I want a rooster. Questions.

[owlteach]

I got several chicks two weeks ago. I got 2 buff Orpingtons, 1 lavender Orpington, 1 buff Brahma, 1 barred rock, 1 mottled cochin bantam, and 1 porcelain d'uccle.

I didn't know what to get, so I just got several. I know I will want a rooster later for more chicks and protection from hawks. I have questions about that.

1.) Should I get a rooster chick now, or wait until the hens start laying?
2.) How do I make sure and just hatch the chicks that will be the same kind he is? Will I know who laid what egg?
3.) Wouldn't you want to get a rooster to match one of the hens and just hatch those eggs?
4.) Which kind of rooster should I get? I am leaning toward barred rock just because I want him friendly as possible. My other thought was a Brahma because they are big and might help to make sure predators stay away better. Plus, my Brahma chick is so far more distant than my barred rock chick. Maybe that changes too. I have no idea. When I was a kid we just got straight run chicks and didn't think about it this much.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If you plan to keep the two small bantam with the bigger breeds, which sometimes doesn't work out, and I don't recommend it, I do recommend a bantam rooster. You don't want a huge barred rock breeding bantams.

If you are inexperienced with chickens it's best to avoid roosters initially because they can become aggressive.

 

[owlteach]

If you plan to keep the two small bantam with the bigger breeds, which sometimes doesn't work out, and I don't recommend it, I do recommend a bantam rooster. You don't want a huge barred rock breeding bantams.

If you are inexperienced with chickens it's best to avoid roosters initially because they can become aggressive.

Thank you for the advice! That makes perfect sense.

 

[Butterscotchbitesfinger]

If you want a rooster and you have hens that are Bantams try getting a fully grown rooster that is not aggressive you see I have found that sometimes as cockerels their attatude can change and they become aggressive

 

[L1sa]

I hatched a Plymouth Rock rooster from a chick and he was not aggressive at all and so lovely... to me! My poor girls however, did not fair so well!! They ended up bald and ravaged! I had to get rid of him in the end because I don't think my girls could take it any more! Roosters are a breed of their own and they take a fair amount of dealing with!

Good luck!

 

[strawberricatt]

The first thing you have to do is make sure that your area allows roosters. If you live in a rural area, then they are most likely allowed, but laws and ordinanaces can be quite long, make sure you read everything well.

If you do get a rooster, get a bantam. Seeing a huge large fowl rooster chasing after a tiny bantam hen isn't nice, and it will only end in disaster. The best thing you can do is get a bantam rooster of a particularly docile breed, he will still alert the hens of danger, giving them time to escape, but he won't be great at actually fighting anything off.

I would say to get your cockerel chick now and integrate with the girls whilst they are young, so it will be less of a shock to your pullets systems. I'd suggest getting a porcelain D'Uccle male, and a couple more females with your order, that way you'll have more chance of getting purebreds if you ever hatch.

If you want to know which hen layed which egg, then put food colouring on the hens vents (or bottoms). It may sound a little strange, but it works, and you can tell quite well.

A good rooster is a great addition to any flock, but a bad one can be very traumatic, choose your breeds wisely.
Good luck.

 

[llombardo]

I would wait to make sure you got all girls to begin with. There is always a chance there is a boy even though you bought girls. For example I bought 4 girls and 2 turned out to be boys.

Once you get that figured out,then think about the rooster thing.

 

[Pork Pie]

Topic of the Week - Roosters, Yes or No?
Topic of the Week - Adding a Rooster to the Flock

 

[Mosey2003]

If you really, really want to breed... I'd make separate housing for the bantams and get a Buff Orpington rooster. Then you can hatch Orpingtons plus black sexlinks (from the Barred Rock hen).

 

[keesmom]

I got several chicks two weeks ago. I got 2 buff Orpingtons, 1 lavender Orpington, 1 buff Brahma, 1 barred rock, 1 mottled cochin bantam, and 1 porcelain d'uccle.

Where did you get the chicks? Unless you ordered the 2 bantams as sexed chicks from MPC then one or both may be cockerels.