In pursuit of Mr. Right

[Kaedrian]

I was going to put a wall of text here detailing my whole rooster experience, but I won't torture you all. Basically, after two bad experiences, I'm determined to find the perfect gentleman rooster. He not only has to be a charmer with the ladies, but he has got to be respectful of his human keepers. But how do you spot these qualities early on? I thought our latest rooster was going to be good, but turns out though he's protective of the ladies, he does not respect us.

So, I've got a batch of chicks in the basement. I'm hoping our future rooster is in there somewhere. But lately, I've been wondering if I even need a rooster. We love hatching out our own chicks, which is why I kept a rooster. But now I'm thinking maybe I could just keep hens and buy cornish cross chicks in the spring for meat. I love the idea of sustainability, but I also don't want to be flogged. I don't want to be watching my back when I'm outside doing chores or worry if my kids will be okay.

What do you look for when you pick out a rooster for your flock? Should I just give up on finding Mr. Right and keep an all-girl flock?

 

[fluffycrow]

Well the thing is, some males that are very appealing to the females, and actually care for them, do not have the same respect for their keepers. Sometimes that's not the case at all, and you have one that's good for both parties. I'd encourage you to look into good breeders of the breeds that interest you. Most good breeders will have culled genetic aggression out of their breeding programmes. Aggressive or not, the hens are HIS

 

[21hens-incharge]

Since you have kids the choice and possible need to "remove" the rooster are even more important considerations.

Hen only flocks do very well without a rooster. The only drawback is not getting to hatch but that hatching leads to even more males.....

 

[MysteryChicken]

I was going to put a wall of text here detailing my whole rooster experience, but I won't torture you all. Basically, after two bad experiences, I'm determined to find the perfect gentleman rooster. He not only has to be a charmer with the ladies, but he has got to be respectful of his human keepers. But how do you spot these qualities early on? I thought our latest rooster was going to be good, but turns out though he's protective of the ladies, he does not respect us.

So, I've got a batch of chicks in the basement. I'm hoping our future rooster is in there somewhere. But lately, I've been wondering if I even need a rooster. We love hatching out our own chicks, which is why I kept a rooster. But now I'm thinking maybe I could just keep hens and buy cornish cross chicks in the spring for meat. I love the idea of sustainability, but I also don't want to be flogged. I don't want to be watching my back when I'm outside doing chores or worry if my kids will be okay.

What do you look for when you pick out a rooster for your flock? Should I just give up on finding Mr. Right and keep an all-girl flock?

Where are you located, I've got a rooster, & a cockerel available that may suit your needs?

 

[Folly's place]

You are gaining valuable experience, seeing early cockerel behaviors that turn into problems. It does get easier to decide who the keepers are, and who are idiot jerks who need to be dinner.
And there are often nice cockerels or roosters who need homes, depending on your biosecurity concerns and risk tolerance.
Here we raise either straight run or home bred chicks, and sift them out over at least several months, and then see how they best ones do over time. We have zero tolerance for human aggression, and gave up trying to 'reform' cockerel behaviors years ago. Right now we have 27 hens and two roosters, ranging in age from last year's spring hatch to several hens three to four years of age. The two young roosters have been well behaved, and will stay if things continue to work out for them.
We've always had at least one rooster, and think that having at least one completes the flock social order. Raising chicks leads to having many extra cockerels, sometimes with 'pullet only' chicks too. Have plans for them! Some in the freezer, yours or someone else's, sales to other people, and a very few to keep.
Mary

 

[Kaedrian]

Where are you located, I've got a rooster, & a cockerel available that may suit your needs?

We're in Southern Minnesota. Thanks for the offer. Like I said, I'm still debating if I even want one. It was nice walking out today without worrying about being attacked.

 

[Kaedrian]

You are gaining valuable experience, seeing early cockerel behaviors that turn into problems. It does get easier to decide who the keepers are, and who are idiot jerks who need to be dinner.
And there are often nice cockerels or roosters who need homes, depending on your biosecurity concerns and risk tolerance.
Here we raise either straight run or home bred chicks, and sift them out over at least several months, and then see how they best ones do over time. We have zero tolerance for human aggression, and gave up trying to 'reform' cockerel behaviors years ago. Right now we have 27 hens and two roosters, ranging in age from last year's spring hatch to several hens three to four years of age. The two young roosters have been well behaved, and will stay if things continue to work out for them.
We've always had at least one rooster, and think that having at least one completes the flock social order. Raising chicks leads to having many extra cockerels, sometimes with 'pullet only' chicks too. Have plans for them! Some in the freezer, yours or someone else's, sales to other people, and a very few to keep.
Mary

What is your program or method of operation for sifting out the "bad" ones? Do you keep them in a mixed flock and see how they act around one another? Do you go in there and see how they react to you doing things? All the chicks I'm raising right now will either be kept for egg production or go in the freezer. I got some new breeds and am hoping for one or two roosters that will work out for us. I just wish I knew of an exact equation for figuring out which rooster is nice and which ones aren't.

 

[ILoveDaffy]

I was going to put a wall of text here detailing my whole rooster experience, but I won't torture you all. Basically, after two bad experiences, I'm determined to find the perfect gentleman rooster. He not only has to be a charmer with the ladies, but he has got to be respectful of his human keepers. But how do you spot these qualities early on? I thought our latest rooster was going to be good, but turns out though he's protective of the ladies, he does not respect us.

So, I've got a batch of chicks in the basement. I'm hoping our future rooster is in there somewhere. But lately, I've been wondering if I even need a rooster. We love hatching out our own chicks, which is why I kept a rooster. But now I'm thinking maybe I could just keep hens and buy cornish cross chicks in the spring for meat. I love the idea of sustainability, but I also don't want to be flogged. I don't want to be watching my back when I'm outside doing chores or worry if my kids will be okay.

What do you look for when you pick out a rooster for your flock? Should I just give up on finding Mr. Right and keep an all-girl flock?

Finding a perfect rooster who will be great forever is a huge challenge, especially with kids. I have had a few bad roosters, and only 3 or 4 out of 8 I've had have been nice. It's really a mixed bag. I have also had a perfectly wonderful all girl flock with a top hen who acted like a rooster. She was without a doubt in my case better than a rooster, good with kids, never hurt her little family members, and was fantastic at fighting off threats and sounding the alarm. It's really up to you and how many chances you want to take with them.

 

[LaFleche]

I found the best roosters were hatched and raised right among the adult flock.
Hand raised makes will often lose respect of humans and treat them as equals.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

So far in my chicken history I've had 15 mature roosters. Out of these 15, 12 have been absolutely perfect gentlemen with zero human aggression, and 3 have been human aggressive. Every single rooster from a breed known for good behavior has been good and only breeds known for human violence have been violent