them immediately. I must say the hens are happier without him constantly jumping them too. Not the most idea situation, but we got the flock as pets so we are committed to keeping them and working out the bumps as best as we can.

 

[Folly's place]

What are your breeding goals? Bigger birds for the freezer? Higher egg production? Eggs of various colors? A particular pure breed? Good foraging?
Roosters are a crap shoot, although some breeds have a higher % of jerks than others.
RIRs have a reputation; many of them are human aggressive. Salmon Favorelles tend to be very sweet most of the time, in fact they can be too nice to do well in some mixed flocks.
Australorps tend to have good egg production, and Jersey Giants grow slowly and get BIG! I
I think you have to sort this out, try some, and see how it goes.
Something to consider, depending on how far south you are, is comb type. Large single combs and wattles are likely to get frostbitten in cold weather. It's not a fatal condition, but I do like roosters with smaller combs and wattles, better in cold climates.
Mary

 

[Ridgerunner]

That makes sense. What breed would you suggest for good chances of a polite rooster? And where would you recommend getting them?

So many different ways you could go with this. I don't know enough of your goals to make specific recommendations. I don't much believe that breed indicates behaviors that much either. Some of that is from experience but most is from reading threads on here. No matter which breed you can read posts where some roosters of that breed are great and others where the same breed is horrible.

You might try going through these breed selectors. They may help you narrow it down. I don't much believe in predictors for behaviors but they might help with other traits.

http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_selector.html

I quit ordering straight run when I got seven pullets from seven straight run Buff Orps. Now I order what I want.

The last time I ordered chicks from a hatchery to replace my flock master I raised 18 Buff Rock cockerels. My goals are different from yours, one of mine is for meat, I have other goals. I was able to eliminate 15 of these pretty easily, a few by behaviors but mostly on physical traits. The choice between the last three was harder. The point of this is that the more you have to choose from the more likely you are to get one you like. For me it was easy since I raise them to eat anyway.

If you are willing to raise several cockerels you can order different breeds and see which you like most. Many hatcheries sell assortments. You don't know what you are going to get, it depends on what they hatched a lot of cockerels that week but it is a cheap way to try different cockerels.

If you can find the Ohio thread in the "Where am I? Where are you!" section of this forum you can talk to your neighbors, they may be able to help. They may have some chickens for you, they may be willing to split an order.

A local feed store should sell chicks this spring. You never know what breeds they will have but you might find something interesting.

 

[AgnesGray]

My roo is almost 3 and we separated him from the hens when he was 1.5 because he overmated them so bad they all had bare backs. And he was stressing them out. We have a very large coop and run, so we were able to separate him from the girls with chicken wire between their spaces. He can still see the hens but he can’t get to them. I’m hoping to reintroduce them eventually when he cools his jets, but the few times I’ve tried he’s back on them immediately. I must say the hens are happier without him constantly jumping them too. Not the most idea situation, but we got the flock as pets so we are committed to keeping them and working out the bumps as best as we can.

Poor girls! It's nice that you've been able to keep them all in a situation that is comfortable for all and for so long!

 

[AgnesGray]

What are your breeding goals? Bigger birds for the freezer? Higher egg production? Eggs of various colors? A particular pure breed? Good foraging?
Roosters are a crap shoot, although some breeds have a higher % of jerks than others.
RIRs have a reputation; many of them are human aggressive. Salmon Favorelles tend to be very sweet most of the time, in fact they can be too nice to do well in some mixed flocks.
Australorps tend to have good egg production, and Jersey Giants grow slowly and get BIG! I
I think you have to sort this out, try some, and see how it goes.
Something to consider, depending on how far south you are, is comb type. Large single combs and wattles are likely to get frostbitten in cold weather. It's not a fatal condition, but I do like roosters with smaller combs and wattles, better in cold climates.
Mary

I'm in garden zone 5b/6a if that says anything, but definitely a risk for frostbite on a regular basis (between the tropical warm days ). My intent with the bielefelders and orpingtons especially was to have cold-hardy, dual purpose, and fairly docile birds and with the exception of the boys, they seem to be on track to fulfilling that plan. They do have really large wattles though.

I would like to hatch my own with the goal of occasionally feeding the family good sized birds and having fairly good egg production as well. I love the colored eggs, but that's been a secondary consideration for me. Maybe will try to narrow it down to a few and order some this springtime. My buff orp is already showing broody tendancies so will hopefully be a good mother hen.

 

[AgnesGray]

So many different ways you could go with this. I don't know enough of your goals to make specific recommendations. I don't much believe that breed indicates behaviors that much either. Some of that is from experience but most is from reading threads on here. No matter which breed you can read posts where some roosters of that breed are great and others where the same breed is horrible.

You might try going through these breed selectors. They may help you narrow it down. I don't much believe in predictors for behaviors but they might help with other traits.

http://www.mypetchicken.com/chicken-breeds/which-breed-is-right-for-me.aspx

http://www.mcmurrayhatchery.com/chick_selector.html

I quit ordering straight run when I got seven pullets from seven straight run Buff Orps. Now I order what I want.

The last time I ordered chicks from a hatchery to replace my flock master I raised 18 Buff Rock cockerels. My goals are different from yours, one of mine is for meat, I have other goals. I was able to eliminate 15 of these pretty easily, a few by behaviors but mostly on physical traits. The choice between the last three was harder. The point of this is that the more you have to choose from the more likely you are to get one you like. For me it was easy since I raise them to eat anyway.

If you are willing to raise several cockerels you can order different breeds and see which you like most. Many hatcheries sell assortments. You don't know what you are going to get, it depends on what they hatched a lot of cockerels that week but it is a cheap way to try different cockerels.

If you can find the Ohio thread in the "Where am I? Where are you!" section of this forum you can talk to your neighbors, they may be able to help. They may have some chickens for you, they may be willing to split an order.

A local feed store should sell chicks this spring. You never know what breeds they will have but you might find something interesting.

Thanks for the tips! I will check out the chick selector. Have you ordered from Mcmurray? If so, did it go well?

I will check out the Ohio thread! Didn't know it existed - thanks!

 

[Folly's place]

Also look at Henderson's breed chart. So many breeds, so little space!
Mary

 

[AgnesGray]

Also look at Henderson's breed chart. So many breeds, so little space!
Mary

This does seem to be the issue! And wow, what a resource! Thanks!

 

[Ridgerunner]

Look at the breeds on Henderson's Breed Chart and what they look like on Feathersite.

Henderson’s Breed Chart

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Feathersite

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html#Chickens


I've never used McMurray but I'd expect them to be a good source.

 

[AgnesGray]

Look at the breeds on Henderson's Breed Chart and what they look like on Feathersite.

Henderson’s Breed Chart

http://www.sagehenfarmlodi.com/chooks/chooks.html

Feathersite

http://www.feathersite.com/Poultry/BRKPoultryPage.html#Chickens


I've never used McMurray but I'd expect them to be a good source.

Wow! So. many. chickens! I had never heard of either of these sites! Thanks so much for sharing!