Looking for a breed of rooster that will be gentle with the hens

[Fille de Poulet]

My friend had a big white tom (not sure what kind) that was raised under a Brahma hen and was 100% fine with chickens. Maybe it’s dependent on how they are raised, or individual turkies? The tom was separated at night but he would free range near the rest of his flock and would defend the hens. He killed three raccoons in his 2 year lifetime before a coyote up injured him beyond repair and he was put down

 

[chickenmom22]

The biggest predators we have are definitely dogs and cats. The cats are easier to deal with in the sense that they only seem to go after chicks. I'm planning to get the sort of fencing (I can't remember the name for it!) that bends underground to prevent dogs from digging underneath.

I couldn't have said it better. Cockerels only alert, not deter.
The predators around here go after the roos first from the "pick me first" noise they make. We lost plenty of cockerels vs hen ratio. In my opinion the alarm sounding male poultry attracts the hunter that only smells the chickens, then the alarm pin points the location of the roost.

 

[chickenmom22]

I am curious about this too. I have no doubt that turkeys can be vicious towards hens, but so can any rooster in the right circumstance. That is why I made this thread. Just from watching my neighbors chickens and seeing the way roosters treat hens when they outnumber the females is pretty disturbing. Their hens always walk around with blood all over and no feathers on their backs and necks to speak of. Often I see the bodies of dead hens just laying around. If I get a turkey or a rooster for that matter I will definitely hatch it out under one of my hens like you said so they are one of the family so to speak.

My friend had a big white tom (not sure what kind) that was raised under a Brahma hen and was 100% fine with chickens. Maybe it’s dependent on how they are raised, or individual turkies? The tom was separated at night but he would free range near the rest of his flock and would defend the hens. He killed three raccoons in his 2 year lifetime before a coyote up injured him beyond repair and he was put down

 

[keesmom]

Just from watching my neighbors chickens and seeing the way roosters treat hens when they outnumber the females is pretty disturbing. Their hens always walk around with blood all over and no feathers on their backs and necks to speak of. Often I see the bodies of dead hens just laying around.

It's disturbing that your neighbors allow this to occur. There is absolutely no excuse for them to allow any rooster, let alone multiple males, to abuse hens and wreak havoc in the flock in this manner.

 

[chickenmom22]

Oh, I totally agree. I can't tell you how many times I've tried to get them to rehome or cull some of the roosters. They are actually very nice people otherwise, and my suspicion is because they raised the roos themselves they are now too attached to them to get rid of any of them.

It's disturbing that your neighbors allow this to occur. There is absolutely no excuse for them to allow any rooster, let alone multiple males, to abuse hens and wreak havoc in the flock in this manner.